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| Wednesday, 4 June 2003 |
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Nepal parties denounce king as they press for new PM KATHMANDU, Tuesday (AFP) Thousands of activists from Nepal's main political parties took to the streets to denounce King Gyanendra as they demanded he appoint their choice for prime minister. More than 6,000 supporters of the parties represented in the parliament dissolved last year marched around Kathmandu, shouting slogans against the king's October 4 dismissal of the elected government. "Thief king, quit the country," the protesters chanted, along with "Down with the monarchy", and "We want a democratic republic". Police in riot gear were deployed at street corners around the capital but there were no reports of serious violence. However, there were small scuffles between the protesters and counter-demonstrators from the Mandale, a right-wing group that supports the absolute monarchy abolished in 1990, police said. Many of the anti-monarchy protesters were from the Nepal Communist Party-United Marxist and Leninist (NCP-UML), the main opposition in the dissolved parliament. Its leader, Madhav Kumar Nepal, has been put forward by the five parties to be the next prime minister. A letter signed by all the major parties seeking Nepal's appointment as premier was handed over at the royal palace, NCP-UML official Achyut Sapkota told AFP. Gyanendra and Crown Prince Paras met at the palace late Friday with leaders of the political parties, who have threatened more protests unless the king appoints one of their own as the new premier. "If the king appoints someone other than the one recommended by the five parties, our struggle against the king would be stepped up violently," said a senior NCP-UML activist, Govinda K.C. The letter insisted the parties would hold new elections if Nepal were selected. "The five party leaders are not merely interested in getting our man appointed to succeed Lokendra Bahadur Chand. Our main interest is to re-establish the people's sovereign and executive rights guaranteed under the constitution," the letter said In a separate demonstration Monday, thousands of members of pro-Maoist student and trade union groups demonstrated to demand progress in the peace process and to offer further criticism of the king. "Let's have results from the peace process", and "Don't play deceptive games to foil the peace dialogue", they chanted. The demonstrations disrupted public transport in Kathmandu for several hours. |
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