NEPAL: 80 JOURNALISTS ARRESTED AFTER UNREST IN KATHMANDU AGAINST ROYAL CONTROL OF GOVERNMENT
Record ID:
647181
NEPAL: 80 JOURNALISTS ARRESTED AFTER UNREST IN KATHMANDU AGAINST ROYAL CONTROL OF GOVERNMENT
- Title: NEPAL: 80 JOURNALISTS ARRESTED AFTER UNREST IN KATHMANDU AGAINST ROYAL CONTROL OF GOVERNMENT
- Date: 16th September 2005
- Summary: (BN02) KATHMANDU, NEPAL (SEPTEMBER 16, 2005)(REUTERS) 1. VARIOUS OF JOURNALISTS BEING ARRESTED IN RATNA PARK AREA OF CITY 2. RISHI DHAMALA, PRESIDENT OF REPORTERS' CLUB BEING ARRESTED 3. HARIHAR BIYOGI, FORMER PRESIDENT OF NEPAL FEDERATION OF JOURNALISTS BEING ARRESTED 4. SHIVA GAULE, VICE PRESIDENT OF NEPAL FEDERATION OF JOURNALISTS BEING ARRESTED 5. VARIOUS OF OTHER JOURNALISTS BEING ARRESTED 6. FEMALE JOURNALISTS ARRESTED ALONG WITH OTHER 7. REPORTERS GO OVER WALL 8. FURTHER ARRESTS OF JOURNALISTS 9. VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS SHOUTING SLOGANS IN DILLI BAZAAR AREA OF CITY 4.40 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 1st October 2005 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: KATHMANDU, NEPAL
- Country: Nepal
- Reuters ID: LVAGHL6IFF6I8YSQW1OLMHC26L6
- Story Text: 80 journalists arrested after further unrest in Kathmandu.
Nepal has been plunged into turmoil by the increasingly violent
Maoist revolt and mounting protests against King Gyanendra's Feb. 1 move to
sack the government and assume total power.
Hundreds of pro-democracy activists were held and at least three
wounded in clashes with police on Friday as political parties continued their
protests against the king.
Police said 167 people had been detained.
They said 80 journalists had been detained separately during a protest
demanding freedom for a press that has remained largely curbed since King
Gyanendra's power grab.
Pressure is mounting on Nepal's King Gyanendra to restore democracy
after he seized power earlier this year, but there is no sign yet of the
monarch relenting despite his increasing isolation, analysts say.
The king's traditional supporters are beginning to abandon him, while
the country's main political parties are stepping up public protests and
talking openly about establishing a republic.
Analysts are wondering if this is the beginning of the end for Nepal's
monarchy as a political force.
"He has two choices," said Yubaraj Ghimire, editor of Nepali
magazine, Samay. "One, come to an understanding with political parties
accepting the role of a constitutional monarch.
"Two, go totally repressive as a dictator and risk the monarchy's
future in the long run."
Pitched battles between pro-democracy protesters and police have
erupted almost daily since political parties stepped up protests this month.
Dozens of people have been wounded and hundreds detained but later freed.
"The monarchy is losing its support among the people," said
Krishna Pahadi, a leading human rights activist.
At Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, Professor S.D. Muni says
the king's decision to sack his own government and assume the reins of power
would backfire in the long run, even though the army appear to be backing him
for the time being.
Muni, like Ghimire, said the king risked losing everything if he took
the path of confrontation and unleashed a more brutal crackdown on protesters
and critics. It would be better to step back and hand power back to
politicians while there is still time, he said.
"The monarchy will never be accepted as an active governing
institution," Muni said. "His only choice is a ceremonial monarchy, or no monarchy at all."
King Gyanendra declared a state of emergency on Feb. 1, sacking the
government, jailing politicians and suspending civil liberties. He now rules
through an unelected council of 24 loyalist ministers.
He said the moves were essential to quell a Maoist revolt which has
claimed more than 12,500 lives since 1996.
The Maoists want to overthrow his rule and turn Nepal into a communist
state. The revolt has displaced tens of thousands of people and brought
further misery to one of the world's poorest countries wedged between China
and India.
"If the conflict is not resolved quickly there will be more
violence, more repression by the government, and more bloodshed," said
Padma Ratna Tuladhar, who helped facilitate failed peace talks between the
government and rebels in 2001 and 2003.
The king admits the nation is in difficulty and has promised to restore
democracy within three years but he seems to be in no rush to start the
process.
"The people (have) taught me to be patient," he said in a
recent interview with state television.
But the patience of his people and of the international community may
be running out. "We have seen little movement toward the government's own
stated goal of multiparty democracy," U.S. Ambassador James Moriarty said
recently.
This month, the largest political party, the Nepali Congress, abandoned
its 60-year-old written commitment to uphold the monarchy -- a big step in a
country where the king is considered by many as an incarnation of Hindu god
Vishnu.
The second biggest party, the Communist Unified Marxzist-Leninists, has
begun campaigning openly for a republic. But staunch royalists say parties
should simply trust the king.
"His Majesty the king is committed to multi-party democracy," said Yagya Prasad
Acharya, a member of the king's privy council. "There is no reason why anyone should
raise doubts about this."
Faced with growing isolation abroad, King Gyanendra also called off a
plan to attend the U.N. General Assembly this month.
"By cancelling his U.N. trip the king has given a clear message
that he cannot justify his move in any international forum," said
Ghimire.
Earlier this month the Maoists, who control large swathes of the
countryside, surprised many people by declaring a unilateral ceasefire.
Analysts said it was part of their efforts to reach out to political parties
to form a united front against the king.
So far the main political parties have seemed very reluctant to take up
the Maoist offer of talks, wary of associating themselves with rebels who have
few friends abroad and are accused of killing innocent civilians at home.
The government says it cannot trust the Maoists to keep the ceasefire
but diplomats say the king should seize the opportunity it presented and
explore avenues for peace.
Locals say there has to be a way out of the chaos soon.
"If this situation continues for another three or four years Nepal
will be like Somalia," said 23-year-old taxi driver Rajan Gautam.
"There will be no food to eat and more deaths."
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