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Nepal could soon end state of emergencyTuesday - 22nd March 2005 |
| Associated Press KATMANDU, Nepal - Nepal's royal government could soon end a state of emergency imposed after it seized power in the Himalayan kingdom last month, opening the way for a restoration of civil liberties, a senior official said Monday. "We are trying to lift the state of emergency as soon as we can," said Kirtinidhi Bista, vice chairman of the Cabinet. Bista, the No. 3 official in the royal Cabinet headed by King Gyanendra, refused to say when the emergency rule would be lifted. "Imposing a state of emergency was a compulsion but is not for a long period. The sooner the situation improves, the sooner it will be lifted," he said. Some foreign nations have suspended aid to Nepal and more are threatening to do so unless the impoverished country - which depends heavily on foreign assistance - restores democracy. Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing will make an official visit to Nepal March 31-April 1 and is expected to meet the king and other senior officials, the Nepalese Foreign Ministry said. China was among the first countries to say the king's seizure of power was an internal affair while many countries, including India and United States, have strongly condemned the move. King Gyanendra imposed the state of emergency Feb. 1, soon after declaring absolute power and firing the government. Under the provisions, most civil liberties have been suspended, including freedom of press, speech and the right of assembly. The king said he was forced to seize power and dissolve Parliament to quell an anti-monarchist communist insurgency that has claimed more than 10,500 lives in the past nine years. Separately, political parties rallied in several cities across Nepal on Monday. At least 131 anti-monarch protesters were arrested, according to police and party officials. Riot police arrested about half a dozen protesters in the capital, Katmandu, including Keshav Badal, a senior leader of the Nepal Communist Party, the country's second-largest political party. Another 43 demonstrators were detained in Gaighat, about 250 miles southeast of Katmandu. At least three journalists were detained over the weekend for alleged anti-government reporting, the Federation of Nepalese Journalists said Monday. Two were later freed but the third remains in detention, it said. Several journalists have been arrested for articles critical of the monarch in the past two months |
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