Nepal’s opposition Maoists yesterday called a nationwide general strike to protest against the deaths of party activists in a clash with police, further raising tensions in the Himalayan nation.
Demonstrators burned tires on the streets of the capital Kathmandu and set fire to cars and motorbikes, while shops and offices remained shut yesterday — usually a working day in Nepal.
The Maoists’ action was sparked by the deaths of at least four party supporters in a clash on Friday with armed police in the west of the country, where landless people had occupied a large area of government-owned land.
PHOTO: EPA
“We will strictly enforce a nationwide strike to protest the brutal force used by police against the squatters,” said Ganeshman Pun, head of the Young Communist League. “The government must investigate the deaths of these people, who should be declared martyrs.”
Riot police were deployed across the country to prevent outbreaks of violence and police said the protest had so far been largely peaceful.
“The Maoists are blocking the roads and shouting anti-government slogans. All shops and schools have remained shut,” police official Raj Kumar Adhikari said.
The Maoists waged a decade-long war against the state before winning elections last year, but their government fell in May after the president overruled their decision to sack the head of the army.
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