KATHMANDU, Jan 19.: Security forces detained dozens of senior leaders of the seven-party alliance on Thursday morning to foil the alliances protest demonstration set for Friday.
According to party sources, CPN-UML leaders Pradip Nepal, Keshab Badal, Subash Nembang, Bhim Rawal, Bidya Bhandari were arrested from their residences at round 5 a.m. today while Prem Suwal of Nepal Workers and Peasants Party was also arrested at around 6:30 a.m.
Nepali Congress central leaders including Shekhar Koirala, Sujata Koirala, Dr Ram Sharan Mahat and Laxman Ghimire among others were also arrested this morning.
The government has put senior most leaders of the alliance including Nepali Congress president Girija Prasad Koirala and CPN-UML General Secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal under house arrest.
Speaking to eKantipur this morning, UML General Secretary Nepal said: – This government has gone insane and has started arresting political leaders. The series of arrests show that the government is bent on suppressing the peoples civic and constitutional rights.
Nepal also said that although the parties plan to defy the government’s ban orders peacefully and with non-violence, the “governments cruel actions prove that it is against the human rights in the country”.
– With these actions, the royal regime is digging its own grave, added Nepal.
On Wednesday night, the government had handed the security forces a list of some 200 opposition leaders ordering the forces to either arrest them or put them under house arrest.
The security forces held a meeting at the Valley Traffic Police Office (VTPO) at Ram Shah Path near Singha Durbar, the government seat, Wednesday night.
The VTPO ordered the different traffic police posts in the Kthmandu valley to arrange for pick-up vans and microbuses to arrest the leaders. As per the order, the traffic police posts sent some 50 vehicles to arrest the opposition leaders.
Policemen and Royal Nepalese Army soldiers were mobilised to the residences of the opposition leaders on Wednesday night soon after the mmeting so that the leaders could be arrested anytime or put under house arrest.
The government has directed the security forces to hand over arrest warrants to the detained leaders under the Public Security Act, it is learnt.
However, a few leaders anticipating their possible arrests stayed out of their houses and eventually escaped the arrests.
Meanwhile, security forces have also arrested human rights leader Krishna Pahadi, civil society leader Dr Devendra Raj Pandey and pro-left journalist and Editor of Mulyankan monthly magazine Shyam Shrestha Thursday morning from their residences.
Meanwhile, Nepal Telecom disrupted all phone services including mobile services and STD starting from 5:30, Thursday morning at the direction of the government to foil the seven-party alliance protest demonstration slated for Friday in the Kathmandu Valley.
According to an official at Telecom, the disruption of phone services will continue till tomorrow evening so as to thwart the parties protest rally.
Kilder: www.kantipuronline.com/kolnews.php?&nid=63013
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