The four-day nationwide strike called by the country’s seven main political parties and backed by the Maoist rebels began today, with the entire country practically shutting down.

Hundreds of security personnel in riot gear stood guard in the near-empty streets of Kathmandu Thursday, to thwart mass protests planned by an alliance of seven opposition parties.

But small groups of pro-democracy demonstrators emerged on the streets during the day, prompting a second wave of arrests. Many opposition leaders and activists had been detained a day ahead of the strike.

The government has vowed to crush the anti-monarchy protests, citing threats of violence by Maoist rebels. Authorities have banned public rallies, imposed a night-time curfew, and urged people to ignore the strike.

But businesses and schools shut down Thursday, and vehicles stayed off the roads in the city and on surrounding highways.

Prakash Man Singh, a spokesman for the Nepali Congress Democratic Party, says the government’s tough measures did not deter people from supporting the opposition’s demand that the king give up the powers he seized more than a year ago.

“The people have taken seriously the call given by the seven-party alliance. We do not want an autocratic monarch over here in Nepal, and we want to restore peace. We want total democracy. We want sovereignty back to the people,” said Prakash Man Singh.

The United Nations and the United States have criticized the ban on rallies and the arrests of political leaders and activists.

About 300 people were arrested yesterday and today, many of them activists and political leaders. Small, sporadic protests appeared all over the capital but the police chased many of the demonstrators down. Several of them have been given sentences of three months in prison for violating the “emergency laws,” the same ones that are allowing the rest of the prisoners to remain in jail without charges for up to a year.

However, the point of the strike is not to necessarily take to the streets. The past year has proven that the King will not allow for public demonstrations against his authority and will be brutal in breaking them up. That’s why the tactic of a national strike, simply staying home from work, functions better. The police cannot arrest you for staying home from your job. And if the entire country shuts down, the King is going to have a hard time ruling.

I would say this is probably the largest mass action the opposition has been able to put together so far. They have certainly been growing in strength and support over the last year. Much could happen within the next four days as the strike continues. Will the King succumb? Or are the Maoists using this as an opportunity to attack? Stay tuned.