Strikers demand new constitution in Nepal
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A general strike called by ethnic minority groups demanding improved rights under Nepal’s new constitution brought the capital Kathmandu and several other cities to a halt on Wednesday.
Shops closed and most vehicles stayed off the road in and around the capital, while police spokesman Nawa Raj Dhakal said 19 people were arrested in connection with the strikes.
"There are no reports of any major clashes, but protesters have gathered in cities to call for the shutdown," he added.
Nepal's Parliament was elected in 2008 with a two-year mandate to write a new national constitution following the end of a civil war and the abolition of the country's 240-year-old monarchy.
Its term had to be extended last May after it failed to produce the charter on time, but since then little progress has been made, and many in Nepal now fear lawmakers will also miss the revised deadline of May 28.
"Our major demand is that parliament should come up with a new constitution within the stipulated timeframe," said protest organiser Malla K. Sundar.
"Nepalese people have struggled for democracy and federalism since 1950, but those things have still not been institutionalised, and we suspect that the new constitution will not come within the extended tenure of Parliament."
Ethnic minority groups want the new charter to enshrine their rights after decades of discrimination in Nepal, where they have long been excluded from national power.
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