Strike paralyzes life in Kathmandu+

0 Comments | Asian Political News, Jan 1, 2001

KATHMANDU, Dec. 28 Kyodo

A one-day, dawn-to-dusk general strike called by students affiliated with Nepalese left-wing political parties to protest police firing on civilians paralyzed life in Kathmandu and its surrounding areas Thursday.

Students marching in the streets clashed with police at several places but no major outbreak of violence was reported. Some 150 people were arrested, a Home Ministry spokesman said.

Nepalese newspapers reported Thursday afternoon that leftist students, who were in the forefront of the protests, were contemplating extension of the strike by two more days.

Vehicles were off the streets, while markets, schools and private businesses remained closed.

The government appealed for calm and called on opposition political parties to help calm tensions.

Earlier this week, five people were killed by police bullets in two days of mayhem when students took to the streets to protest what they called derogatory remarks about Nepal and its people by popular Indian actor Hritik Roshan.

Scores of others, including police, were injured, and property worth millions of dollars was destroyed.

Roshan has denied making derogatory remarks about the country.

Indian movies are popular in Nepal, which has limited facilities to produce its own films.