Hundreds march in Nepal urging king to give up power

"Respect human rights, restore democracy," the crowd of teachers, students, lawyers and rights activists chanted as they marched through the streets of Katmandu.

They were stopped by the police from entering the city centre, where protest rallies are banned by the royal government. There were no scuffles. The protesters squatted on the road and kept chanting slogans.

"Because the rule of law has ended, that leaves us no choice but to take to the streets," said Krishna Khanal, a university professor and leading pro-democracy activist.

"We are here because our rights have been violated and we need to protect them," said Kapil Shrestha, a human rights activist.

There have been scores of protests since King Gyanendra seized power last year and formed a royal administration. He has been under pressure both at home and internationally to restore democracy.

The king said he took power because previous governments had failed to curb a growing communist insurgency and clean up corruption.

Meanwhile, packed buses and trucks loaded with supplies rolled across restive Nepal yesterday after Maoist rebels called off a road blockade that had interrupted commerce and transport across the Himalayan nation for six days.

But even as the Maoists ended their siege of Kathmandu and other towns after an appeal from the country's seven main political parties, they endorsed a new series of protests planned for early next month.