International News
Maoists hold anti-India protest in Nepal
Posted on: Tue January 19, 2010
International Highlights
KATHMANDU: Thousands of communist supporters protested outside the Indian Embassy in Nepal on Tuesday, accusing the giant South Asian neighbour of encroaching on poorly marked border areas and deploying troops there. The Maoists accuse India of claiming Nepalese territory as its own and posting security forces along poorly demarcated border areas. Nepal and India share more than 1,700-km stretch of border. More than 2,000 Maoists, the former communist rebels, marched from the centre of the capital Kathmandu to the embassy and blocked the street outside. Riot police prevented demonstrators from reaching the embassy gates, and no clashes took place. An Indian Embassy spokesman could not be reached for comment on Tuesday. India has significant political and economic influence in impoverished Nepal, and is its main source for oil and other supplies. The protest coincided with a visit by the Indian army chief, Gen.Deepak Kapoor. The ex-rebels, formally called the Communist Party of Nepal(Maoist), contested national elections in 2008 and emerged as the largest party. They briefly led a coalition government but pulled out over a dispute involving the integration of their fighters into the Nepalese army. The communist rebels laid down their arms and joined a peace process in 2006. The bloody 10-year insurgency left more than 10,000 people dead.
Courtesy : The News