Tourists stranded in Nepal

2004-11-21 13:10

Kathmandu - Maoist rebels Sunday declared an immediate two-day traffic blockade in the Gandaki and Lumbini zones of western Nepal, leaving some 10 000 tourists stranded, officials said.

The blockade on Sunday and Monday was called to protest killings by the security forces "of our local leaders and activists," said Dev Gurung, Maoist politburo member in charge of the Gandaki area.

"In Pokhara (west), Chitwan (south) and Lumbini (southwest) - the birthplace of Lord Buddha - about 10 000 tourists have been stranded due to the Maoist restriction," Hotel Association Nepal (HAN) president Narendra Bajracharya told AFP.

"After Kathmandu, Lumbini, Chitwan and Pokhara are the most important tourist destinations and currently it is the tourist season," he said.

He appealed to the rebels and the government to hold peace talks to resolve an eight-year Maoist insurgency which has left at least 10 000 people dead.

"On the one hand, new airlines are bringing tourists while on the other the strike and traffic blockades are working against the move," he said.

Meanwhile, an army officer said on Sunday security force personnel had shot dead three Maoists overnight while they were laying landmines at Lekhnath village in Pokhara, 225km west of Kathmandu.

In other violence, Maoists gunned down three people at Salleri village in far-western Dailekh district for organising an anti-Maoist movement, the officer said.

The rebels also abducted 24 other villagers for organising a "resistance campaign".

- AFP