Thursday, January 19, 2006

Curfews Will Not Save The Crown


Curfew imposed in capital, major cities

Kantipur Report

KATHMANDU, Jan 16 - Authorities have imposed a curfew in certain areas of Kathmandu and Lalitpur districts from 11:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. with effect from Monday.

The Kathmandu District Administration has imposed a curfew in the area within the Ring Road of the Kathmandu Valley until further notice.

The curfew has been imposed for maintaining law and order for the welfare of the people and preventing untoward incidents from taking place, in accordance with Clause 6 of the Local Administration Act-2028 B.S, Sushil Ghimire, chief district officer of Kathmandu told eKantipur over the phone.

Likewise, the administration for the first time announced 9 p.m. to 4 curfew in Pokhara, Biratnagar, Itahari, Inaruwa, Tanahun, Rajbiraj, Mahottari, Bhadrapur, Chandragadhi and Siraha; and 7 p.m. to 4 a.m. curfew in Taplejung.

The curfew was, however, already in place in the district headquarters of Syangja, Baglung, Parbat, Myagdi, Gorkha, Chitwan, Bara, Makwanpur and Rupandehi.

Night curfew has also been imposed in major highways. (snn)

Posted on: 2006-01-16 05:41:11


A daylong curfew has been imposed in Kathmandu and Lalitpur and Bhaktapur for Friday. Literally every citizen in the valley has been directly impacted the way a mass demonstration might not have been able to reach, no matter how large.

I just got off the phone talking to Sanjaya Parajuli. He got a feed from Kathmandu from a key source. The regime is hellbent on imposing the curfew.

How long will you impose the curfew? You imposed it for Friday. What about Saturday? Sunday? Monday? What about seven days from now? You would like to subject the country to a martial law like atmosphere without declaring martial law, is that what?

This king is too smart for his own good. He is cornering himself without much external help at all. The situation is fast getting explosive. The Friday curfew is like a temporary dam. As soon as water reaches the level of the dam, the dam will burst, and the water will flow with a much greater energy than it might have otherwise.

Have you ever tried paying the phone bill in Nepal? That is how efficient the state machinery in Nepal is. And even that state machinery does not belong to this king. It belongs to the people.

This king is headed for jail time. He could have Kamal Thapa's company when that happens, and that is about the only silver lining to his cloud that I see.

He is leaving himself less and less wiggle room with every move he makes. Saddam was equally strong willed. A blunt way to call that attitude is pigheadedness. It is not really strength at all. It is weakness of the worst kind where you are willing to lose absolutely everything.

But then we perhaps make the mistake of trying to understand the king's actions through the eyes of a democrat. He is no democrat. He is a monarch. He is a monarchist. He is a militarist. Those are full-fledged ideologies.

Military rule is not an option. Nepal is no Pakistan. Nepal is no Burma. And if he disagrees, that will only show how little he knows the country. His ivory tower isolation is never better exhibited than when he goes on his safari trips, either to Africa or to the eastern districts. He costs the poor Nepali people obscene chunks of money.

This king sure is not driven by the country's best interests, not by the people's best interests. He is not even driven by his own best interests. He keeps raising the stakes for himself. For how long? How high?

The Nepali people are not going to put up with him. His facade is melting and fast. The things he does, it is not about peace, it is not about democracy, it is about him. The Nepali people are angrier at him today than they were yesterday, thanks to the ridiculous curfews.

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8 am to 6 pm curfew inside Ring Road today
Kantipur Online, Nepal - 8 minutes ago
KATHMANDU, Jan 19 - In an attempt to disrupt the scheduled agitation of the alliance of seven democratic parties, the Chief District Offices of Kathmandu and Lalitpur districts have issued curfew orders for Friday from 8 am to 6 pm inside the Ring Road......an official of Nepal Telecom (NT) told the Post that NT suspended the cell phone operation after being verbally ordered by the Royal Nepalese Army....... The suspension is expected to cost NT, Rs 8 million per day and around Rs 2 million to UTL everyday. There are around 400,000 mobile phone users in Kathmandu valley.

