Nepal is in the grips of a mass uprising

The taxi driver wheeled around at the sight of hundreds of men closing in on him, his getaway marred by a rock thrown through the back window–the mob's retribution for daring to work instead of protesting the rule of Nepal's king. "We will smash all the window's in the royal place," declared the rock thrower, Gopal Moktan, smiling triumphantly on Apr. 11 as he and thousands of others gathered on the edge of Katmandu for a sixth day of protests to demand that King Gyanendra restore democracy. The small scene in many ways is the story these days of Nepal. Daily demonstrations are looking more like a mass uprising in the face of a bloody crackdown by security forces, charging the protesters with batons, firing tear gas and rubber bullets. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal said that security forces were "using excessive force against demonstrators," noting that peaceful protests have been violently broken up and people faced "severe" beatings even after violent demonstrations have been brought under control. Brian Cobb, a US doctor who set up a small clinic to treat those injured in the protests, said police had stormed his makeshift operation and attacked his patients. Despite the assaults, the demonstrations have, for the first time since Gyanendra seized power 14 months ago, brought thousands of workers, professionals and business people into the streets alongside students and political activists. Authorities have struggled to curb crowds who have torched government property, declared republican zones and who have been joined by government employees wearing black armbands. The Kathmandu Post newspaper even called the protests a "janandolan," or "people's movement" in Nepali. "The level of defiance is unprecedented–it never happened before, even in 1990," said Yubaraj Ghimire, editor of the respected Samay weekly, referring to the last mass democracy movement, which forced the late King Birendra to yield much of his authority 16 years ago. Gyanendra says he seized back power 14 months ago to stamp out political corruption and quell a Maoist insurgency that has killed nearly 13,000 people in the past decade. The move was at first welcomed by many of Nepal's 27 million people. But a worsening insurgency and collapsing economy have fueled the discontent so visible in recent days as protests have gripped the country's major cities and far-flung towns. A bloody crackdown by security forces has clearly exacerbated the situation. Three protesters have been killed, hundreds injured and more than 1,000 people jailed, including some of the top leaders of the seven-party opposition alliance, which is organizing the protests and an indefinite nationwide strike. Curfews have been in effect in Kathmandu and two other cities since Apr. 8 and almost 100 journalists have been arrested. Police had warned that anyone breaking the curfews would be shot on sight. But Nepalis have defied the curfews anyway, as well as a ban on political rallies imposed by the king. The Maoist rebels and the seven-party coalition have linked arms in a joint call to restore democratic rule. "We are not afraid of bullets," one of the protesters, Prajwal Sharma, said. "We have to get democracy at any cost and we will get it. Protesters are attacking government property and setting up barricades of burning tires. At Vinayak Hospital, a 50-year-old street vendor named Ganesh Bohara vowed to return to the streets as soon as doctors had finished treating him for head injuries. "I am ready to die for democracy," he said. Tourists have been forced to remain in their hotels and allowed out only to travel to and from the airport. Gyanendra has not been heard from since the protests began.