Ex-Premier, Dozens of Protesters Detained
Police fired tear gas and used bamboo batons to stop thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators from marching into the center of Nepal’s capital, arresting a former prime minister and dozens of other protesters.
About 5,000 people chanting “We want democracy!” marched to protest King Gyanendra’s dissolution of parliament in 2002 and institution of direct rule in the Himalayan kingdom Feb. 1.
Girija Prasad Koirala, 80, a former prime minister and president of the Nepali Congress, the country’s largest political party, was among those detained in central Katmandu, where protests are banned.
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