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KATHMANDU - A general strike ordered by Maoist rebels shut down Nepal on
Tuesday, highlighting a pervasive fear of
the guerrilla group which is fighting to topple the monarchy.
Even in the normally bustling capital Kathmandu, streets were empty of
traffic and those daring to leave their homes had to
walk. Businesses and schools were closed and shops shuttered at the
start of the strike the rebels say should last five
days.
Police said there were two small bomb explosions in Kathmandu on Monday
night, but there no signs of trouble early on
Tuesday.
Troops, carrying assault rifles and wearing camouflage, guarded the
streets and occasionally checked passers-by.
But despite the heavy security presence, Kathmandu residents said they
feared retribution later if they defied the Maoists --
who operate mostly from the countryside but also run a shadowy network
of sympathizers and activists in cities.
``If I open my shop today, they would take note of it and attack me some
other day. How can I risk it?,'' said Ram Bahadur
Chhetri, who owns a small greeting card shop in Kathmandu.
A local taxi driver who had dared to work had covered up his number
plate ``to hide it from the Maoists,'' he said. ``They will
note down the number of my taxi and assault me some other day.''
Residents in other major cities told Reuters by telephone they had also
mainly closed down for the strike.
A local journalist in Nepalgunj, a southwestern town on the Indian
border, said police there had forced some shops to open
to try to break the strike, but no one was on the streets.
CAMPAIGN OF INTIMIDATION
Maoist rebels, battling to replace the Himalayan kingdom's
constitutional monarchy with a one-party communist state,
launched a wave of intimidatory attacks ahead of the strike.
These included bomb blasts in Kathmandu, one just two miles from the
prime minister's heavily guarded official residential
compound, on Sunday.
More than 3,500 people have died in the six-year rebellion, inspired by
late Chinese leader Mao Zedong's campaign to
give power to peasants and end the privileges of the urban elite.
On the eve of the strike, Kathmandu shopkeepers said they would close
down rather than risk the wrath of the Maoists.
``The Maoists might firebomb us,'' said one shopkeeper selling shawls
and rugs just a short distance from a major tourist
hotel. ``If they don't bomb, they might chop me.''
The United States on Monday issued a warning to its citizens on the
increased dangers of traveling to Nepal.
``While no tourists have been attacked to date, the dangers of Americans
being caught in the wrong place at the wrong
time have increased in the periods leading up to bandhs (strikes),'' it
said.
Nepal is still reeling from the massacre of popular King Birendra and
several other members of the royal family by Crown
Prince Dipendra last June.
It has been living under a state of emergency, which gave the police
widespread powers of search and detention, since
late last year when Maoists broke a cease-fire and launched attacks on
police and army targets across the country.
Tuesday, highlighting a pervasive fear of
the guerrilla group which is fighting to topple the monarchy.
Even in the normally bustling capital Kathmandu, streets were empty of
traffic and those daring to leave their homes had to
walk. Businesses and schools were closed and shops shuttered at the
start of the strike the rebels say should last five
days.
Police said there were two small bomb explosions in Kathmandu on Monday
night, but there no signs of trouble early on
Tuesday.
Troops, carrying assault rifles and wearing camouflage, guarded the
streets and occasionally checked passers-by.
But despite the heavy security presence, Kathmandu residents said they
feared retribution later if they defied the Maoists --
who operate mostly from the countryside but also run a shadowy network
of sympathizers and activists in cities.
``If I open my shop today, they would take note of it and attack me some
other day. How can I risk it?,'' said Ram Bahadur
Chhetri, who owns a small greeting card shop in Kathmandu.
A local taxi driver who had dared to work had covered up his number
plate ``to hide it from the Maoists,'' he said. ``They will
note down the number of my taxi and assault me some other day.''
Residents in other major cities told Reuters by telephone they had also
mainly closed down for the strike.
A local journalist in Nepalgunj, a southwestern town on the Indian
border, said police there had forced some shops to open
to try to break the strike, but no one was on the streets.
CAMPAIGN OF INTIMIDATION
Maoist rebels, battling to replace the Himalayan kingdom's
constitutional monarchy with a one-party communist state,
launched a wave of intimidatory attacks ahead of the strike.
These included bomb blasts in Kathmandu, one just two miles from the
prime minister's heavily guarded official residential
compound, on Sunday.
More than 3,500 people have died in the six-year rebellion, inspired by
late Chinese leader Mao Zedong's campaign to
give power to peasants and end the privileges of the urban elite.
On the eve of the strike, Kathmandu shopkeepers said they would close
down rather than risk the wrath of the Maoists.
``The Maoists might firebomb us,'' said one shopkeeper selling shawls
and rugs just a short distance from a major tourist
hotel. ``If they don't bomb, they might chop me.''
The United States on Monday issued a warning to its citizens on the
increased dangers of traveling to Nepal.
``While no tourists have been attacked to date, the dangers of Americans
being caught in the wrong place at the wrong
time have increased in the periods leading up to bandhs (strikes),'' it
said.
Nepal is still reeling from the massacre of popular King Birendra and
several other members of the royal family by Crown
Prince Dipendra last June.
It has been living under a state of emergency, which gave the police
widespread powers of search and detention, since
late last year when Maoists broke a cease-fire and launched attacks on
police and army targets across the country.
