 | Nepalese riot policemen patrol on the street of Katmandu, Nepal, Saturday. (AP/Binod Joshi) |
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KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) - Nepalese soldiers shot and wounded five activists on a college campus and authorities banned protests in parts of the capital Saturday, as King Gyanendra's decision to lift a three-month-old state of emergency apparently did little to restore democracy or ease tension.
Gyanendra imposed emergency rule Feb. 1, after firing the government, seizing absolute power and suspending civil liberties in a move condemned at home and abroad. He justified the move by saying the ousted leaders had failed to hold parliamentary elections or quell a communist insurgency.
The government announced Saturday the state of emergency had been lifted. But, despite the move, the king still rules without an elected government or legislature and there has been no word on the release of hundreds of political workers jailed under emergency rule.
"There is a lot more the king has to do, like free political leaders and lift all restrictions, before we can say emergency rule has been totally lifted," said Mahesh Acharya of the Himalayan country's largest political party, the Nepali Congress.
Later Saturday, authorities stepped up security around Kathmandu and banned protests in parts of the capital, even as major political parties prepared for rallies Sunday to observe May Day - the traditional labour holiday.
Elsewhere, Royal Nepalese Army soldiers shot and injured five student activists at a college campus in the town Mahendranagar, about 650 kilometres west of Kathmandu.
An army official in the capital said on condition of anonymity soldiers raided the college Saturday after a tip that Maoist insurgents were meeting. The soldiers fired at students because they tried to flee, he said but he acknowledged there were no Maoists on campus.
This Himalayan country has been in turmoil since Gyanendra, 55, suddenly assumed the crown in 2001 after his brother, King Birendra, was gunned down in a palace massacre apparently committed by Birendra's son, the crown prince, who also died. Ten members of the royal family were killed.
Although the constitution limits emergency rule to three months - a period expiring Sunday - the king had been widely expected to extend it.
The surprise lifting of the state of emergency followed the king's return Friday from visits to China, Indonesia and Singapore, where leaders pressed him to restore democracy.
On the sidelines of an African-Asian Summit in Indonesia days ago, Gyanendra met several leaders including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.
Annan urged Nepal to "return to constitutional rule as soon as possible," adding he had made this clear to the king.
The meeting with Singh was crucial, because India - a key arms source for Nepal's fight against the communist insurgency - suspended military aid after Gyanendra's power grab. Singh agreed to resume it after Gyanendra was reported to have assured him Nepal would restore democracy.
Indian External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh welcomed Gyanendra's announcement Saturday but said the process should move ahead with the release of political detainees, lifting of news media curbs and installation of an interim government representing all parties.