Police lob teargas shells in Ratna Park; US asks Maoists to end strike (DEVELOPING STORY)

By Bhola B Rana

Kathmandu, 7 May: Police lobbed three teargas shells at Ratna Park in the capital to as Maoists and participants of a peace rally clashed briefly following a mass meeting in Basantapur.
Speakers gave Maoists two days to end their strike.
Maoists were angry with the organizers of the rally.
Major clashes were averted with police intervention at various points in the capital as the rally snaked through the streets; participants returned home at police request.
US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Robert O. Blake asked Maoists to end their crippling six-day nation-wide strike adding Washington and others in the international community are ready to assist.
He said this in a statement issued from Washington Thursday.
“The Maoist-imposed strike in Nepal is creating serious hardships for the people of Nepal and the risk of dangerous confrontation is growing. We call on the Maoists to end or suspend their strike and ease these hardships.
“ We urge both the Maoists and the government to exercise restraint and good judgment to prevent the outbreak of violence,” he Blake said calling for a dialoguel
“We call on all of Nepal’s political leaders to reach agreement on the issues that have impeded the completion of Nepal’s new constitution and the full implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. “As the May 28 deadline for the completion of the constitution nears, we hope to see Nepal’s political parties act with dispatch and maximum flexibility to resolve their remaining differences.”
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Nepali Congress to ask govt. to close down regional offices of OHCHR

Kathmandu, 7 May: An emergency meeting of the Nepali Congress central committee Friday decided to ask government to close down the five regional offices of the OHCHR in Nepal.
The tenure of the OHCHR ends 9 June and western donors are pressing the government to extend the tenure.
Government was considering not to extend the mandate.
In a re-think, government is considering to limit its mandate to enabling the National Human Rights Commission.
A final decision hasn’t been taken.
Government is prone to western government pressures.
Following such pressures, the government extended the mandate of UNMIN for four months until 15 May for the sixth time.
It has previously extended the mandate six months at a time.
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