Scores Arrested In Nepal Protests

Police arrested more than 170 protesters in Nepal's capital on Thursday, chasing them down narrow lanes and beating them with batons on the first day of a general strike to demand the king restore democracy.

Communist rebels, meanwhile, took 28 hostages in a raid on a southern town that left at least 13 people dead.

As the unrest unfurled Thursday, a Russian-made MI-17 helicopter crashed in a southern Nepal town, killing 10 soldiers, the defense ministry said. The ministry denied the claim of Maoist rebels that they shot it down.

The helicopter crash occurred when the army responded to an overnight rebel raid in Malangawa, about 75 miles south of Katmandu. Thirteen other people died on the ground in gun battles.

"Preliminary investigation showed that the helicopter was flying at a high altitude when it developed technical problems and fell to the ground," the defense ministry said in a statement.

The rebels had claimed responsibility for the helicopter crash and the attack on the town.

The government ordered troops across the Himalayan country to do whatever was necessary to foil the protests and strike against King Gyanendra's power grab last year.

About 300 people — including student leaders, women's activists and members of Nepal's seven main political parties — were among those arrested in Katmandu, protest leader Khadga Prasad Oli told The Associated Press. He said at least 16 different protests took place in the city and added that they would resume Friday morning.

But Home Ministry spokesman Gopendra Pandey confirmed only 177 arrests, saying the protesters were being held until local officials decided how to proceed.

"They threw stones at policemen and at cars, damaging eight vehicles. They burned tires and broke the prohibitory orders," Pandey said. But "the situation is quite normal. There is no law and order problem."

Hundreds of pro-democracy protesters rallied across Katmandu and a suburb, Lalitpur, as well as dozens of smaller towns and district centers. They fled from police shooting tear gas, chanting "We want democracy. Down with autocracy."

Oli said 60 other men were arrested in Hetauda, about 100 miles southwest of Katmandu, and similar arrests in faraway districts have not been reported due to poor telephone communications. The Home Ministry said it was yet to receive information from outlying areas.

Oli said some of those arrested in Katmandu had been sent to three months in prison under Nepal's emergency laws, and the others were being held without charge.

The strike, called by the seven political parties, was backed by communist rebels, whose decade-long fight to oust the king underlies the political crisis.

"The streets are empty. There are no vehicles. I walked for half an hour to get to work," said Manisha Shahi, who works at a hotel near the royal Narayanhiti Palace in Katmandu.

The king argues he was forced to seize power last February because of the growing insurgency, which has killed some 13,000 people since 1996. He has been under international pressure to restore democracy, including from the United States, Britain and India.

Soon after taking power, the king imposed a state of emergency and clamped restrictions on the media. Although the emergency decree was lifted, the government has continued to crack down on opposition politicians and activists.

A State Department report released this week said Nepal's human rights record had worsened and criticized the king's restrictions on the press and political activists.

The rebels pledged not to stage attacks in Katmandu during the anti-government rallies, but they continued their violent campaign in the countryside.

In Malangawa, about 75 miles south of Katmandu, rebels bombed government buildings and raided security bases late Wednesday, police official Rajan Limbu said. The militants took a local official and 27 policemen hostage and freed jailed comrades, he said.
Six policemen, five rebels and two civilians were killed, a police official said on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

Despite the rebels' pledge not to attack in Katmandu, the government cited fear of terror strikes in the capital as a reason for cracking down on the protests.

"We don't quite believe what the Maoists are saying," Information Minister Shrish Shumshere Rana told the AP. "Just because they have said there is a brief holiday for terror, it doesn't mean we believe them."

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan criticized the crackdown Wednesday in a statement released through his spokesman, Stephane Dujarric.

"While maintenance of law and order is the responsibility of the state, security considerations should not be the basis for denying citizens their right to peaceful protest — a right for which virtually all avenues seem to be closing," Dujarric said.