International News
Maoists continue to shut down Nepal
Posted on: Tue May 04, 2010
International Highlights
KATHMANDU: Opposition Maoists carrying sticks and chanting revolutionary slogans shut down much of Nepal for a second day on Monday, piling pressure on the strained peace process in the Himalayan nation.
All shops, schools and offices were closed and vehicles were kept off the streets in the capital Kathmandu and elsewhere across the country as thousands of protesters staged mass rallies and enforced a nationwide strike.
The Maoist party, which has the largest number of seats in parliament, is demanding that the one-year-old ruling coalition be replaced by a Maoist-led national administration. Lawmakers have until May 28 to complete a new constitution that analysts say is crucial to ensuring lasting peace between the former rebel Maoists and the state but few expect the deadline to be met.
Our strike is peaceful, but if there is no consensus we do not have any option but to revolt, Chetan Sapkota, a Maoist protester, told AFP. If peaceful demonstration doesn t work, violence is inevitable, said Sapkota, 32, a traditional dancer from outside Kathmandu.
Maoist guerrillas fought a bloody civil war against the Nepalese state for 10 years before a peace agreement was signed in 2006, and the left-wing rebels then won elections in 2008 and held power for eight months.
More than 100,000 Maoist demonstrators rallied in Kathmandu on Saturday to protest against the current government, a disjointed coalition of about 20 parties which is struggling to keep the peace process on track.
Narayan Kaji Shrestha, the Maoist party s vice chairman, on Monday told a cheering crowd of 5,000 supporters outside the national assembly building that the strike would continue until the government stepped down.
This movement will not end until we achieve our goal, he said. This is the last warning and the last opportunity. He said talks were being held with the ruling coalition, but that the strike would not be halted unless Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal resigned.
Courtesy : The News