Report by Mukti N. Kattel.
This report covers developments until 1 pm Kathmandu time May 5, the fourth day of the indefinite and decisive protest/peoples' revolt.
The Maoists have shifted from yesterday’s capital city encirclement from the periphery (called the "red human chain approach") to the core capital city encirclement today. According to their plan of preventing ministers from entering the main administration building (the Singh Durbar), protesters reached the gate at 4 am. However, some of the ministers had already entered at 3 am!
Other features of today’ s protests include the continued increase of participation of local people, increased emotion (anger) in the protesters and the general public owing to the stuburn behaviour of the government despite the sober and just way of the protesters and increased firing at the protesters by youth wing people of the ruling party. Yesterday the youth wings of the ruling parties were looting stores while camouflaged as Maoist protestors and were chased away by the real protesters immediately. Today they are firing without any camouflage. A protestor, Ganesh Subedi of Kaski, was killed in Kalanki, Kathmandu at about 10 pm. Maoist deputy commander Janardan Sharma said he was killed by an armed police officer, Sangam KC and said the were studying further the nature of the killing and are demanding that the government not hide the killer and file murder case against him. Meanwhile, Radio Sagarmatha claimed Subedi he was killed by motorbike wrek (but Janardan says the bike was parked on the street and the deceased plus the injured were sitting at the edge of the street). The other comrade injured in the incident will report the reality from the hospital when he is able to talk. The deceased comrade’s funeral is organized today and comrade Sonam (Kul Prasad KC) and comrade Basanta (Indra Mohan Sigdel) are giving Dagbatti a final tribute to the deceased in Hindu culture which involves cremation of the body. Youth Force members (the youth wing of the CPN-UML) have fired at protestors in Koteswor and Bhaktapur but no casualties have been reported yet.
Now locals are overtaking the outsiders in the protests. Maoist are starting a door to door program to support the protest. As a result, Newa Jyapu Guthi (a cultural institution of the indigenous people of the capital city and which constitutes a majority native population in the city) have reacted positively. Ministers and noted opposition leaders are commuting in police vans and have flocked in the ministers’ residence area, which is heavily fortified by police and army.
Protests are taking place in the outlying cities too and Youth Force people are trying to disturb it in a few places. At all site, protests are very organized (who leads which day, which music team, which health team, which security team, which reporting team, which human right activists, which logistic team, which participants when, where , etc. ).
The reactionary powers are not prepared to recognize the Maoist army as a part of National Army, nor are happy to entrust government roles to the Maoists owing to the fear that they might never come to power again to enjoy the legal sanctuary of looting the people for their comfort. Still, they are trying to find ways to persuade the Maoists to accept a minor share of power and the protestors are strongly warning the leadership not to fall for this trap. The situation is critical. The general public is putting pressure on the government to step down and give room to the Maoist who overthrew the monarchy, educated and organized the dalits, women and ethnic minorities for the change and have a vision of changing the country to a new height. Not only Nepalis from foreign countries (such as Ram Bdr Gurung of Gunja Nagar, Bishnu Bhujel and others in Belzium) but international communities have also started voicing their support for the protests. In Toronto, Canada many international groups spoke out in favor of the protesters on May Day and are coming up with some other activities in their country for the near future.
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