At Least 3 Killed In Nepal Protests

Nepal's crisis escalated Thursday with the fatal shooting of three protesters, as tens of thousands marched around the capital in defiance of a curfew, demanding King Gyanendra relinquish power.

The nearly two dozen demonstrations, which brought as many as 100,000 people into the streets across the capital, ranged from festive pro-democracy rallies to angry riots of young men who lit bonfires and hurled bricks at police demanding the death of the king.

By midday, soldiers were patrolling in armored vehicles, and at least one police post had been attacked, its windows smashed by bricks.

Thursday also saw more diplomatic pressure on Gyanendra — whose government seems increasingly unable to control the escalating violence — to cede the power he seized 14 months ago from an interim government.

But the focus was the demonstrations. An alliance of seven opposition parties that has organized the 15 days of protests and a general strike managed to bring as many as 100,000 people into the streets, despite a curfew imposed to head off the demonstration.

While there have been bloodier days since the protests began, much of Nepal's life — political and economic — is centered in Katmandu. Thursday's demonstrations dwarfed all earlier ones in the capital.

As in days past, there were also protests elsewhere, and security forces fired on violent demonstrators in the country's southwest, wounding at least 26, the Defense Ministry said.

As the Katmandu demonstrations got under way, residents in the city center — where a heavy police presence kept most protesters at bay — whistled and banged plates on their rooftops. Text messages sent by mobile phone encouraged Katmandu's 1.5 million residents to rally at the city's edge.

Many of those protests turned violent when police tried to break them up, and demonstrators parried with officers throughout the day, often tossing back tear gas canisters to cheers from supporters watching from rooftops.

The worst violence came on the city's western side, where police trying to keep more than 10,000 protesters from reaching the ring road opened fire with tear gas, rubber bullets and finally, live ammunition.

Witnesses said the shooting in Kalanki began when a senior police officer drew his pistol and shot a protester in the head, an act followed by gunfire from police and soldiers.

The senior offices "aimed straight for the (protesters)," said Ankul Shresthra, a 28-year-old throwing bottles at police in Kalanki. Numerous witnesses confirmed his account, and protesters showed reporters fresh bullet casings.

Doctors at Katmandu's Model hospital said three people were killed in Kalanki, and that police took the bodies away. More than 40 people were in critical condition, most with head injuries. Thursday's shootings brought the protests' death toll to 13.

Hundreds more were reportedly injured around the city, including 13 police officers whose clearly exhausted colleagues were, by the end of the day, being forced against demonstrators by senior officers swatting them with rattan poles.

The strife lasted into the night as mobs burned barricades in Kalanki and along the ring road, which was littered with bricks and the debris of the day's battles.

"We are fighting in the republic of Nepal!" declared one protester, student Zap Sapkota. "We will kill the king!"

What comes afterward, most demonstrators seem unable to articulate — there's a hazy notion of democracy, but few have seen it at work.

Nepal's Hindu royal dynasty was once revered as godlike, and the recent chants of "Hang the King" are a major departure from past protests, like the 1990 uprising that led the king's older brother to introduce democracy.

Gyanendra ended that experiment last year, saying he needed to crush the communist insurgency. The insurgents are backing the protests.

What Gyanendra usurped was corrupt and chaotic political scene dominated by a small elite, and many of Nepal's 27 million people initially welcomed the king's power grab. But the worsening insurgency and faltering economy have fueled discontent.

That aging political elite is now leading the campaign against Gyanendra. It officially wants the a new constitution that would limit — or eliminate — the monarchy's role, and for now has the protesters' support.

With the unrest exposing Gyanendra's unpopularity, India's special envoy met with the king Thursday. India, a burgeoning global power, does not want disorder on its doorstep.

After the meeting, envoy Karan Singh said: "I am very hopeful that very shortly some sort of announcement will be made by him which will help considerably defuse the situation."

Singh did not elaborate, but diplomats said palace officials had indicated the king might make some concessions — possibly appointing a prime minister or reinstating parliament — although most doubted either move would appease the opposition, or protesters.

The diplomats spoke on the condition of anonymity, fearing they would compromise their ability to work with the government.

By Matthew Rosenberg