Many top companies in Nepal shut down yesterday after Maoist rebels bombed a luxury hotel, raising fears for the health of the Himalayan kingdom's tourism-dependent economy.
No one was injured late on Monday when two suspected guerrillas on a motorcycle threw bombs onto the tennis court of Kathmandu's Soaltee Crowne Plaza, but the hotel said it would shut down after earlier vowing to defy a rebel deadline for 24 top firms to close by yesterday.
"Most businesses have decided to close for the time being in light of the situation," said N.M. Singh, general manager of Bottlers Nepal, which distributes Coca-Cola in the kingdom.
"With the government utterly failing to protect its people, how can we run our businesses?" said Binod Shrestha, president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
Industrialists said they would closely follow developments before deciding when to reopen.
Kathmandu has a 10-week stockpile of vital goods such as food and fuel, but businesses could raise prices if the Maoist shutdown is prolonged, said Harendra Shrestha, president of the Nepal Consumers Forum.
Most of the 24 firms threatened by the Maoists have connections with the royal family or multinationals.
The Soaltee Crowne Plaza was inherited in 1980 by King Gyanendra, who was then a prince, although a hotel statement late Monday stressed that the monarch had converted his holdings into an autonomous company.
The Maoists accused the blacklisted companies of exploiting their workers and listed 11 demands, including the release of jailed rebels and compensation for guerrillas killed in the civil war, which has claimed nearly 10,000 lives since 1996.
The threats were felt beyond the targeted companies, with Makalu Bus Service, a leading transport company, saying it too would close until further notice even though it was not threatened.
"Although we haven't received any warnings from the Maoists, we have decided to shut down for the safety of our passengers," the company's chairman, Birendra Bhakta Shrestha, said.
The Hotel Association-Nepal dismissed the Maoist criticism of the companies' labor practices and said the closure of the Soaltee Crowne Plaza put 767 people out of work.
Managers of top Kathmandu hotels went into a meeting yesterday with Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to demand enhanced security and a dialogue with the Maoists to end the shutdown.
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