Protesting Journalists Beaten In Nepal

Baton-wielding police beat journalists who were protesting against a media clampdown in the Nepalese capital on Saturday, as a general strike called by the opposition to demand the king's ouster shut down this Himalayan nation.

About 200 journalists marched through Katmandu demanding restoration of press freedom and the release of dozens of journalists detained since King Gyanendra seized power over a year ago.

Police blocked the rally and charged at them with batons. Seven journalists were wounded and at least a dozen detained, protest organizers said.

"We condemn the crackdown on peaceful protests. We will continue to take out protests until all restrictions on the media are fully lifted," said Bishnu Nisthuri of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists.

There were several other protests that broke out in Katmandu Saturday, a day after the political opposition rejected King Gyanendra's plea for dialogue and vowed to continue their campaign to demand his ouster.

Thousands of people gathered in the Kalanki and Gangabu neighborhoods on the western edge of the capital to march toward Kirtipur suburb, a center of demonstrations over the past few days.

"Democracy, democracy, down with autocracy," chanted the people as they waved the red and white flags of Nepal's opposition political parties.

"There should be no constitutional monarchy. There should be pure democracy because the monarchy has been very bad to the people of Nepal for 237 years. They have killed and robbed from the people," said Ujwal Dhakal, a 32-year-old agriculture student.

Hundreds of police kept close watch but allowed the demonstration to continue.

The seven main opposition parties opposed to the king's rule decided late Friday they would continue with a general strike and organize more protests.

"We have decided to strictly enforce the general strike. The strike appeared to be relaxed over the last two days, but that will change from today," Subash Nemwang of the Communist Party of Nepal said Saturday. "Life will be brought to a standstill."

Traffic had picked up in the capital, Katmandu, on Friday, with many stores open.

But few vehicles plied the streets Saturday. Only a handful of stores, mostly selling food, were open.

Activists trying to enforce the strike vandalized a taxi in Katmandu on Saturday, and blocked traffic on the city's outskirts.

Highways remained deserted in most parts of the Himalayan nation, where roads are the only way to transport food, fuel and other supplies.

Krishna Sitaula of the Nepali Congress party said the opposition is changing its strategy from mass rallies in Katmandu to protests in other cities.

On Friday, Gyanendra broke his silence after more than a week of protests that left four dead. He called for dialogue with the country's seven major political parties and for a general election, but did not specify a date.

He did not mention the protests or the communist insurgency that has killed nearly 13,000 people in the past decade.

Last Sunday, Nepal's opposition parties said a nationwide general strike and anti-monarchy protests would continue indefinitely, as the government accused Maoist militants of infiltrating the demonstrations and shooting at police.

Police, meanwhile, fired rubber bullets and tear gas during clashes with protesters in Katmandu, television footage showed, as thousands defied curfews and shoot-at-sight orders and marched in city streets to demand a return to democracy. Three people have died in police firings in other towns.

Opposition parties said the king failed to address the protests and the movement for democracy and was using the offer for dialogue to try prolong his rule.

The king's call for elections is in line with a plan for a return to democracy he announced shortly after seizing power in February 2005.

The opposition - and the well-armed communist insurgents - argue that any elections held under Gyanendra would not be free or fair.

Gyanendra said he took control of the country to stamp out political corruption and end the communist rebellion.

Many of Nepal's 27 million people welcomed the move at first, but the insurgency has since intensified and the economy has worsened, fueling broad discontent.

Authorities have begun easing restrictions in the past two days, and on Thursday lifted a night curfew in Katmandu and restored cell phone service, cut a week earlier in a bid to hinder protest organizers.