- Title: NEPAL: Maoist rebels in capital Kathmandu for mass rally
- Date: 2nd June 2006
- Summary: (W3) KATHMANDU, NEPAL (JUNE 2, 2006)(REUTERS) WIDE: LARGE CROWD OF MAOIST ACTIVISTS MARCHING CARRYING BANNERS, FLAGS AND CHANTING WIDE: STREETS CROWDED WITH PEOPLE MID VIEW: OF ACTIVISTS SHOUTING SLOGANS AND RAISING FISTS IN AIR CLOSE UP: ACTIVISTS SHOUTING SLOGANS AND RAISING FISTS IN AIR CLOSE UP; ACTIVISTS WEARING RED, CARRYING BANNER AND MARCHING LOW ANGLE SHOT: PEOPLE WATCHING FROM ROOF (SOUNDBITE) (Nepali) KRISHNA BAHADUR MAHARA , MAOIST ACTIVIST, SAYING: "With the sweeping uprising of democracy throughout the country we plan to narrow the gap between poor and rich according to the republican system. Our party is involved in creating an equality state." PAN: MAOIST VOLUNTEERS ARRIVING IN CITY BY TRUCK FOR RALLY (SOUNDBITE) (Nepali) KRISHNA BAHADUR MAHARA , MAOIST ACTIVIST, SAYING: "This meeting will deliver a new announcement on the need for the general public to restore peace in the country." PAN: VEHICLE WITH MAOISTS ARRIVING (SOUNDBITE) (Nepali) KRISHNA BAHADUR MAHARA , MAOIST ACTIVIST, SAYING: "Our dialogue will be successful if the government obeys the norms and the 12 point programme." WIDE: TRUCKS WITH MAOISTS ARRIVING STREET SCENE CLOSE UP: POSTER OF MAOIST CHIEF PRACHANDA PAN: OF TRUCKS AND VANS OF MAOISTS ARRIVING WIDE; LARGE CROWD SEATED FOR RALLY CLOSE UP: OF ETHNIC GROUPS AND MAOISTS SITTING ON GROUND (3 SHOTS) CSEMI LOSE UP: OF MAOIST ACTIVIST WEARING RED AND WEARING HEAD BAND
- Embargoed: 17th June 2006 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Nepal
- Country: Nepal
- Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,Domestic Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA3KF4RFNS2TX2DPAN6WIHVSKPJ
- Story Text: Nepal's Maoist rebels flooded the streets of Kathmandu on Friday (June 2) for a mass rally -- the first in over three years.
Organisers said the demonstration would be peaceful, after a ceasefire was declared in April.
The Maoists, whose violent campaign has claimed thousands of lives, have held rallies outside the capital to publicise their political agenda since Nepal's new multi-party government last month matched an earlier ceasefire declared by the militants.
Thousands of posters bearing the portraits of Prachanda, the elusive Maoist chief, have been put up in the ancient temple-studded city, although organisers said he would not be present.
"With the sweeping uprising of democracy throughout the country we plan to narrow the gap between poor and rich according to the republican system. Our party is involved in creating an equality state," chief rebel negotiator and Maoist spokesman Krishna Bahadur Mahara told reporters.
A pro-Maoist student group organised a rally in Kathmandu in April after weeks of street protests forced King Gyanendra to give up his absolute power, reinstate the parliament disbanded in 2002 and return power to political parties.
On Friday, thousands of people marched in from the suburbs to an open air theatre in the heart of the capital, barely 500 metres from the royal palace.
Media reports said people were being brought by rebels in hundreds of buses to fill the venue.
Last week, the multi-party government and the Maoists held their first meeting since 2003 and agreed to hold elections to a constituent assembly to decide the monarchy's future, a key Maoist demand.Mahara said the parliament should be dissolved and the constitution scrapped before that.
The Maoist insurgency has claimed more than 13,000 lives since 1996 and wrecked the economy of the tourism and aid-dependent kingdom. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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