Nepal's Parliament debates US aid grant amid fierce protests
KATHMANDU, Nepal -- Nepal’s government presented a contentious half-billion dollar aid grant from the United States for approval in Parliament on Sunday, triggering a fresh round of violent clashes between protesters and police outside the legislature.
Hundreds of protesters tried to push through barbed wire barricades and pelted riot police with stones. Police beat them with bamboo batons, fired tear gar and water canons, leaving injured on both sides.
Opposition to the aid grant comes mainly from two of the Communist parties that are part of the coalition government. They claim the conditions in the grant agreement will prevail over Nepal’s laws and threaten the country’s sovereignty. They say it’s part of Washington’s Indo-Pacific strategy, which has military components that could bring American soldiers to Nepal.
U.S. officials have spoken to Nepalese leaders recently to assure that the grant concerns only Nepal’s development. The money is meant to be used for the construction of power transmission lines and improvement of roads in the Himalayan nation.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/nepals-parliament-debates-us-aid-grant-amid-fierce-83012105
