In the last 48 hours, Nepal has been shaken by mass protests led by young people frustrated with the country’s leadership.
On Tuesday night, the Nepalese army sent troops to restore order after important government buildings were set on fire, politicians were attacked, and violent clashes erupted between protesters and government forces.
Nepal’s Prime Minister, Khadga Prasad Oli, also resigned early in the day in response to the fallout.
At least 19 people died in the protests and more than 200 were hospitalized due to injuries, according to the Nepal Civil Service Hospital. Here’s what to know.
How did the protests start?
Frustration among young people in Nepal has been growing due to unemployment and social inequality in the country. According to the Nepal Living Standards Survey 2022-23, published by the government, the country’s unemployment rate was 12.6%.
Before the protests, the hashtag #NepoBaby was a trending topic in the country, mainly to criticize the extravagant lifestyle of local politicians’ children and denounce corruption, NPR reported earlier.
On last Thursday, the Nepal government imposed a ban on most social media platforms, including Facebook, X, WhatsApp, and YouTube. Authorities said the measure was due to the lack of formal registration of these companies with the government.
Some saw the ban as a threat to freedom of expression, while others were concerned that it could disrupt communication with loved ones working abroad, local newspaper The Kathmandu Post reported. More than 741,000 Nepalis left the country in the fiscal year 2023-24 in search of employment, according to the Post.
Mass protests erupted on Monday — with some protesters setting fire to government buildings, including Parliament and the Supreme Court, as well as the homes of important political leaders, NPR reported earlier. Tribhuvan International Airport, the country’s main international airport, was also closed due to smoke in the area.
The government lifted the social media ban at the end of the day and imposed a curfew in the country’s capital, Kathmandu, and other cities. But the demonstrations continued.
On Tuesday, the District Administration Office in Kathmandu stated that government forces used water cannons, tear gas, and rubber bullets in an attempt to suppress the protests.
Next steps
The prime minister’s resignation came a day after the Interior Minister, Ramesh Lekhak, also announced his decision to resign.
A key question for the future is who has legitimacy to govern Nepal, according to Ashish Pradhan, senior consultant at the International Crisis Group, a nonprofit conflict resolution organization.
“This is quite unprecedented, especially due to the scale,” he said.
Many of the protesters identify as part of Generation Z, generally defined as those born between 1997 and 2012.
Over the years, this generation has played a central role in explosive political protests in the region. Most recently, last year in Bangladesh, students mobilized to demand the end of a controversial quota system for public jobs. The country’s authoritarian prime minister fled the country as a result. More than 1,400 people were killed, most by security forces, according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
In a joint statement on Monday, the embassies of the US, UK, Japan, France, and other countries expressed strong support for the “universal rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression”.
“We urge all parties to exercise maximum restraint, avoid further escalation, and ensure that these fundamental rights are protected,” the statement says.
Source: npr.org by Juliana Kim, Diaa Hadid