1,000 held in Nepal demo

Police detained more than 1,000 protesters for defying a ban on public rallies today, as demonstrators flooded the streets of the Nepalese capital Katmandu to demand that the king restore democracy.

The demonstrators were rounded up by police and driven away in trucks and buses for violating the ban, which the government imposed yesterday in hopes of heading off protests against the king for sacking an elected government in 2002.

About 25,000 people took part in rallies throughout the capital today.

The demonstrations are being organised by the country’s five largest political parties, including the Nepali Congress and the United Marxist Leninist Communist Party of Nepal.

Hundreds of police armed with batons, tear gas cannons and guns with rubber bullets lined the street leading to the royal palace, after Nepalese officials said they received intelligence reports that Maoist rebels planned to infiltrate the rallies to spark chaos.

The rebels have not publicly said anything about joining the protesters, but have expressed moral support for their cause. There were no immediate reports of violence.

The protesters are demanding that King Gyanendra restore the country’s elected government.

The king dissolved Parliament and fired Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba in October 2002, accusing him of incompetence and failing to control a Maoist insurgency. The king then assumed executive powers and replaced the government with pro-monarchy politicians.