Parties, King head for a showdown in Nepal

King Gyanendra who is away in Itahari (eastern Nepal) on a three-week long visit called Home Minister Kamal Thapa there with instructions to go for stringent repressive measures against the impending political protest.

The proposed rally also aims to mobilise people to boycott the elections to 58 municipalities scheduled on February 8. The election has become a prestige issue for the king to establish his credentials as a ‘democrat’ in the eyes of the international community. The government chose successful attacks by the Maoists on the two police posts as ‘excuse’ for the clamp-down. “We have very reliable information that the Maoists have made inroads to the capital and use the rally to cause massive destruction,’’ a Deputy Inspector General of Police asking for anonymity said. Maoist guerrillas drove in two vehicles to a police post in Thankot area in the capital on January 14 and instructed the officer-in-charge to get his people ready for a joint patrol. As roll-call began, 11 of the policemen were riddled with bullets before the Maoists decamped with all the weapons.

The same day Maoists ran over another police post in Bhaktapur in which at least seven were wounded and four kidnapped besides laying hands on about 26 pieces of rifles. The first successful attack in Kathmandu comes in the wake of Maoists recently adopted the slogan “we will hit on the head (capital) by stepping over the back (roads leading to the urban areas and the capital)”.