South Asia News Nepal\'s Maoists in huge show of strength in Kathmandu By DPA Jun 2, 2006, 19:00 GMT
Kathmandu - Nepal\'s Maoists, in their first major public meeting in the Nepalese capital since they began their armed insurgency 10 years ago, staged a mass assembly in Kathmandu on Friday, serving notice to the government to take them seriously. Eye-witnesses said the gathering at the Open Air Theatre, less than a kilometre south of the Nepalese Royal Palace, was one of the biggest ever seen in the Nepalese capital. They said between 250,000 to 300,000 people were gathered at the Maoist mass meeting. The Maoists were still coming to the meeting venue two hours after the speakers began addressing the meeting. Mass street protests forced the unpopular King Gyanendra to surrender most of his power in April and reinstate the parliament he had disbanded in 2002. A seven-party alliance of political parties took over and promised early elections. Friday\'s gathering flooded the Open Air Theatre and many started to go into the army-controlled parade ground. At least one person was seen to be pulling down the king\'s name from the army pavilion. The army, however, did not intervene. At the meeting, presided over by senior Maoist leader Agni Sapkota, speakers called on the government to be serious about solving the country\'s problems. Among the speakers was the leader of the Maoist negotiating team, Krishna Bahadur Mahara, who is also the Maoist spokesman. Other senior Maoist leaders were also present. However, the top Maoist leaders, Prachanda, real name Pushpa Kamal Dahal, and Baburam Bhattarai, were not present at the meeting. The Maoist speakers accused the Seven-Party Alliance government of wasting time in unnecessary matters. They called for the dissolution of the restored parliament, saying that it was hampering the real goal of going for the \'unconditional\' constituent assembly elections. They also demanded that the present government be disbanded and an all-party government formed after a round table conference. Thousands of Maoist supporters marched, shouting slogans to the meeting site from different parts of the city. The common slogan heard was \'Long live the Maoists,\' \'Death to the killers,\' \'We are ready to rule.\' Asked why he was in the procession, 21-year-old Keshab Bhujel from eastern Nepal said, \'We want to ensure that the poor get a just share in the new context.\' The independent Image Channel television reported that Maoists entered the Nepalese capital in 300 vehicles from the capital\'s eastern entry point and almost 700 vehicles from southern Nepal. Maoists said they had \'reserved\' the vehicles but media reports said that the vehicles were commandeered by the Maoists to ferry their workers, militia men, supporters and others to the capital to participate in the mass meeting. As thousands of Maoists marched in procession to the meeting venue, traffic in the capital came to a standstill from morning. There were fears of a breakdown in law and order even though the Maoists said the meeting would be peaceful. Shops in the main shopping areas of the capital were closed for fear of looting. Madam Man Shakya, a jewellery shop owner said, \'I will rather close my shop today and lose a few rupees rather than lose millions if my shops is looted.\' The government said it has taken \'necessary\' measures to ensure that no untoward incident took place. Though the police, except the traffic police, were not visible in the main venue of the meeting, the government said the police was undertaking necessary patrolling. The Nepalese Army was guarding the royal palace, which could be the target of the Maoists, eye witnesses said. There were no reports of violence by late Friday afternoon. The Maoists made elaborate preparations for the meeting, mustering over 5,000 volunteers and setting up emergency health posts near the meeting venue. © 2006 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur
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