Dozens injured as Nepal police disperse sit-in

Kathmandu_(dpa) _ Over six dozen demonstrators were injured when police tried to disperse them from their sit-in near the Nepalese army headquarters in Kathmandu, eyewitnesses said Tuesday.

The sit-in started mid-day Monday by families whose relatives have disappeared and are asking the government for immediate disclosure of their whereabouts. Eyewitnesses said the police used force to disperse the sit-in late Monday.

According to Nepal's National Human Rights Commission, the fate of 563 people disappeared by the state, 315 persons disappeared by the Maoists and 58 persons disappeared by unknown groups were still unknown.

The demonstrators reassembled when senior Maoist leaders arrived at the scene, pledging to continue their protests until the government makes public the whereabouts of their missing relatives.

Senior Maoist leader Dina Nath Sharma said at the site Tuesday that the sit-in would continue "for an indefinite period."

Protestor Chandra Kala Uprety said, "We are not here for anything but to know the fate of our beloved family members."

The Maoists expressed solidarity with the protestors and condemned the police action.

Senior Maoist leader Babu Ram Bhattarai told a gathering last week that the Maoists would make public the status of those allegedly disappeared by them as soon as they joined the proposed interim government.

The families have been staging sit-ins for a month. dpa sb pw