Skip to main content
The Web    CNN.com     
Powered by
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
SERVICES
 
 
 
 
 
SEARCH
Web CNN.com
powered by Yahoo!
WORLD

Anti-monarchy protests in Nepal


story.nepal.protest.afp.jpg
Protesters called for the restorartion of democracy.
YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS
Nepal
Kathmandu

KATHMANDU, Nepal (Reuters) -- About 15,000 people marched in the Nepali capital on Tuesday to call for the restoration of a dissolved parliament and the formation of an all-party government in the biggest protest in the city for several months.

Four political parties represented in a parliament dissolved by King Gyanendra in 2002 have vowed to press ahead with their protest campaign, after it was briefly suspended for the beginning of the rainy season.

"The government is a pawn in the hands of the king," said Ghanashyam Poudel, a member of the United People's Front, one of the four parties behind the protest.

King Gyanendra fired Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba two years ago but reappointed him in June after sustained, often violent, protests by main political parties which said the constitutional monarch had grabbed power.

The four parties behind Tuesday's protest have not accepted Deuba's reappointment, saying it was unconstitutional.

Riot police put up barbed wire barricades to stop the protesters from marching on the king's palace, as they paraded through Kathmandu carrying red and white party flags.

"No to active monarchy," read one placard carried by protesters. Some of them shouted: "We want democracy and peace."

Deuba was fired in 2002 for failing to control an insurgency by Maoist rebels, who have been fighting since 1996 to overthrow the monarchy and replace it with a communist state.

In the latest violence, the army said 13 rebels were killed in several clashes on Monday and Tuesday in various parts of the mountainous country.



Copyright 2004 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Story Tools
Click Here to try 4 Free Trial Issues of Time! cover
Top Stories
U.S. alert as 700 die in Haiti floods
Top Stories
Jeanne leaves 700 dead, 1,000 missing in Haiti
Search JobsMORE OPTIONS


 

International Edition
CNN TV CNN International Headline News Transcripts Preferences About CNN.com
SEARCH
   The Web    CNN.com     
Powered by
© 2004 Cable News Network LP, LLLP.
A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved.
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines. Contact us.
external link
All external sites will open in a new browser.
CNN.com does not endorse external sites.
 Premium content icon Denotes premium content.