[Mb-civic] CBC News - DEMONSTRATORS WANT DEMOCRACY IN NEPAL

[CBC News Online]

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DEMONSTRATORS WANT DEMOCRACY IN NEPAL
WebPosted Sun May  1 15:37:20 2005

KATHMANDU---Peaceful demonstrators in Nepal took advantage of the end of
emergency rule to ask the king to restore democracy.

On Saturday, King Gyanendra ended the state of emergency, which gave him
complete control of the mountain kingdom. But he retained special powers,
which leave him in control.

 FROM APRIL 29, 2005: Nepal's king ends state of emergency On Sunday, an
 estimated 8,000 demonstrators marched in Kathmandu, the capital,
 carrying signs asking the king to restore democracy.

They called for the release of hundreds of prisoners, including
opposition politicians and reporters, jailed since Gyanendra imposed the
state of emergency when he fired the government in February.

The march was organized by unions, and also marked May Day.

The demonstrators avoided confronting the police.

But they said they will continue to push for the restoration of
democracy.

Gyanendra, 55, justified seizing power on Feb. 1 by saying the government
had failed to confront Maoist rebels.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.