The Hindu : International : Students defy ban order in Nepal

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Monday, May 16, 2005

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International

Students defy ban order in Nepal

Demonstration demanding King Gyanendra to restore democracy

A BLOW FOR DEMOCRACY: Riot police detain a student activist during a demonstration against King Gyanendra in Kathmandu on Sunday. — PHOTO: AP

KATHMANDU: At least 18 Nepalese students were arrested and a dozen injured when police broke their demonstrations protesting the army shooting at a college and demanding King Gyanendra to restore democracy.

Police intervened when the All Nepal National Free Students Union (ANNFSU) took out anti-King demonstrations at Ratnapark in Kathmandu, the area declared prohibited by the Royal government.

As soon as some 500 students raised anti-King slogans marched in the restricted area, police indiscriminately baton-charged them, injuring at least a dozen students, five seriously, said ANNFSU President Khimlal Bhattarai.

The ANNFSU central members Ananda K.C. and Gokul Gharti and women's wing chief Rame Ale were seriously injured in the police action, according to student sources.

The students were protesting against the army firing at a college in far west Nepal, seizure of ANNFSU Office by the security personnel, reactionary education policy of the Government and to oppose King Gyanendra's takeover of February 1.

All major student organisations expressed solidarity with the seven parties' demand for restoration of democracy and end to authoritarian rule, Mr. Bhattarai said. — PTI

Delegation absent

UNI reports from Islamabad:

Absence of the Nepali Parliamentarians Delegation at a South Asian meet here aimed at fostering regional cooperation robbed the sheen off the week-long conference.

The 10-member delegation to the South Asian Parliamentary Forum cancelled its participation after one of its constituents — United Peoples' Front-Nepal MP Navaraj Subedi — was arrested near Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport on Saturday.

The remaining delegation-members decided not to attend the conference, organised by the South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA), in order that their protest at ``the highhandedness'' of the Government was highlighted at the international forum.

At the Inaugural Conference on Sunday, SAFMA-Nepal Chapter president Gopal Thapaliya read out a message from Delegation Leader Jhalanath Khanal, a Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxists-Leninists) MP and former Minister, urging that ``the undemocratic and unconstitutional actions of the present ruling regime in Nepal'' be exposed and pressure built upon King Gyanendra to restore Parliamentary Democracy in the Hindu kingdom.

Described as ``a major step'' towards imparting an identity to South Asia, the conference has brought together nearly 100 MPs from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to ponder over issues like Establishment of South Asian Parliament, South Asian Vision, Economic Cooperation, Cooperative Security, Conflict Resolution Mechanism, Human Rights Issues in the Region, Inter-State Water Issues, Energy-Related Matters and Evolution of South Asian Fraternity.

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