Thousands of Maoist supporters surrounded Nepal's parliament building Sunday to demand the government abolish the monarchy and declare a republic, threatening more such protests this month.
Traffic came to a standstill in the capital as the former rebels encircled Singha Durbar, which houses the prime minister's office, parliament and key ministries, for an hour, an AFP reporter at the scene said.
"We have organised this programme to pressure the government, parliament and party leaders to oust the king and go for a republic immediately and declare a date for the constituent assembly polls," a Maoist commander Barsha Man Pun said as he handed a petition to Speaker Subash Nemwang. The Maoists launched a campaign last week calling for an end to the monarchy and said they had collected 1.5 million signatures in support.
The embattled monarchy's future is supposed to be decided in constituent assembly elections scheduled for June, but Nepal's top election official has said more time was needed to prepare for the poll. Leaders of political parties and Maoists have, however, failed to come up with a new date for polls, dealing a setback to efforts to move forward the country's political process.
The delay has seen the former rebels step up demands for a republic, even though the king has already been stripped of most of his powers, including his title as head of state. Earlier this month Maoist leader Prachanda threatened to push the nation back into turmoil by launching huge nation-wide protests from late May if their demands for a republic were not met.
The Maoists, who have been granted five cabinet posts in a new interim government, have had their army and weapons confined to UN-monitored camps.
The Maoists and government signed a landmark peace deal late last year, ending a decade of civil war that claimed at least 13,000 lives.