Nepal parties move to stem unrest
A Maoist rebel
The rebels have prevented many police stations from reopening
Nepal's ruling coalition and the Maoist party have called an emergency meeting to discuss continuing unrest in the south-east of the country.
A curfew on Sunday failed to stop protests against the earlier death of a 16-year-old boy amid ethnic tensions.
Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala called the meeting to prevent the spread of violence from Lahan town, where the boy was shot at.
Protests have already spread to neighbouring towns.
Demonstrators have attacked government and Maoist buildings and burnt buses and government vehicles.
In Lahan, people defied a 15-hour daylight curfew to demonstrate against the killing.
Reports say some 20 were injured when they clashed with both Maoists and the police.
The tensions began when 16-year-old Ramesh Mahato was shot dead on Friday.
Eyewitnesses say he was killed by Maoists and was in a crowd protesting at alleged discrimination against the people of southern Nepal.
Attack:
There are other law-and-order issues for the parties and Maoists to discuss.
On Saturday, Maoists attacked a police station in western Nepal, injuring nine policemen, three of whom are still in hospital.
The BBC's Charles Haviland in Kathmandu says the Maoists officially ended its insurgency last year, but they have prevented many police stations from reopening after the conflict, saying they must not operate without their permission.
Saturday's attack came despite an order from the Maoist chairman Prachanda dissolving the party' structures of parallel government.
Correspondents say abolishing the Maoist administration which holds sway over large areas of rural Nepal is one of the key steps in the peace process.
The move comes after Maoists joined other parties in parliament, with elections due to be held in June.
Party heads meet at Baluwatar to discuss rising unrest
Kantipur Report
KATHMANDU, Jan 22 - Leaders of eight political parties held a meeting Monday at Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala�s official residence in Baluwatar to discuss the recent string of unrest across the country.
The eight party leaders are presently discussing the Siraha unrest and the transport entrepreneur�s nationwide indefinite public transport strike, a leader present in the meeting said.
The high level meeting was primarily focused on the provision of the necessary reparations to the family of Ramesh Kumar Mahato who was killed in the incident.
According to sources, today�s meeting warned the government about the possibility of the rising tide of protest programs gripping the country which could prove detrimental to the upcoming elections to the constituent assembly.
In the meeting, PM Koirala underscored that the leaders of all political parties must urge their respective cadres to demonstrate restraint.
Alluding to the CPN-M, the PM said that the eight parties need to pay utmost attention to the irresponsible behavior of some party cadres.
The PM also said that this is the testing time for the eight parties to further strengthen their unison.
According to sources, the PM exited the meeting immediately after putting forward his views before the eight party leaders.
The meeting will be issuing a joint statement to the government, urging the latter to take necessary steps to resolve the situation, sources at the meeting said.
The leaders at the meeting today sought government�s attention towards the fact that the rising unrest in the nation could provide a window of opportunity to the reactionary forces standing against the elections to the constituent assembly.
Posted on: 2007-01-22 01:37:00 (Server Time)