HONG KONG — Communist protesters clashed with the police and surrounded the Singha Durbar, the seat of government in the center of Katmandu, as they called for the resignation of the president, local news agencies reported Thursday from the Nepalese capital.
The police fired tear gas at a crowd of protesters that was blocking access to administrative offices, and some minor injuries to police officers and picketers were reported by the news portal República.
The demonstrators began gathering in Katmandu before dawn, many of them arriving on buses from outlying towns and villages, according to Nepalnews.com, and thousands of heavily armed National Police officers were mobilized.
Photos of the scene showed large crowds in the streets, and some reports said tens of thousands of protesters had assembled. Signs calling for “civilian supremacy” could be seen, as well as red flags bearing the hammer-and-sickle emblem.
Most civil servants and politicians were able to reach their offices in the Singha Durbar, although local schools were closed for the day, the Himalayan Times reported.
The protesters were led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal, the former guerrilla fighter better known by his nom de guerre, Prachanda, and who led the 10-year Maoist insurgency that overthrew the Nepalese monarchy in 2006. The Nepalese republic was formed in May 2008.
Earlier in the week, Prachanda warned the government that he and his supporters could be forced to “take up arms,” if the government used the police and military to block demonstrations, Nepalnews reported.
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