Big rally in Nepal in 'fight to finish' for democracy

Former Nepali prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala arrives at the venue of a public meeting organised by the country's opposition seven-party alliance protesting the King's power grab and calling for the restoration of the democracy, at Nayan Baneswor in Kathmandu yesterday. PHOTO: AFP

"This battle will go on until our demands for the reinstatement of parliament and total democracy are fulfilled," Jalanath Khanal, a leader of the National Communist Party-United Marxist Leninst, told the crowd.

"This will be a fight to the finish against autocracy," he said as about 100 riot-equipped police stood guard in the square on the city's outskirts.

It was the first public rally by the political parties, longtime adversaries who buried their differences earlier this month and joined hands in a bid to bring back democratic rule in the impoverished kingdom.

The calls for an end to autocracy came despite a warning last weekend by the royal government that it would not tolerate anti-royal slogan-shouting at demonstrations. No arrests were immediately reported.

Protests have been slowly building since King Gyanendra sacked the government and seized control of Nepal February 1 and suspended civil liberties.

Meanwhile, Communist rebels yesterday fired into a restaurant in southwestern Nepal, killing three policemen, officials said.

A fourth policeman, who was wounded in the attack, shot back and killed two of the attackers, a police spokesman in the area said by telephone on condition of anonymity.

A six-months pregnant woman who was also eating at the restaurant was wounded in the crossfire, said local government officials who did not want to be named.