- Title: NEPAL: NEPALI POLICE BREAK UP PRO-DEMOCRACY RALLY
- Date: 15th May 2005
- Summary: (W5) KATHMANDU, NEPAL (MAY15, 2005) (REUTERS-ACCESS ALL) 1. LV POLICEMEN ON ALERT AT A CITY SQUARE 0.07 2. SLV PROTESTERS RAISING SLOGANS 0.14 3. SV OF WOMEN PROTESTERS FALLING TO THE GROUND AS POLICE CONFRONT THEM/POLICEMEN LEADING WOMEN PROTESTERS TO VAN (2 SHOTS) 0.48 4. CU DETAINED WOMEN PROTESTERS 0.57 5. SV ANOTHER GR
- Embargoed: 30th May 2005 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: KATHMANDU, NEPAL
- Country: Nepal
- Reuters ID: LVA87G5P9IWG4IVSECHUNDR594E7
- Story Text: Nepali police break up pro-democracy rally.
***QUALITY AS INCOMING***
Nepali police broke up a pro-democracy rally and
arrested dozens of protesters in Kathmandu on Sunday (May
15) as some 200 students defied a ban on demonstrations.
Protesters shouting anti-king slogans and demanding the
restoration of democracy were dragged into vans and taken
to detention centres.
"Long live democracy. Down with the royal
proclamation," shouted the activists before being hauled
from the heart of the capital, barely 500 metres (yards)
from the king's sprawling palace.
In February, King Gyanendra seized power, detained
political leaders and suspended civil liberties under a
state of emergency law, saying the move was required to
quell an anti-monarchy Maoist revolt in which nearly 12,000
people have died.
He lifted the emergency rule in late April but retains
extraordinary powers.
Seven political parties have vowed to step up protests
against the power grab and force the monarch to restore
democracy.
The latest crackdown came as Maoist rebels in western
Nepal were reported to have abducted at least 450 school
children over the past three days and beat local aid
workers prompting foreign donors to suspend some operations.
The army said the pupils were taken in Palpa, Tanahun
and Baglung districts.
The Maoists regularly abduct school children in remote
areas for indoctrination or to boost numbers in pro-Maoist
rallies. The children are generally returned after a few
days unharmed.
Violence has continued in the Himalayan kingdom since
King Gyanendra seized power. The Maoists have been fighting
since 1996 to overthrow the Hindu monarchy and set up a
single party communist republic.
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