NEPAL: Thousands of people marched through Nepal's capital Kathmandu yesterday demanding the restoration of complete democracy. The march took place 24 hours after King Gyanendra lifted the state of emergency he proclaimed three months ago to fight the Maoist insurgency.
On Saturday the king announced that the emergency imposed on February 1st had been revoked but in reality little had changed. The king continues to rule without an elected government or parliament. Hundreds of political workers, who have been detained under draconian emergency laws, remain in jail and media censorship continues.
Over a dozen journalists are incarcerated for criticising the king, while the ban on news channels from neighbouring India continues. Mobile telephone networks and internet access, which were shut down after the king's coup, remain suspended.
In yesterday's rallies, organised by labour unions to commemorate May Day, demonstrators carried placards calling for an end to the king's direct rule.
Police blocked the protesters near the Royal Commission for Corruption Control, a controversial agency set up by the king to investigate politicians and officials. Many in Nepal view the commission as a vehicle to settle political scores with opponents and those critical of the monarch.
The surprise lifting of the state of emergency followed the king's return on Friday from an Asia-Africa conference in Indonesia, China and Singapore, where leaders pressed him to restore democracy.
The monarch had claimed his coup was essential as internecine political squabbling had prevented general elections, and also frustrated his efforts to deal with the nine-year-old Maoist insurgency that had claimed more than 11,000 lives.