Clashes in Nepal ahead of anti-king protests

Kathmandu, Apr 3: Nepali police fired tear gas shells to break up protests by students in the capital today, days ahead of a planned general strike against King Gyanendra who seized power last year.

About three dozen students burned tyres on Kathmandu's roads and threw rocks at police in front of a college campus near the royal palace as they demonstrated against the king's rule, witnesses said.

''This is for the restoration of democracy,'' said activist Kamal Basnet, carrying a mobile phone in one hand and a brick in the other. ''We don't want an autocratic monarchy.'' Nepal's seven main political parties have called a four-day nationwide general strike from Thursday, to be followed by a series of protests on April 8, in a bid to pressure Gyanendra to restore democracy.

The government has vowed to halt the protests, saying Maoist rebels could infiltrate rallies and create unrest.

Demonstrations have become an almost daily affair in Nepal's temple-studded capital, with hundreds and sometimes thousands of people chanting slogans against the king.

Gyanendra says he was forced to take power in February 2005 after political parties failed to quell a deadly Maoist revolt in which more than 13,000 people have been killed since 1996.

The Maoists want to topple the monarchy and set up a single party communist republic in one of the world's 10 poorest countries, tucked between giants China and India.

Reuters