King’s iron fist comes day before democracy march

In a pre-dawn crackdown that’s continuing, security forces, working on instructions from King Gyanendra, have rounded up more than 50 l...

In a pre-dawn crackdown that’s continuing, security forces, working on instructions from King Gyanendra, have rounded up more than 50 leaders belonging to seven pro-democracy parties along with top human rights and civil liberty advocates indicating that the first anniversary of the Royal takeover will be repressive and unrelenting.

The sweeping arrests—directed by King Gyanendra from Itahari in eastern Nepal where he has been camping for the past two weeks—come barely 24 hours before the proposed mass rally as part of the campaign for restoration of multi-party democracy.

This also follows a warning from Home Minister Kamal Thapa that the Government may have to take “unpleasant steps” if the parties do not relent.

All telephone lines went dead as the Government was keen to prevent the spread of news of the repression. Landline telephones operated by the Government-owned Nepal Telecommunication were restored around 8 am but United Telephone Limited, an Indian undertaking, and mobile phone services still remain suspended.

Although security forces have spared the top leadership of the parties, they raided the house of Communist Party of Nepal-United Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) General Secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal’s house in the Koteshwar area looking for another prominent leader of the party, Bam Dev Gautam.

Said Nepal: “The repression will not deter the spirit of pro-democracy forces who are out to defeat the dictatorial regime.”.

Security forces have, however, picked up almost all second-rung leaders who were busy mobilising crowds for tomorrow’s protest rally.

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According to an estimate, the government intends to arrest at least 200 people so that tomorrow’s rally ‘flops’. Among those arrested include: civil liberty campaigners Dr Devendra Raj Pande and Shyam Shrestha and human-rights leader Krishna Pahadi; former ministers Ram Sharan Mahat, Ram Chandra Poudel, Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat; Congress (D) working president Gopal Man Shrestha; General Secretary Bimalendra Nidhi; CPN-UML central committee members Pradip Nepal, Pradeep Gywawali and several others.

The present regime, which has majority of those who want absolute monarchy restored, and multi-party system of politics scrapped, wants political parties “banned” accusing them of being “hand-in-glove” with “terrorists.”

Home Minister Thapa said yesterday that the Maoists’ successful raids in Thankot police post recently was at the instigation of the seven parties.

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