Gen Z Reckoning របស់ប្រទេសនេប៉ាល់
Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli resigns amid deadly anti-government protests.
Nationwide Protests
As mass anti-government protests swept Nepal, Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli announced his resignation on Tuesday, following in the footsteps of several high-ranking cabinet ministers. Oli will lead a caretaker government until a new one is implemented, though it is unclear how much power he may wield as well as where he is currently located.
Still, Oli’s resignation appears to have had little effect on Nepal’s nationwide protests, with tens of thousands of people remaining on the street late into the day.
Protests first erupted Monday following a government ban on 26 social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, WeChat, WhatsApp, X, and YouTube. Legislation targeted these sites for reportedly failing to register and submit to government oversight; however, the policy was widely criticized as a state-sponsored tool to censor and punish the country’s political opposition. TikTok was not included in the ban, as the app’s executives promised last year to comply with local laws, including a ban on pornographic sites.
Young people largely led Monday’s protests, which quickly broadened to encapsulate wider criticism of Oli’s government and accusations of corruption, particularly nepotism. Youth unemployment in Nepal hit nearly 21 percent last year, with more than 2,000 young people leaving the country every day to seek work in the Middle East or Southeast Asia.
The so-called Gen Z protests quickly spiraled out of control. Video footage showed demonstrators attacking and setting fire to government buildings and the private residences of top political figures, including Oli’s home. Widespread looting was reported, rioting led to two mass jail breaks of around 900 people, and at least one video showed protesters attacking Nepali Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba and her husband, Nepali Congress party leader Sher Bahadur Deuba.
Police responded with live ammunition, rubber bullets, and water cannons. At least 19 people were killed and hundreds more injured, making Monday the single-largest death toll from a day of public protest in Nepal’s history. That death toll continues to rise.
Oli’s resignation the following day was just one way the government tried to address the deaths. Kathmandu lifted its ban on all 26 social media sites; Oli vowed to form an investigating committee to submit a report on the violence within 15 days; and the government pledged compensation to the families of those killed, adding that those who were wounded would receive free medical treatment.
Kathmandu’s main security agencies issued a joint statement on Tuesday calling for public restraint and a peaceful path forward. “It is our common responsibility to maintain law and order, ensure national unity, and not to let additional loss of life and property,” army chief Ashok Raj Sigdel said. Nepal’s army also announced that it would assume responsibility for law and order starting at 10 p.m. local time; the statement came less than 15 minutes before the 10 p.m. deadline began.
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