General strike cripples Nepal

NEPAL: Nepal braced for a nationwide shutdown Sunday called by former Maoist rebels to oust the embattled government after thousands of demonstrators poured into the streets in a show of strength.

Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal announced an indefinite strike as protesters Saturday turned swathes of capital Kathmandu into a sea of bright red flags.

“We’re compelled to call for an indefinite strike from tomorrow because of the government’s lack of concern about taking the peace and constitution-making processes forward,” he told tens of thousands of cheering supporters Saturday.

Dahal, who was commander of the Maoists during the decade-long insurgency against the now-defunct monarchy, which left 16,000 people dead, promised the shutdown would be “peaceful” and that “the door for dialogue will be open.”

The Maoists said they would only allow ambulances, garbage disposal vehicles and journalists onto the streets and Kathmandu residents could emerge from their homes for shopping between 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm each day.

Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, in a televised address late Saturday, said bringing the Himalayan country to a halt would do nothing to strengthen democracy and appealed to the Maoists to call off their strike.

“Shutting down the nation is not the way to find a solution to this impasse,” he said. Finding an “all-party consensus is the only alternative that will pave the way forward.”

The shutdown will hit schools, businesses and government offices in Nepal, sandwiched between Asian giants India and China.

“The strike will affect my livelihood,” Kathmandu shopkeeper Bishnu Saptoka told AFP. “I’m very nervous about how things will unfold.”

People stockpiled food in fear supplies might run short.

Demonstrators on Saturday chanted: “Dissolve this puppet government and set up a national government.” The Maoist party, which has the largest number of seats in parliament, is demanding the ruling coalition be replaced by a Maoist-led administration. Police reported the demonstration was peaceful. They said the crowd totalled 150,000 — much lower than Maoist estimates of 600,000.

“We will continue our protests until the government resigns and Prachanda (Dahal) is declared the new prime minister,” said one demonstrator who identified himself as Dhurba.

Kathmandu, Sunday, AFP