Red Heretic
16th March 2006, 20:45
REUTERS March 14
Nepal grinds to a halt as Maoist rebel blockade bites
By Gopal Sharma
KHATRI POUWA, Nepal (Reuters) - Soldiers carrying automatic rifles patrolled key highways in Nepal on Tuesday but normally busy roads were all but deserted as an indefinite blockade of the capital by Maoist rebels began.
Piling pressure on King Gyanendra, who seized power last year, the rebels are attempting to cut hill-ringed Kathmandu off from the rest of the country..
We patrol the roads and escort the trickle of vehicles that are running, said a soldier in battle dress in the roadside village of Khatri Pouwa 30 km (20 miles) west of Kathmandu. There would be a stream of vehicles on other days, he said. As you can see the road is almost empty now.
The Maoists have ordered the closure of all roads to the capital, disrupting the movement of people and goods to the city of more than 1.5 million.
I have to go to Narayanghat but dont know whether I will get any bus at all, said 55-year-old Sesh Nath Bhattarai sitting desolately next to a backpack at an empty roadside bus stop. Narayanghat is a town in the southern plains.
In Nagdhunga, a key entry point to the capital, traffic was almost non-existant with just a handful of motorcycles heading for Kathmandu by late afternoon.
On a normal day about 1,700 vehicles enter Kathmandu, police officer Krishna Prasad Luintel said.
Residents in Nepalgunj and the tourist town of Pokhara in west Nepal, and the key business towns of Butwal and Birgunj in the southern plains, said trucks and buses had been locked up in garages and roads were empty of vehicles.
It is quiet but peaceful, journalist Bikram Niraula, said from the commercial centre of Biratnagar, 550 km (340 miles) east of Kathmandu. Police said there were no reports of violence.
REBELS TARGET CITIES
Analysts said the blockade was part of a Maoist strategy to take their fight to the countrys cities, which the rebels had vowed after ending a unilateral truce in January. The conflict has, so far, raged mostly in the countryside.The blockade distracts the army as they are needed to guard the highways. Meanwhile the Maoists can infiltrate into the cities, said Kunda Dixit, editor of the Nepali Times weekly.
In the past, the rebels, who control large swathes in the countryside, have successfully blockaded Kathmandu for several days, cutting off the city from the rest of the country.
Officials said Kathmandu had enough foodgrains for two months and enough petrol, kerosene and diesel for two weeks.
The Maoists are also closing road transport to district capitals and major towns and following it up with a nationwide strike from April 3 to try to bring down the king.
Also...
INSN, 16 March 2006, Thursday
Maoist supremo Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda issued a statement from underground Wednesday, saying his party would not attack vehicles belonging to the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Nepal grinds to a halt as Maoist rebel blockade bites
By Gopal Sharma
KHATRI POUWA, Nepal (Reuters) - Soldiers carrying automatic rifles patrolled key highways in Nepal on Tuesday but normally busy roads were all but deserted as an indefinite blockade of the capital by Maoist rebels began.
Piling pressure on King Gyanendra, who seized power last year, the rebels are attempting to cut hill-ringed Kathmandu off from the rest of the country..
We patrol the roads and escort the trickle of vehicles that are running, said a soldier in battle dress in the roadside village of Khatri Pouwa 30 km (20 miles) west of Kathmandu. There would be a stream of vehicles on other days, he said. As you can see the road is almost empty now.
The Maoists have ordered the closure of all roads to the capital, disrupting the movement of people and goods to the city of more than 1.5 million.
I have to go to Narayanghat but dont know whether I will get any bus at all, said 55-year-old Sesh Nath Bhattarai sitting desolately next to a backpack at an empty roadside bus stop. Narayanghat is a town in the southern plains.
In Nagdhunga, a key entry point to the capital, traffic was almost non-existant with just a handful of motorcycles heading for Kathmandu by late afternoon.
On a normal day about 1,700 vehicles enter Kathmandu, police officer Krishna Prasad Luintel said.
Residents in Nepalgunj and the tourist town of Pokhara in west Nepal, and the key business towns of Butwal and Birgunj in the southern plains, said trucks and buses had been locked up in garages and roads were empty of vehicles.
It is quiet but peaceful, journalist Bikram Niraula, said from the commercial centre of Biratnagar, 550 km (340 miles) east of Kathmandu. Police said there were no reports of violence.
REBELS TARGET CITIES
Analysts said the blockade was part of a Maoist strategy to take their fight to the countrys cities, which the rebels had vowed after ending a unilateral truce in January. The conflict has, so far, raged mostly in the countryside.The blockade distracts the army as they are needed to guard the highways. Meanwhile the Maoists can infiltrate into the cities, said Kunda Dixit, editor of the Nepali Times weekly.
In the past, the rebels, who control large swathes in the countryside, have successfully blockaded Kathmandu for several days, cutting off the city from the rest of the country.
Officials said Kathmandu had enough foodgrains for two months and enough petrol, kerosene and diesel for two weeks.
The Maoists are also closing road transport to district capitals and major towns and following it up with a nationwide strike from April 3 to try to bring down the king.
Also...
INSN, 16 March 2006, Thursday
Maoist supremo Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda issued a statement from underground Wednesday, saying his party would not attack vehicles belonging to the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.