KATHMANDU: A group representing Nepal`s indigenous communities brought much of the country to a standstill on Sunday to protest against the parliament`s failure to draft a new national constitution.

Shops and offices closed and most vehicles remained off the roads across Nepal, where Sunday is usually a working day, after the group called a nationwide general strike.

Police said they had detained 60 people in the capital, Kathmandu, where some vehicles were vandalised, although the protest was mostly peaceful.

"We want the political parties to get serious about writing a new constitution for the country," said Raj Kumar Lekhi, chairman of the Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities.

"We want them to guarantee rights for Nepal`s ethnic minorities."

Nepal`s parliament was elected in May 2008 with a two-year mandate to write a new national constitution and complete the peace process that began when the civil war between Maoist rebels and the state ended in 2006.

It failed to complete either task on time and in May lawmakers voted to extend the deadline for 12 months, but little progress has been made since then.

The indigenous communities want the new charter to enshrine their rights after decades of discrimination in Nepal, where they have long been excluded from national politics.

Lekhi accused police of beating up activists and making unnecessary arrests. Police said those detained would likely be released uncharged at the end of the day.

BDST: 1511 HRS, August 15, 2010