The monarchy’s coup in Nepal continues, with demonstrators being arrested.

Police in Nepal have arrested at least 120 anti-government activists across the country who defied a ban on protests to show their anger at King Gyanendra’s seizure of absolute power last month.

In the capital, Kathmandu, police detained more than 40 protesters who gathered near the Central Secretariat building, shouting slogans such as “Down with autocracy, we want democracy.”

The rest of the people were detained in similar demonstrations in nine other cities across the Himalayan kingdom.

Monday’s protest in the capital was the largest since February first, when the king dismissed the government, declared a state of emergency and suspended civil liberties.

He said he did so to defeat an escalating Maoist insurgency that has claimed more than 10,000 lives since 1996.

But as “For A Democratic Republic Of Nepal” notes, “Gyanendra????????s appointed cabinet has drafted a strategy focusing on corruption and poverty, it has announced no strategy for peace with Maoists.” The INSN has another article on this with a bit more info and quotes.

Still, Nepal????????s main political parties vowed to hold nationwide protests on April 8 to mark the 15th anniversary of mass pro-democracy demonstrations that ended autocratic rule by Nepal????????s kings.

???????We are working on strategies to be bring out the mass protest next week. It will be joint rallies organized by the five major political parties,’???????? said Kashinath Adhikari of the Communist Party of Nepal, the second-largest party.

However, Adhikari acknowledged the low turnout in previous protests, citing a distrust of politicians who are widely regarded as inefficient and corrupt.

Jagdish Narsingh, a youth leader with the main Nepali Congress party, said the protests haven????????t gained momentum because their top leaders are either in detention, exile or hiding.

I found another article which really caught my eye on how protestors are dispersing before being caught.

This is the story of how Democratic National Youth Front (DNYF) organized a pro-democracy rally, let all the journalists and photojournalists capture the moments and decieved the security forces to escape without without any arrests. This interesting story is told to me by photojournalists Bikash Karki.

The organisers invited all the photojournalists and reporters to Hotel Ashok at Bagbazaar at 3:00pm. Around one-and-half dozens were there – all those from major national and international media. The mediapersons were kept at the hotel for half-an-hour (they were served tea nonetheless) until somebody from somewhere phoned one of the activists there.

Until then the mediapersons didn????????t know where the rally was happening. After receiving the phone, the journalists were taken to Bangemuda, near Asan – the rally hub these days, in two taxis (off course those chosing to ride on their vehicle didn????????t sit in the taxies). At Bangemuda, after they arrived, around two dozens activists gathered, took out flags from their pockets and starting moving towards Naradevi, west of Bangemuda, chanting pro-democracy slogans.

The activists rallied in the 200m long road before the leader of it ordered to ???????disperse???????? and all the participants took out the flags from sticks, put it into their pockets and disappeared in the various sides.

???????There was no policeman in sight, so there was no arrest,??????? Bikash told me. These days policemen are not letting anybody rally and are arresting the activists as soon as they begin shouting slogans or take out party flags.

Very inventive, and just goes to show the lengths and morphings these groups will go through in order to resist the king’s oppression.