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| Monday, 28 February 2005 |
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Nepal Maoists call off blockade Sunday, (AFP) - Nepal's Maoist rebels Saturday called off a 14-day old nationwide transport blockade staged to protest King Gyanendra's seizure of power, while the army said at least three dozen rebels died during clashes in the country's west. Armed convoys had escorted supply trucks and passenger buses in and out of the ancient capital, Kathmandu, in defiance of the blockade which began February 12. But the blockade slowed movement of traffic to a trickle and sent market prices of vegetables, fruit and other foods soaring. "To show our greater responsibility towards the general public, we have decided to call off the ongoing nationwide indefinite transport blockade as of Saturday," a statement signed by rebel leader Prachanda said. But Prachanda, or the "Fierce One", warned of a countrywide general strike next month unless the king gave up his power grab. "We will be watching political developments in the country," he said in the statement. "If there are no changes, our party will be obliged to observe an indefinite nationwide general strike from next month (starting March 14)". Sources close to the Maoists, who have been waging an increasingly deadly battle for a communist republic in the impoverished Himalayan kingdom since 1996, said the rebel statement was authentic. In a widely condemned move, King Gyanendra declared emergency rule - including press censorship - and sacked the government February 1 for what he said was its failure to deal with the insurgency. Gyanendra has promised to restore peace and democracy in the kingdom in three years. He has also offered unconditional peace talks with the rebels, who have denounced him as the "great betrayer." The blockade was enforced mainly through fear of rebel reprisals rather than through a show of force. But police said a bus driver was killed and nine passengers hurt Monday when rebels opened fire on a convoy in western Nepal. Binod Bahadur Shrestha, head of the Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said the end to the transport blockade would "provide relief to the general public but it may take some more time to get the mechanism of the supply line to resume in normally". An earlier blockade cutting off supply routes to the capital was staged by the Maoists last summer. |
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