Curfew to thwart rally
NEPAL CLAMPED a curfew on Kathmandu after four protesters were shot dead and many more wounded on Wednesday in the worst violence in a campaign to end King Gyanendra's rule.
In a bid to thwart a mass rally planned for Thursday, the authorities declared a curfew and issued orders to shoot violators on sight. Kathmandu will be a flashpoint as parties vow to go on with the agitation in defiance of a ban on public meetings. "We knew that it was going to be violent," government spokesman and minister of communication and information Shrish Shamsher Rana said of the planned protest.
The Nepali Congress Party secretary Shobhakar Parajuli said, "On Thursday we will not remain silent, we will defy the curfew order and stage the demonstration as scheduled."