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Protester fatally shot by security forces as Nepal's cities run low on fresh food and fuel
KATMANDU, Nepal (AP) - With defiance of royal rule spreading, security forces fatally shot a fifth protester Monday while King Gyanendra searched for a way out of a crisis that has plunged the Himalayan land into its worst turmoil since he seized absolute power 14 months ago.
Twelve days of often-bloody pro-democracy protests and a general strike have emptied Nepal's highways, leaving cities short of fresh food and fuel. At one Katmandu hotel, the dinner menu was scribbled on a pink post-it note.
A convoy guarded by armored army vehicles headed toward the capital Tuesday with salt, fruits and vegetables, cooking fuel and gasoline - the first batch of supplies and passengers to head for Katmandu in nearly two weeks.
Protesters tried to stop the convoy on Monday but soldiers opened fire, wounding at least five.
A statement issued by the Royal Nepalese Army said the soldiers were compelled to open fire as the mob tried to set fuel tankers on fire and attacked people in the convoy.
Thousands of protesters rampaged on Katmandu's outskirts Monday, blocking roads with burning barricades and hurling bricks at police. Officers responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and baton charges.
''We will hang Gyanendra over flames - the king will burn!'' Arjun Prasad, 22, declared as he stood near a flaming pile of tires.
In Nijgadh, 75 miles south of Katmandu, thousands of people were marching through town when security forces opened fire with live ammunition, killing one protester and wounding five, a local official said. The death was the fifth caused by security forces in recent days.
The five wounded protesters were hospitalized with serious injuries, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters.
Since the opposition campaign began April 6, daily protests have hit nearly every city and town in this Hindu kingdom.
Ordinary Nepalis have joined the rallies alongside the usual cast of students and political activists. Lawyers, doctors and even the disabled have organized their own demonstrations.
The king appeared to be seriously considering relinquishing at least some of the power he seized when he closed parliament in February 2005 - a move he said was needed to restore order and crush a communist insurgency that has killed nearly 13,000 people over the past decade.
A palace official said Gyanendra met on Monday with two former prime ministers - Krishna Prasad Bhattarai and Suraya Bahadur Thapa - to explore the possibility of appointing a prime minister.
The official agreed to discuss the meeting only if he was not identified.
The opposition parties said there would be no compromise. They are demanding a new constitution that would limit - or even eliminate - the monarchy's role.
''We have not been asked by the palace, and even if we are called for the meeting we will not go,'' said Krishna Sitaula of the Nepali Congress, the country's largest party.
While many of Nepal's 27 million people at first welcomed the king's power grab - fed up with the corrupt and squabbling political elite - the worsening communist insurgency and a faltering economy have fueled discontent.
Sunday saw more than 50,000 people march in spots across Nepal, and tens of thousands were back in the streets Monday, many chanting for the monarch to ousted - or killed, a sentiment once unheard in a land where monarchs have been revered for generations as Hindu god-kings.
In Katmandu's backpacker hub, Thamel, protesters were out Monday for a second straight day. Police fired tear gas and beat hotel and restaurant workers as tourists watched.
''There is increasing defiance, there are more and more people coming to participate,'' said Yubaraj Ghimire, editor of the news magazine Samay.
The government's tenuous hold over the country was made clear Monday when officials offered truckers nearly $50 - a hefty sum in this poor country - to break the strike and haul food to the cities. Many drivers fear reprisals from protesting youths or the rebels, who are backing the political parties' campaign.
Prices for the few vegetables in Katmandu's markets have risen fivefold. Chicken and mutton prices have doubled.
At one Katmandu market, Priya Ghimire spent double the usual amount to buy vegetables for her family of six. ''I've bought not even one piece of meat,'' she said.
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