Tens of thousands participate in peace assembly

(Update III at 1300 NST 0715 GMT)

Tens of thousands of people participate in Peace Assembly

Participants of peace assembly rallying around the city

Police use dozens of teargas shells at the Exhibition Road

Security beefed up to prevent confrontations

KATHMANDU, May 7: In a spontaneous show of solidarity, tens of thousands of people are rallying for peace after participating in the Peace Assembly at Basantpur, Kathmandu on Friday.

Peace rally to go on despite Maoist threat

Maoist cadres, who are enforcing the general strike for the sixth day, tried to confront the rally at various places including at the Exhibition Road where police fired around a dozen round of tear-gas shells. Maoist cadres formed a three-layer human chain to stop the rally. [break]

A few dozens of participants sustained minor injuries in the stampede after police intervention. Fifteen injured were treated at the Blood Bank at the road while many others were rushed to nearby hospitals.

At Kathmandu Model Hospital, the injured are being treated on corridors and emergency ward. Renu Chand, a Maoist CA member, was also injured. A rally participant has sustained serious head injury, according to the hospital.

Security was beefed around Tundikhel to prevent the confrontations between Maoists and rallying public. More than 200 policemen were stationed at Sundhara where a sizable number of Maoists stood ready, with lathis, to confront the peace rally.

A brief clash took place at Bagbazaar where police fired a round of teargas shell to break up the confrontation. Maoists pelted stones at the rally to disrupt it.

Similarly, the returning participants of the peace assembly vandalized a vehicle used by the Maoists at Krishna Mandir of Lalitpur.

Earlier, tens of thousands of people participated in the Peace Assembly organized by various professional associations including Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), Professionals’ Alliance for Peace and Democracy (PAPAD) and Nepal Chamber of Commerce and supported by dozens of non-political associations, groups and clubs.

When the assembly that began at 9 a.m. broke up an hour and half later, hundreds of people were still seen thronging to the venue to attend it.

The assembly asked leaders to reach the consensus and end the general strike within 48 hours and converted in a rally.

The cadres of Unified CPN (Maoist) had also tried to block people en route to rally at various placed including Teku, Pulchowk and Bagbazaar. Many people participated in the assembly with national flag.

At Kupondole, Maoists attacked at a mass of hundreds of people as they were heading to Basantapur area to join peace assembly.

The clash occurred as Maoist protestors who had gathered at Kupondole to Pulchowk areas in Lalitpur since early morning stopped the mass of business community, civil society members and professionals from moving toward Basantapur.

Parliamentarian and senior Maoist leader Pampha Bhusal was leading the Maoist at Kupondole. But she couldn´t control the mass and those heading to peace assembly had to back themselves from the area.

The assembly was organized by a group of professional associations to raise voice for national consensus among political parties for peace and constitution.

The speakers of the assembly including Kush Kumar Joshi, the FNCCI president, popular artistes Madan Krishna Shrestha and Hari Bansa Acharya and Nepal Bar Association Chairman Prem Bahadur Khadka called on leaders to reach consensus to save the situation from further worsening.