Arrests, Blackout Hit Nepal

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) -- Police arrested 57 opposition protesters, while the royal government plunged Nepal into a communications blackout, cutting phone service to thwart efforts to organize nationwide rallies against the king's seizure of power.
In the capital, Kathmandu, the call for a demonstration on Friday to recognize Democracy Day -- which marks the 1951 end of autocratic rule in Nepal -- went largely unheeded. Opponents had called the rally a first show of defiance since King Gyanendra seized power on February 1.
Eight people were arrested in Kathmandu, at least 36 in Janakpur and 13 in the Himalayan resort town of Pokhara, police said.

"Death to autocracy! Down with the autocratic king!" yelled eight members of the opposition Nepali Congress in a busy market in the capital. Minutes later, truncheon-wielding police chased them down a lane and arrested them all.

With the call to protest largely ignored, authorities reconnected telephone lines 10 hours after they were severed.

King Gyanendra marked Democracy Day by attending a military parade. Many residents of the capital city also participated.

Gyanendra said in a message to the nation that he took control of the country only to save democracy from communist rebels and corrupt politicians.

The Royal Nepalese Army had tightened security across the country, fearing attacks by Maoist rebels, who have fought since 1996 to replace the constitutional monarchy with a communist regime, leaving 10,500 people dead. But there were no reports of violence Friday.

An official in Washington said overnight that the monarch had assured the U.S. government that he will begin restoring democracy within 100 days. The official said Washington would consider suspending its security aid for Nepal if the king fails to follow through on that pledge.
Britain was considering similar action, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said Friday during a tour of India.

"We are very keen to see the restoration of a representative government and democratic freedom as essential steps toward a sustainable peace process," Straw told reporters in New Delhi. "We don't believe there is any future from the current situation."

Gyanendra sacked the interim government, suspended civil liberties and imposed emergency rule, justifying the move as necessary to combat the guerrillas. Political leaders, students, human rights activists, journalists and trade unionists have been detained in the emergency.
For days following the royal takeover, Nepal's communications links to the outside world were virtually severed. Landline phone links later resumed, though mobile phone service has remained disconnected.

Critics say the king's moves were a setback for democracy, with the United States, Britain and other nations recalling their ambassadors this week.

Gyanendra rejected the criticism in his message, saying the takeover was made necessary by the rebels and by corrupt and squabbling politicians.

He said that "terrorist activities" -- typically meaning rebel attacks -- and "politics far removed from the common man" had put the country's democracy at risk, adding to "growing disillusionment with democracy itself."

"It is clear to our countrymen that we ourselves had to take steps to extricate the country and multiparty democracy from this morass," he said.

He was supported by some residents of Kathmandu.

"The king did the right thing. These politicians are so corrupt and so inefficient. They needed this. That's why you see no support for the rally today," said Damodar Chowdhary, a 22-year-old taxi driver.