Police armed with tear gas, bamboo batons and orders to use force if necessary were depoyed across Nepal's capital yesterday to block plans by the political opposition to protest King Gyanendra's power grab last month.
The constitutional monarch dismissed the government on Feb. 1, imposing emergency rule and suspending civil liberties.
Dozens of opposition politicians and other critics of the monarch have been arrested, including several journalists. Police on Monday night arrested prominent reporter Kanakmani Dixit, publisher of Himal magazine, but released him several hours later, according to an editor at the magazine. Authorities gave no reason for his detention.
Since the takeover, many politicians have gone underground and police have thwarted efforts by Nepal's five major political parties to hold big rallies.
A few demonstrators have taken to the streets, only to be quickly detained by police.
But Nepal's political parties said yesterday's anti-king rally in Katmandu would be much bigger than previous ones and vowed that demonstrators would not be deterred by the heavy security presence.
``We have urged all our supporters to fight a decisive movement to restore democracy in Nepal,'' said Meena Pandey, a leader of the Nepali Congress, the largest party.
Keshav Badal, a senior member of the Communist Party of Nepal, said party leaders would take part in the rally.
"We expect a much bigger response," he said.
But a government minister said the protest would not be permitted.
"Under emergency rule such protests are banned. We will do what needs to be done," Education Minister Radha Krishna Mainali said.
Senior police officers, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they had orders to break up any protest, even by using force if necessary. They said protesters would be arrested if they defy orders.
Meanwhile the king, who is also the supreme commander of the Royal Nepalese Army, made an appearance at the military parade grounds in the heart of Katmandu for an annual Hindu celebration.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese