Nepal faces mounting int'l criticism

Nepalese protesters look on as a riot policeman throws stones towards them during a protest in Kathmandu yesterday on the second day of a four-day strike. PHOTO: AFP

A four-day general strike called by opposition parties ousted when King Gyanendra took direct control 14 months ago paralysed Nepal for a second day Friday.

The opposition parties have vowed to go ahead with plans for a major rally in Kathmandu on Saturday, despite a ban on public meetings and mass arrests.

More than 300 people have been arrested for defying the ban, activists said, and arrests continued Friday morning with a dozen people taken away at a protest in the capital, an AFP reporter said.

"The arrests and harassment of pro-democracy activists violate their fundamental civil rights," US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in Washington.

Powerful neighbour India called the arrests "counter-productive," and called on the royal government to free the hundreds of activists detained in recent days.

"We urge the immediate release of those arrested and a return to the path of dialogue and reconciliation," an official government statement said Thursday.

The European Union and Japan raised similar concerns, calling on Gyanendra's government to allow peaceful protests, stop the arrests and free those already detained.

Rights group Amnesty International called on the government to halt the arrests.

"Targeting leaders of the peaceful political opposition is not only wrong, it is dangerous," said Purna Sen, Amnesty's Asia-Pacific Director.

"Squeezing the space for legitimate political activity heightens the risk of violent confrontation and human rights abuse," Sen said.

UN chief Kofi Annan on Wednesday urged the Kathmandu authorities not to deny citizens their right to peaceful protest and expressed concern as the arrests started.