Anti-monarchists injured in Nepal protests

Anti-monarchists injured in Nepal protests

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Saturday, 22, Apr 2006 04:48

Around 150 people have been wounded after 100,000 anti-monarchy protestors were confronted by police in Nepal.

Police are said to have opened fire and used teargas against the protesters who were marching towards King Gyanendra's palace in defiance of a curfew placed on the city.

Witnesses reported that police opened fire in at least two places and teargas has been used to move them away from the palace.

King Gyanendra, the ruler of Nepal, yesterday backed down in the face of violent anti-monarchy protests in the Himalayan state by pledging to devolve power to the civilian government.

Addressing the nation on television, the Nepalese monarch called on the coalition of opposition parties to nominate a prime minister and to form a council of ministers as a matter of urgency.

"Executive power of the kingdom of Nepal, which was in our safekeeping, shall from this day be returned to the people," King Gyanendra said in the televised address.

"We ask the seven-party alliance to recommend the name for the post of prime minister at the earliest for the constitution of a council of ministers, which will bear the responsibility of governing the country in accordance with the constitution."

But the chant by protesters today is that the "royal proclamation is a sham".

"The proclamation has no meaning," said former Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala of the Nepali Congress, the largest party in the alliance.

King Gyanendra has held absolute governmental control over Nepal since February 2005, when he sacked the entire government following an escalation of violence by Maoist rebels.

His authoritarian stance has attracted criticism both at home and abroad, with the EU in particular voicing concerns about the suppression of pro-democracy campaigners in Nepal.