NEPAL SOLIDARITY DEMO
Adam Johannes | 23.04.2006 13:37
Picket the Royal Nepalese Embassy, 12a Kensington Palace Gardens, London W8 on Saturday 29 April, 2006 at 1pm.
Dear friend,
Nepal stands at the brink. A mass movement for democracy has thrown down a gauntlet to the King who usurped power from an elected assembly fourteen months ago.
A general strike for democracy has entered its third week and, so far, at least nine protesters have been killed and many thousands have been injured. On the King's orders, the army and police have fired both plastic bullets and live rounds at protesters. Everyday there are indiscriminate beatings and tear gassing. Leaders of the political parties opposed to the King have been rounded up and imprisoned. Journalists who have dared to challenge restrictions to their right to report the truth have been told that they will be interned for up to three months.
While the army and police are heavily equipped and dressed in armoured riot gear, the people they brutalise are dressed in T-shirts and sandals. Those who so bravely put their lives on the line as part of a fight for democratic rights expect and deserve the support of trade unionists, human rights activists and anti-globalisation protesters in the West. In the last week there have been solidarity protests around the world, and these are reported by some of the news outlets that reach the Nepalese people.
Therefore, we call for an emergency protest in solidarity with the Nepalese movement for democracy. This protest will be both a condemnation of the violence used against the democracy movement and a celebration of the resistance of the Nepali people. Therefore, it will continue even if the King grants concessions in the meantime.
We will picket the Royal Nepalese Embassy, 12a Kensington Palace Gardens, London W8 on Saturday 29 April, 2006 at 1pm. It would mean a lot if you could join us and spread the word.
Please bring banners and placards with you.
In solidarity,
Dr Arjun Karki
President of the NGO Federation of Nepal and co-author of The People's War in Nepal
David Seddon
Professor of Development Studies, University of East Anglia and co author of The People's War in Nepal, Nepal in Crisis, Peasants and Workers in Nepal
Jonathan Neale
author of Tigers of the Snow
Yuri Prasad
editor Socialist Review
South Asia Solidarity Group
Nepal stands at the brink. A mass movement for democracy has thrown down a gauntlet to the King who usurped power from an elected assembly fourteen months ago.
A general strike for democracy has entered its third week and, so far, at least nine protesters have been killed and many thousands have been injured. On the King's orders, the army and police have fired both plastic bullets and live rounds at protesters. Everyday there are indiscriminate beatings and tear gassing. Leaders of the political parties opposed to the King have been rounded up and imprisoned. Journalists who have dared to challenge restrictions to their right to report the truth have been told that they will be interned for up to three months.
While the army and police are heavily equipped and dressed in armoured riot gear, the people they brutalise are dressed in T-shirts and sandals. Those who so bravely put their lives on the line as part of a fight for democratic rights expect and deserve the support of trade unionists, human rights activists and anti-globalisation protesters in the West. In the last week there have been solidarity protests around the world, and these are reported by some of the news outlets that reach the Nepalese people.
Therefore, we call for an emergency protest in solidarity with the Nepalese movement for democracy. This protest will be both a condemnation of the violence used against the democracy movement and a celebration of the resistance of the Nepali people. Therefore, it will continue even if the King grants concessions in the meantime.
We will picket the Royal Nepalese Embassy, 12a Kensington Palace Gardens, London W8 on Saturday 29 April, 2006 at 1pm. It would mean a lot if you could join us and spread the word.
Please bring banners and placards with you.
In solidarity,
Dr Arjun Karki
President of the NGO Federation of Nepal and co-author of The People's War in Nepal
David Seddon
Professor of Development Studies, University of East Anglia and co author of The People's War in Nepal, Nepal in Crisis, Peasants and Workers in Nepal
Jonathan Neale
author of Tigers of the Snow
Yuri Prasad
editor Socialist Review
South Asia Solidarity Group
Adam Johannes
Comments
Hide the following 2 comments
What about the demo tomorrow??
24.04.2006 10:51
The one tomorrow is at 12:30 and information about it (in Nepali) is here:
Can anyone clear this up?
mjbe
Democracy on the way! Demo still important.
25.04.2006 13:23
But this demo is still important. At least 17 people lost their lives and more than 6,000 were injured, some seriously, during the pro-democracy movement. Many are still undergoing treatment at various hospitals across the country, mostly in the capital. Also hundreds of
people are still in jail. The army is still under the king's command. Everybody i've spoken to here says this is the beginning of a long journey.
It is still very important to show solidarity with the nepali struggle, and pressurise the government. They need to know we are watching. International pressure was a major factor in the king's climbdown and it is needed to ensure a smooth transition.
nicky
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