Nepal Reform Talks Collapse; Students Riot

Negotiations between opposition and government leaders collapsed early today, and hundreds of angry student protesters camped out around the site of the talks, refusing to let the politicians leave.

Government officials and leaders of the previously outlawed Nepali Congress party and the United Left Front vowed to sleep inside the Royal Nepal Academy of Arts and Literature, where the talks were being held.

Hundreds of students went on a rampage after learning of the breakdown in talks, destroying cars belonging to Prime Minister Lokendra Chand and Foreign Minister Pashupaiti Rana.

It was unclear why the talks, which began Sunday, collapsed.

Police were deployed on three sides of the government-run academy, but officers said they were under strict orders not to use force.

The apparent failure of the talks raised questions about the strength of the fledgling democracy movement in this Himalayan nation of 17 million people.

King Birendra opened the door for the talks April 8 when he agreed to lift a 29-year ban on political parties after six weeks of mounting pro-democracy protests.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Christians held an Easter march for religious freedom as they tested the promises of new democracy in this Himalayan nation. The march was the first in recent memory in the world’s only Hindu kingdom, which bans Christian missionary work.