South Asia News

Nepal Buddhists demonstrate against Maoist leader

Dec 7, 2011, 12:46 GMT

Kathmandu - Hundreds of Buddhists staged a protest in the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, Wednesday, to protest against Maoist Chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal's connection to a development project in Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha.

Lhakpa Sherpa of the Buddhism Preservation Stakeholders Committee said politicians were breaching the sanctity of a religious place like Lumbini by transforming it into a tourism destination.

The committee was formed by the government to develop Lumbini, 240 kilometres southwewest of Kathmandu, as a world Buddhist tourism destination.

Demonstrators held placards demanding Dahal be removed from the position of director of the Lumbini Development Committee. They have demanded a follower of Buddhism should be appointed to the post.

Dahal, who is coordinator of the development committee, lead the decade-long Maoist insurgency in Nepal, which ended in 2006 after the signing of a peace deal with the government. 16,000 people were killed in the conflict.