News| Nepal
Nepal activists burn vehicles
 

Kathmandu: Opposition activists hurled stones, torched vehicles and forced stores to close yesterday in the Nepalese capital to enforce a general strike against the alleged mistreatment of a party leader.

The nationwide shutdown was called to protest an incident on Saturday in which Nepali Congress President and former Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala was barred by soldiers from being dropped off at the main airport terminal in the capital Kathmandu.

The army later apologised for what it said was a simple misunderstanding.

Several demonstrations were reported yesterday in Kathmandu and two suburbs. Angry crowds threw stones at cars that violated the strike and set two government vehicles on fire in the city's centre.

Some of the protesters, chanting anti-government slogans, also clashed with riot police in the capital. Two demonstrators were detained.

Stores and businesses were closed and vehicles stayed off the roads. Only security vehicles and ambulances were seen on the streets.

Government offices and schools were already closed for the weekend.

The incident on Saturday occurred when a soldier directed Koirala's car to the airport's general parking instead of allowing the party president to be dropped in front of the main terminal, as VIPs are generally allowed.

"We are not blocking (Koirala) from entering the airport. His car was directed to the general parking lot because the soldier on duty did not have any information about his arrival," said army spokesman Brig. Gen. Rajendra Thapa.

Security has been stepped up for the past few months around the airport to prevent any possible attacks from Maoist rebels fighting to establish a communist state.

Only passengers with tickets are allowed to enter the airport area and are checked twice before allowed to enter the terminal.

Strikes are a common tactic in Nepal to achieve political objectives and most people comply, fearing reprisals.

Three people, one a bus driver, were killed and four seriously injured when their bus was blown up by a landmine allegedly planted by Maoist rebels in eastern Nepal, police said yesterday.

The bus was heading towards Jiri, about 148 kilometres northeast of Kathmandu, when it tripped the mine Saturday evening, a police spokesman said.

The driver's assistant and a villager were also killed, he said. The four injured passengers were airlifted to Kathmandu for treatment.

In another incident, Maoist rebels shot dead two soldiers in Butwal in southwestern Nepal Saturday and escaped with their motorcycle and two semi-machine guns, he said.

The soldiers were carrying out a routine patrol when they were attacked.

The rebels have been fighting for a communist republic in Nepal since 1996 and the bloody insurgency has already claimed more than 10,000 lives.

The rebels this month enforced a week-long blockade of Kathmandu.

 
 
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