Clashes erupt on Nepal's streets

[muriel_volestrangler]

Security forces fired tear gas as pro-democracy protesters hurled stones and scuffled with officers, in protest at King Gyanendra's absolute power.

The government says nearly 200 people were taken away in trucks, but the opposition put the number much higher.

The clashes followed a crackdown on activists on Friday, when protests were stymied by a curfew and mass arrests.

Hundreds of activists were held, while five opposition leaders, including former Prime Minister GP Koirala, were placed under 90 days' house arrest. The government says their freedom of movement could have an adverse effect on peace and security.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4634142.stm

[JNelson6563]

1. This reads like a prophecy

of what is to come in the US. Hard to believe the year is actually 2006.

Julie

[alarcojon]

4. I wish I could share your optimism

and would love to see the masses in the U.S. begin to peacefully protest this administration's lies, arrogance, and sheer incompetence. I wonder what Bush's response would be - probably some "homeland security" language and an increased police state apparatus.

[smirkymonkey]

2. Coming soon to a neighborhood near you......

Sometimes I feel like human society is about to go berserk en masse.

[struggle4progress]

3. Nepal blocks protest rally with arrests and curfew

By Somini Sengupta
NEW YORK TIMES

NEW DELHI, India - Flouting international condemnation, Nepal successfully quashed a pro-democracy protest scheduled for Friday in the capital, Katmandu, with an all-day curfew enforced by soldiers and the police and mass arrests of organizers.

The police said 200 people had been detained for curfew violations, and armored personnel carriers mounted with machine guns were posted on the streets of the capital, Reuters reported from Katmandu. The leaders of the country's major political parties, which had called for the rally, were placed under house arrest, Reuters said.

The government of King Gyanendra announced a ban on public demonstrations earlier this week, on the grounds that Maoist insurgents waging a decade-long war against the state would use it to foment violence. On Thursday, the police rounded up about 100 people, mostly political party workers involved in the preparations, and blocked telephone communications.

A coalition of seven political parties, once stridently opposed to the rebels and now increasingly vocal against the palace, had planned the rally to call for a full restoration of political rights ...

http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/13679058.htm