150 Protesters Arrested in Nepal

At least 150 people protesting against King Gyanendra have been arrested in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu. The angry protesters were burning tires, hurling stones at police and shouting out democratic slogans, called by the Himalayan kingdom's seven main political parties in a hope to remove King Gyanendra who took control of the nation last year.

He justified the decision of leading the country by saying political parties failed in crushing the Maoists. The latter started the revolt, which killed more than 13,000 people and strongly affected the country's economy.

One could hear slogans like "Vacate Narayanhiti, Democratic Republic is arriving," "We want Democracy," "Down with Gyanendra," or "Gyanendra leave the country," resounding from Nepal's capital. Police fired tear gas shells at protesters, some of which set fire to a post office and threw tires on the road.

Policemen dressed in blue camouflage and armed with batons, rifles and tear gas guns were ready to intervene as soon as protests got violent. The authorities even imposed a ban on protests in some parts of Kathmandu on Wednesday, but they fear Maoist rebels will resort to violence during the protests.

Protests against King Gyanendra have become an everyday thing since he took the lead in February 2005 and political parties say these demonstrations, the largest so far, will play an important role in establishing democracy.

"There will be massive demonstrations on Saturday. This movement will not stop until the people's rights are restored," said Shobhakhar Parajuli, leader of one of the parties involved in the demonstrations.