Hundreds were arrested as police and protestors clashed violently in Kathmandu again Monday, as the ruling party demanded that the king sack the prime minister to defuse the political crisis in the Himalayan kingdom.
Witnesses said at least 800 people had been rounded up by riot police after the clashes, during which police used batons and teargas against protestors, who in turn pelted the security forces with stones.
There was no immediate confirmation from the government on the number of arrests or injuries in the clashes, which occurred near Kathmandu's main market area when about 6,500 demonstrators staged a march.
Most people detained have been released within hours in the 11 days since the government banned protests in Kathmandu, saying the rallies would be infiltrated by Maoist rebels who rule much of Nepal's countryside.
However, leftist students said 15 of their activists remained in custody from Saturday's demonstrations. Protestors are demanding King Gyanendra restore democracy after he sacked the elected government in November 2002 and appointed his own administration.
Loyalist Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa has offered the five political parties driving the protests an all-party government but the alliance has rejected it, saying that since he is not an elected official they cannot deal with him and have instead demanded talks directly with the king.
In December, Thapa's own party, the National Democratic Party (NDP), turned on him saying he had failed to build a coalition government and "rescue the country from the current chaotic socio-economic and political situation."
Since then it has replaced Thapa as party leader, with Pashupati Shumsher Rana winning party presidential elections.
NDP spokeswoman Roshan Karki on Monday said the sacking of Thapa would help restore order in Nepal.
"We appeal to the king to remove Prime Minister Thapa to defuse the current political crisis in the country," Karki told reporters She also criticised her party's Minister for Home, Communications and Information Kamal Thapa for the police actions against demonstrators and journalists.
"Home Minister Thapa is committing a grave mistake by pressing the riot police to beat the innocent and unarmed demonstrators," she said.
Earlier Monday, members of seven student groups who are backing the protests locked the office gates of the main university campuses in Kathmandu to protest the continued detention of student activists.
Under the Public Offence Act, a detainee can be kept in custody for 90 days without trial, senior advocate Achyut Acharya said.
The king has agreed to hold new elections by April 2005, but the opposition wants them held under an all-party government.
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