AGL 40.10 Decreased By ▼ -0.90 (-2.2%)
AIRLINK 127.80 Decreased By ▼ -0.34 (-0.27%)
BOP 6.60 Decreased By ▼ -0.10 (-1.49%)
CNERGY 4.60 Increased By ▲ 0.08 (1.77%)
DCL 8.58 Decreased By ▼ -0.03 (-0.35%)
DFML 41.40 Increased By ▲ 0.31 (0.75%)
DGKC 86.50 Decreased By ▼ -0.63 (-0.72%)
FCCL 32.13 Decreased By ▼ -1.26 (-3.77%)
FFBL 65.40 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.02%)
FFL 10.27 Decreased By ▼ -0.20 (-1.91%)
HUBC 110.60 Decreased By ▼ -0.03 (-0.03%)
HUMNL 14.70 Decreased By ▼ -0.60 (-3.92%)
KEL 5.15 Increased By ▲ 0.17 (3.41%)
KOSM 7.15 Decreased By ▼ -0.28 (-3.77%)
MLCF 41.69 Decreased By ▼ -1.30 (-3.02%)
NBP 60.20 Decreased By ▼ -0.22 (-0.36%)
OGDC 194.48 Decreased By ▼ -3.16 (-1.6%)
PAEL 27.95 Decreased By ▼ -1.06 (-3.65%)
PIBTL 7.98 Decreased By ▼ -0.28 (-3.39%)
PPL 150.52 Decreased By ▼ -3.64 (-2.36%)
PRL 27.08 Increased By ▲ 2.08 (8.32%)
PTC 16.08 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.06%)
SEARL 78.20 Decreased By ▼ -0.25 (-0.32%)
TELE 7.42 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.68%)
TOMCL 35.70 Decreased By ▼ -0.39 (-1.08%)
TPLP 7.90 Decreased By ▼ -0.17 (-2.11%)
TREET 15.87 Decreased By ▼ -0.09 (-0.56%)
TRG 52.70 Decreased By ▼ -0.66 (-1.24%)
UNITY 26.65 Decreased By ▼ -0.06 (-0.22%)
WTL 1.28 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.79%)
BR100 9,920 Decreased By -52.1 (-0.52%)
BR30 30,751 Decreased By -346.3 (-1.11%)
KSE100 93,225 Decreased By -423.8 (-0.45%)
KSE30 28,885 Decreased By -132.9 (-0.46%)

Nepali police lobbed tear gas and used canes to break up Maoist demonstrations in Kathmandu on Sunday during a general strike called by the former rebels in their biggest protest since quitting government. Police said they detained at least 70 protesters on vandalism charges. The Maoists said around 100 activists were injured.
The regional Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said Nepalese police had used "excessive force" against the protesters and urged both sides to show restraint. Demanding a return to power, the Maoists have launched a three-day strike to continue until Tuesday, crippling the Himalayan nation as businesses shut and vehicles stay off the road.
"We used water cannon and baton-charged the protesters after they threw stones and injured 17 officers," police spokesman Bigyanraj Sharma said. "Twenty-seven vehicles were torched by protesters." The Maoists say they were "unconstitutionally" forced to resign seven months ago in a row with the president over the sacking of the army chief. The stand-off plunged the country into political crisis.
"Today's display of violence was some of the worst on the streets of Kathmandu for several years," Richard Bennett, chief of the United Nations human rights office in Nepal, said. "Police were observed to use excessive force on the crowd, including inappropriate use of lathis (canes) and tear gas, and even stone-throwing," a statement from the OHCHR said. Supporters of the former rebels roamed the streets with hammer-and-sickle (communist) flags to enforce the strike across the country.
EFFORTS TO BREAK DEADLOCK FAIL:
"Our efforts to break the deadlock with political parties in the government have failed," Maoist chief and former prime minister Prachanda, who still goes by his nom de guerre, said after a party meeting late on Saturday.
Analysts say the stand-off between the Maoists and the government has stalled the peace process after the end of a decade-long civil war and slowed the development of one of the world's poorest countries. Authorities said the strike was unlikely to cause shortages of food and other essential goods because of its short duration.
The Maoists led a coalition government after they emerged as the largest political group in last year's election. But in May Prachanda quit as prime minister after failing to fire the then army chief, who was backed by the president. The Maoists say the president, whose duties are generally ceremonial, undermined the supremacy of the civilian government by overruling the cabinet. The Maoists waged a bloody civil war from 1996 but joined the political mainstream under a 2006 peace deal with the government. More than 13,000 people were killed in the conflict.

Copyright Reuters, 2009

Comments

Comments are closed.