Nepal Maoists to fight to finish to oust king as blockade bites
South Asia - AFP
KATHMANDU (AFP) - Nepal's Maoist rebels said they would fight to the finish to oust King Gyanendra and his "autocratic regime" as a blockade called by the guerrillas cut traffic in and out of the capital to a trickle.
The rebels declared the blockade at the weekend in protest at the king's power grab on February 1 when he sacked the government, appointed a pro-royalist cabinet headed by himself, declared a state of emergency and arrested activists.
The Maoists say the blockade, so far being enforced by the threat of violence rather than a show of force, will continue until Gyanendra reverses his actions that have been condemned at home and abroad.
European Union (news - web sites) member states have decided to recall their ambassadors from Kathmandu for consultations, a French foreign ministry spokesman said Monday.
In New Delhi leading members of seven Nepalese political parties who fled to India following the king's takeover formed a united front to push for the restoration of democracy in their homeland.
"This is the final battle against the autocratic regime," said Maoist leader Prachanda or the "Fierce One" in a media statement. "Nobody can now prevent the dawn of a new republic of Nepal."
The Maoist statement came as Gyanendra tightened his grip on power, appointing two loyalist ex-prime ministers as deputy chairmen of the ruling council which he chairs.
The king named Tulsi Giri, 79, as first vice-chairman and Kirtinidhi Bista, also 79, as second vice-chairman.
They both served as premiers in the 1960s and 1970s when Nepal was an absolute monarchy. The council already has 10 other pro-royal members.
Giri was made cabinet chairman by Gyanendra's father, the late King Mahendra, after he dismissed the elected government and banned all parties in 1960. Democracy was not restored until 1990.
Earlier the government urged the Maoists to join mainstream politics and abandon their revolt that has left over 11,000 dead since February 1996.
"There is no rationale... in transforming the country into a dead nation by destroying development infrastructure and killing innocent people," Information Minister Tanka Dhakal said in the state-controlled Rising Star newspaper.
He called on the Maoists to "forget past prejudices ... (and build) a peaceful, prosperous and democratic Nepal."
In Kathmandu shops were open and vehicles jammed the streets. But outside the capital there was little traffic on the main supply route to India and the rest of the Himalayan kingdom.
A senior police officer manning a checkpoint on Kathmandu's outskirts told AFP the flow of traffic entering and leaving the city had fallen sharply.
"During a normal 24 hours we have around 500 buses, 500 to 600 trucks and around 170 vehicles entering the city," he said. "But between 6:00 am and midday we've had five buses, seven trucks and 12 light vehicles.
"Fuel, food and medicine are imported by this road," the officer said. "If it's blocked, scarcities will occur. I don't know how much is stockpiled.
"There is no obstruction yet on the road," he added.
The officer said traffic was equally light in areas up to 100 kilometers (60 miles) away according to radio reports he received.
Troops were providing armed escorts and using helicopters to protect vehicles leaving the Kathmandu valley.
Two similar transport strikes and road blockades called by the rebels in the past six months were enforced by threats rather than by physical force. They depleted the capital of essential goods and sparked price rises.
Army spokesman Brigadier Dipak Guru said traffic was moving normally and urged people not to be afraid of defying the blockade.
"People should come forward, we will give them full protection," he said.
India, the United States and Britain, the main suppliers of financial aid and military equipment to Nepal to crush the Maoist threat, are pressing for an end to emergency rule and to the detention of political leaders and others.
Political parties say up to 1,000 people have been rounded up since the king launched his crackdown. The army puts the figure at around 100.
Analysts say the dilemma faced by military donors is whether to suspend aid to pressure the king to restore fundamental rights or watch the guerrillas make gains against the ill-equipped Nepalese army.
