By IANS
Kathmandu : Within 48 hours of Maoist supremo Prachanda warning of protests if the government did not abolish monarchy, Nepal was Wednesday paralysed by a closure call given by the rebels at the centre while an armed group began enforcing a five-day shutdown in the Terai plains.
Nearly a dozen districts in central and eastern Nepal, including Kathmandu valley and the capital, were severely impacted by the closure called by the Maoist-affiliated Samyukta Ganatantrik Dalit Mukti Morcha, comprising members of the Dalit community, who were once regarded as untouchables, and the Tamang Rastriya Mukti Morcha, a group of Tamangs, a Buddhist community who have been the worst victims of the flourishing Indo-Nepal flesh trade.
The two agitating Maoist organisations are demanding a republic and autonomous states for their communities.
In an ethnic upsurge ahead of the November elections, young men sporting red bandanas around their heads with a single white star roamed the streets with sticks, stopping the odd two-wheeler that had ventured out and admonishing the rider.
Schools and colleges in the valley, disrupted by clashes between Maoist students and other student unions last week, remained closed, public transport disappeared and shops and offices were shut.
In the morning, police arrested nearly 20 people in the capital for trying to vandalise a taxi.
With 91 days left for the crucial constituent assembly election, the shutdown affected Kathmandu valley as well as other districts in central Nepal and parts of eastern Nepal.
The Terai plains, a hot bed of violence this year, also reeled as an armed group, calling itself the Madhesi Tigers, began a five-day closure in the southern plains.
The Tigers exploded bombs in at least two districts Tuesday night to intimidate people into obeying their closure call.
Though the government, pressured by the international community to hold elections on Nov 22 as per schedule, began hurried talks with three groups of ethnic protesters, including one from the plains, the parleys have been slow to reach an understanding with the groups frequently returning to protests.
To make things worse for the administration struggling to improve security situation, the Maoists’ controversial youth wing Young Communist League, Tuesday announced a series of protests from September.
Two groups of former Maoists have also issued separate warnings, saying they would oppose the November election.
Though the decade-old Maoist insurgency that killed over 13,000 people ended last year, Nepal has been gripped by fresh protests by various ethnic communities, who say they were repressed by the earlier governments and now want self-governance.
The constituent assembly election that will determine whether Nepal should abolish its 238-year monarchy was postponed in June due to deteriorating security situation.