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- Dec 13, 2014
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Opposition parties staged
general strike to shut down
Nepal on Tuesday as opposition
politicians threw chairs and
attacked the parliamentary
speaker in a bid to block the
government from pushing
through a draft of a new
constitution.
They backed up a call for the
strike in the Himalayan nation
with violence, attacking buses
and taxis, and forcing schools
and markets to close.
The Constituent Assembly
meeting began at 2 a.m. Tuesday
but turned violent when
opposition members tried to
stop Speaker Subash Nemwang
from proposing the formation of
a questionnaire committee,
which precedes voting on the
constitutional draft later in the
week.
They threw chairs, kicked over
desks and tossed microphones
at the speaker. In the tussle,
several security guards were
injured but the members
suffered only bruises.
The ruling coalition — which
has support of two-thirds of the
members in the 605-member
assembly — plans to push
through the first draft of the
new constitution on Thursday.
The opposition parties say any
new constitution should be
adopted only through
consensus among all political
parties.
The alliance of 30 opposition
parties called the general strike
to protest, and shut down
schools, transportation and
shops. Supporters gathered in
locations in the capital
Kathmandu and chanted anti-
government slogans.
They also clashed with police
and a dozen vehicles were set
on fire when their owners
defied the strike call.
Police detained about 50
protesters who were trying to
enforce the strike.
Nepal has been attempting to
draft a new constitution for
years, and the first Constituent
Assembly elected in 2008
collapsed four years later unable
to draft the constitution. The
second assembly was elected in
2013 but disagreements among
the political parties continue to
hamper progress.
Opposition Turns Violent Inside Nepal Parliament, on Streets - ABC News
general strike to shut down
Nepal on Tuesday as opposition
politicians threw chairs and
attacked the parliamentary
speaker in a bid to block the
government from pushing
through a draft of a new
constitution.
They backed up a call for the
strike in the Himalayan nation
with violence, attacking buses
and taxis, and forcing schools
and markets to close.
The Constituent Assembly
meeting began at 2 a.m. Tuesday
but turned violent when
opposition members tried to
stop Speaker Subash Nemwang
from proposing the formation of
a questionnaire committee,
which precedes voting on the
constitutional draft later in the
week.
They threw chairs, kicked over
desks and tossed microphones
at the speaker. In the tussle,
several security guards were
injured but the members
suffered only bruises.
The ruling coalition — which
has support of two-thirds of the
members in the 605-member
assembly — plans to push
through the first draft of the
new constitution on Thursday.
The opposition parties say any
new constitution should be
adopted only through
consensus among all political
parties.
The alliance of 30 opposition
parties called the general strike
to protest, and shut down
schools, transportation and
shops. Supporters gathered in
locations in the capital
Kathmandu and chanted anti-
government slogans.
They also clashed with police
and a dozen vehicles were set
on fire when their owners
defied the strike call.
Police detained about 50
protesters who were trying to
enforce the strike.
Nepal has been attempting to
draft a new constitution for
years, and the first Constituent
Assembly elected in 2008
collapsed four years later unable
to draft the constitution. The
second assembly was elected in
2013 but disagreements among
the political parties continue to
hamper progress.
Opposition Turns Violent Inside Nepal Parliament, on Streets - ABC News
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