Nepali troops open fire on protesters, kill one

KATHMANDU - Nepali troops opened fire on anti-monarchy protesters in an eastern town on Monday and killed one man, witnesses said, as international pressure increased on King Gyanendra to restore multi-party democracy.

If confirmed, it would be the fifth person to be killed in 12 days of violent pro-democracy demonstrations that have brought the impoverished Himalayan nation to a standstill. Hundreds have been wounded.

Witnesses said troops had opened fire on protesters in the eastern town of Nijagadh, 200km east of Kathmandu. One person died and five were wounded, they said by telephone.

The Nepali Congress, one of the parties spearheading the protests, also said one person had been killed but a district official reached by telephone denied there had been any firing.

The ambassadors of the United States, China and India met Gyanendra on Sunday and were believed to have asked him to take action to end the agitation, diplomatic sources said. But he seemed unlikely to relent, they said.

The sources said moves he could take included calling the seven-party alliance leading the campaign for talks, releasing all those detained in the protests and handing over power to political parties ahead of elections.

But they said that, while he might take some initiatives, he was unlikely to meet all the protesters' demands.

"He will not tolerate any clipping of his powers," said one diplomat. "And whatever he offers may not satisfy the movement. The movement has gone far beyond even what the parties had expected."

Gyanendra sacked the government and assumed full power in February 2005, vowing to crush a decade-old Maoist revolt in which more than 13,000 people have died.

He has offered to hold elections by April next year, but activists say he is not to be trusted and should immediately hand over power to an all-party government.

In the capital, Kathmandu, unrest rocked the tourist quarter of Thamel for the second day, as police burst tear gas shells and charged at slogan-shouting youths to break up a protest.

Thamel is a maze of alleys full of backpacker hotels, bars, restaurants, shops and tour agencies that has been largely immune to the anti-monarchy campaign.

Protests took place elsewhere in the city as well, but they were not as intense as in previous days.

Political parties opposed to King Gyanendra, who have called for a mass rally on Thursday, vowed there would be no let-up.

"There will be a storm on Thursday but no lull today," said Amrit Bohra, a leader of the Communist Party of Nepal (UML). "Protests are taking place, scattered all over the city. They have not fizzled out."

A strike in support of the campaign has sent food prices shooting up, and triggered a fuel shortage. Hundreds of cars and motorcycles queued at gas stations, witnesses said, and pump owners had begun impromptu rationing.

"Petrol supply has completely stopped," said Harendra Bahadur Shreshtha, chief of the Consumers Forum, a private group. "There is supply good for one month, but the government is busy in suppressing the movement and is not paying any attention."

Supplies of fuel are controlled by the government.

Cars were being given no more than 5 litres of petrol per day and motorcycles 3 litres, pump owners said.

Neelam Adhikary, a Kathmandu housewife, said prices of essentials had surged.

"Onions used to sell at 20 rupees (about 30 US cents) per kilo, now they are 60 rupees," she said. "Salt was 11 rupees for one kilo, now it is 45."

Political parties said the pain was temporary and asked people to bear with the situation.

"We know the strike and the movement had caused problems to ordinary people, but this is temporary and we should all bear it," Prakash Sharan Mahat, a former minister and one of the leaders of the pro-democracy campaign, told hundreds of demonstrators gathered in a western suburb of the capital on Monday.

On Sunday, the political parties urged people to stop paying taxes and electricity and water bills until a democratic government was formed. They called for a mass protest on Thursday and for all transport, including air services, to halt for the day.

- REUTERS