Nepal's main political parties vowed yesterday to go ahead with plans for large protests against King Gyanendra's direct rule, including a general strike next week, despite government warnings of a crackdown.
An alliance of seven major political parties, which has been organizing protests against the king's seizure of power last year, has announced an April 6-9 general strike and a mass demonstration in Kathmandu on April 8.
"We will not be deterred by the government threats. The threats of curfew, use of arms and arrests are not going to stop us," said Amrit Bohara, leader of the Communist Party of Nepal.
Home Minister Kamal Thapa warned over the weekend that the government considers the planned protests to be sponsored by communist rebels, whom it considers terrorists, and would deal with them accordingly.
The rebels, who renewed an agreement with the alliance last week to cooperate in a campaign against the king, have said they support the planned strike and rally.
The government has not said what actions it will take, but has said it is stepping up security because of "the possibility of infiltration by the terrorist group."
Security patrols and checkpoint searches already have been intensified in Kathmandu and passengers on the back of motorcycles have been banned. No reason was given, but communist rebels have been known to use motorcycles for drive-by shootings.
"Our protests have always been peaceful and the talk of terrorist infiltration is nothing but an excuse to crack down on the opposition," said Arjun Narsingh of Nepali Congress, the country's largest party.
The government foiled plans for similar protests in January by imposing a curfew and jailing hundreds of opposition politicians and activists.
Gyanendra said his seizure of power last year was necessary to quell the decade-long communist insurgency, which has left more than 13,000 dead.
The rebels, who say they are inspired by former Chinese Communist Party chairman Mao Zedong (
Meanwhile, rebels have abducted four Polish men who were trekking in the Mount Everest region, their colleagues said yesterday.
The trekkers called colleagues in the Nepalese capital on the rebels' satellite phone to say they were being held captive but had no immediate word on any demands made by the captors, said Mukunda Pathik of the Kathmandu-based Nepal Esperanto Association.
They called on Friday and have not been heard from since, he said.
Two of the trekkers were members of the association, a group that promotes the constructed language Esperanto, and they were joined by two of their Polish friends when they departed Kathmandu on March 18 for a trek in the Everest area.
Nepal's Maoist rebels had not yet taken responsibility for the abduction. They commonly take money from tourists, calling it a tax, but have rarely attacked or harmed them and have made it clear it is not their policy to damage the tourism industry -- a major foreign currency earner for Nepal.
The trekkers drove until Jiri, the last main town before the Everest, and began on foot toward Lukla, the gateway to the Everest area.
The trek between Jiri and Lukla takes about a week and runs through an area where rebels are active. Trekkers rarely use this route.
Most trekkers going to the Everest region fly to the small airstrip at Lukla and then walk to the base camp through a section heavily guarded by the military.
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