This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/south_asia/8658896.stm
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 2 | Version 3 |
---|---|
Maoists' blockade bites in Nepal | |
(8 minutes later) | |
An anti-government strike called by Maoists in Nepal has entered its third day, with many businesses still shut and roads empty. | |
The Maoists want the government to resign. Talks are continuing between the sides to try to resolve the crisis. | |
The Maoists say the government has no popular support and that Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal should stand down. | |
The BBC's Joanna Jolly in Kathmandu says protests so far have been largely peaceful, barring a few scuffles. | |
Tourists stranded | |
Officials say that armed police have escorted lorries with food supplies and fuel into the capital, which has been paralysed by the strike since Sunday. | |
The strike has so far been peaceful but security forces are on high alert | |
The Maoists have forced most businesses, offices and schools to shut. | |
Food shops have been allowed to open for two hours in the evening but are reported to be running out of supplies. | |
On Tuesday the authorities began evacuating scores of tourists stranded by the strike. | |
Correspondents say that while the Maoists have not threatened tourists, their supporters have blocked roads and stopped vehicles, stranding many visitors in the western resort town of Pokhara. | |
Those wishing to leave from the country's only international airport in Kathmandu - which remains open - were forced to walk there as there are no taxis operating. | |
The main tourist area of Kathmandu, Thamel, has effectively been closed down because of the strike, officials say. | |
One of the organisers of the strike told the BBC that the protesters were determined to continue until their demands were met. | |
A number of Maoist supporters have returned to their farms outside the city to plant their maize crop. But they are being replaced by new supporters who say they have enough food and water supplies to stay for weeks. | A number of Maoist supporters have returned to their farms outside the city to plant their maize crop. But they are being replaced by new supporters who say they have enough food and water supplies to stay for weeks. |
The prime minister has said he will consider stepping down, but only if the Maoists pursue their demands through dialogue and meet certain conditions. | The prime minister has said he will consider stepping down, but only if the Maoists pursue their demands through dialogue and meet certain conditions. |
These include resolving who would lead a government of national unity, disbanding the Maoist paramilitary wing and returning property they seized during their 10-year conflict with the state. | |
The Maoists say the government has not consolidated Nepal's peace process and has failed to draft a new constitution. |