Nepal General Strike

[Johannes Schneider]

AFP simply sticks to the facts:
Thursday July 12, 1:49 PM (Singapore)
Maoist strike cripples Nepalese capital
KATHMANDU, July 12 (AFP) -
Nepal's capital came to a grinding halt Thursday as a nation-wide strike
called by Maoist rebels took effect.
Almost all shops were closed and there were few vehicles on the usually busy
streets of Kathmandu.
"Not even pharmacies, which are normally open on other strike days, were
open today," Kathmandu resident Ramesh Pradhan said.
Security in the city was tightened in advance of the dusk-to-dawn strike,
called by the underground Maoist movement to demand the withdrawal of a new
law which allows the authorities to detain anyone seen as a threat to
national security.
Full text:
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/010712/1/195ri.html

For CNN a general strike equals terror:
Nepal shuts down as terror rules
July 12, 2001 Posted: 2:05 AM EDT (0605 GMT)
KATHMANDU, Nepal (CNN) -- A strike called by Maoist rebels went into effect
Thursday in Nepal, shutting down the Himalayan nation at a time when a surge
in rebel violence has raised fears among many citizens.
As dawn broke in the capital, vehicles stayed off the roads and businesses
remained shut. Only government employees could be seen walking to their
offices. School children also stayed home.
Reports from outside Kathmandu said that the strike was taking hold in other
parts of the country, especially in the towns along the southern border with
India.
Small groups of supporters of the underground Nepal Communist Party
(Maoists) staged protests early Thursday in various parts of Kathmandu.
Heavily-armed police have been dispersed across the capital. Police said
minor clashes have erupted in the city and elsewhere, but said there were no
reports of casualties.
Full text at:
http://www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/south/07/08/nepal.talks/index.html

BBC at least tries to be objective:
Thursday, 12 July, 2001, 07:46 GMT 08:46 UK
Maoist strike paralyses Nepal
A one-day strike in Nepal called by Maoist rebels has brought the country to
a virtual halt.
In the capital, Kathmandu, few shops have opened and the streets are almost
deserted of traffic.
Thousands of riot police have been deployed in the main towns and commercial
centres, with schools, businesses and transport closed down.
The rebels, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), have stepped up attacks
on the police in the wake of the instability caused by last month's massacre
of most of the royal family.
Although an official report said the massacre was the work of the King's
son, the rebels insist it was the result of a national and international
conspiracy.
Full text at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/south_asia/newsid_1435000/1435064.stm