Visitors

19 January18:25Bates College, Lewiston, United States
19 January19:25United States Army, United States
19 January19:27United States Army, United States

In The News

US condemns arrest of opposition leaders, activists NepalNews .... these arrests and harassment of peaceful democratic forces was a violation of their civil and political rights..... “The United States calls on the King to release these activists. Dialogue between the King and the parties and a return to democracy are the only effective ways to address the Maoist insurgency in Nepal” ..... India, Japan and European Union have also expressed their “serious concerns” over arrests of over 100 political leaders and opposition activists
Day-long Curfew on, sporadic protests reported day-long curfew was to kick off at 8:00 a. m. Friday, people could be seen rushing to their work places this morning. Dozens of people were reviewing the day’s newspaper at the busy Baneswore chowk as security personnel were taking their positions. Some drivers in hurry were seen jumping the red traffic light....... A few activists affiliated to Nepal Sadbhavana Party (Anandi Devi) staged a demonstration at Sundhara minutes before the curfew was to come into force.......... Landline telephones are still working ...... The opposition leaders, however, said their protests would be peaceful.
Govt. imposes daylong curfew in Kathmandu on Friday
Nepal imposes curfew, detains activists The State, SC About 15,000 army soldiers and policemen were guarding and patrolling the streets of Katmandu and the suburb of Lalitpur to enforce the 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. curfew...... Streets were nearly deserted ..... The government said it could not allow the planned protest rally organized by Nepal's seven major political parties...... Thapa said several people have been temporarily detained..... government had issued orders to arrest about 200 people....... Ram Sharan Mahat, a senior leader of the Nepali Congress, the country's largest party, said in a telephone interview that he was hiding and unable to contact colleagues since they were either in jail or in hiding...... Last week, pro-democracy activists gathered 150,000 people in a southwestern Nepal town in the largest political rally since the king's power grab.
Curfew imposed in Nepal NDTV.com, India Despite a dawn to dusk curfew that came into effect in the Nepalese capital in a move to prevent these big pro-democracy demonstrations, the seven-party opposition alliance has vowed to go ahead with the protests.
VODStudents organize a secret rally at Lalitpur, Nepal, Jan. 18. / Umesh Shrestha
Day-Long Curfew Imposed in Kathmandu OhmyNews International, South Korea Umesh Shrestha ...."People will defy the curfew order, and we will organize the program as planned." ..... The government has issued a public warning that security forces are authorized to shoot anyone violating the curfew. It also gave notice to civil servants that they must report to for duty before the curfew is imposed. Likewise, those who must travel during curfew hours will have to have a permit from the authorities...... junior communication minister Sirish Rana defended the government's action. "Nepal is a poor country, how many people can afford a cell phone? They (the Maoists) use cell phones" ...... several small "secret" rallies were organized throughout the day at different places...... They shouted slogans against the king and quickly dispersed. The police seemed unaware of this incident.
Day-Long Curfew Imposed in Kathmandu Umesh Shrestha
Nepal Curfew Extended by One Hour Umesh Shrestha
Dozens Arrested in Nepal for Defying Order Umesh Shrestha
Nepal Bans Peaceful Public Gatherings Umesh Shrestha
Nepal's Elusive Guerilla Leader Makes TV Appearance Umesh Shrestha
Nepal arrests opposition leaders CNN International The four opposition leaders were told they would be under house arrest for 90 days ...... They are Nepali Congress party President Girija Prasad Koirala, general secretary of the Communist Party of Nepal Madhav Kumar Nepal, his deputy, Khadga Prasad Oli, and Narayan Man Bijuchche of Nepal Workers and Peasants' Party...... The government already had imposed an 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. curfew Friday in Kathmandu, enforced by about 15,000 army soldiers and policemen patrolling the streets of Kathmandu and the suburb of Lalitpur.
Curfew in Nepal, politicians held to thwart rally Swissinfo, Switzerland ...... Armoured personnel carriers mounted with machine guns patrolled the empty streets of the capital, and groups of soldiers and police in green and blue camouflage were gathered on every street corner...... "Ten armed policemen came at 3.30 a.m. (2145g on Thursday) and told Koirala that he was under house arrest," his aide, Krishna Chandra Jha, said....... Protests against the monarch have been steadily gathering strength...... Thousands had been expected to join Friday's rally, despite a government ban on protests. But it was uncertain if parties would still try to go ahead given the arrests and the curfew....... "This curfew is wrong," said 35-year-old trader Umanath Gilal. "We can't do our business and earn a living. I won't be participating in the protests but I support the protesters." ........
NSU leaders call off strike Nepaleyes, Nepal They were on strike since January 17 demanding the dissolution of the newly formed ad hoc committee of the union and sacking of NC vice president Sushil Koirala, Mahanta Thakur and Dilendra Badu from the parties Central Working Committee.

1 comment:

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