Nepal Gen Z Protest News: Massive protests in Nepal today pushed the KP Sharma Oli government to the brink as Gen Z protesters took to arson and vandalism in various parts of the tiny Himalayan nation. The protests have escalated a day after the Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli revoked a ban on social media, a key trigger for the nationwide protests, to address the “demand of Gen-Z”.
Protesters set fire to the private residences of President Ram Chandra Poudel and Prime Minister Oli. Videos emerged on social media showing demonstrators roaming through the President’s house and vandalising it. Houses of former Nepali Prime Ministers Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias Prachanda and Sher Bahadur Deuba, and Energy Minister Deepak Khadka were also damaged by protestors.
The Prime Minister is under huge pressure to resign, with more and more ministers resigning and distancing themselves from the government.
A curfew is in place in several parts of the country, including the capital Kathmandu, after demonstrators threw stones and marched on the streets for the second consecutive day.
Police quickly tried to push back the protesters, but appeared not to be using any force, as the anger of demonstrators turned toward the government led by Oli, who has increasingly become unpopular.
Why People Are Protesting
At least 19 people died in violent clashes with law enforcement authorities on Monday, after tens of thousands took to the streets to protest against the ban on social media, which was lifted on Monday. However, the powerful outpouring of public anger showed that people’s dissatisfaction went beyond the ban, as they raised slogans against corruption within the government and the undue advantage that children of those in power—labelled nepo kids and nepo babies—get. The phrase ‘nepo’ comes from the word nepotism.
Protesters carried placards with slogans including “Shut down corruption and not social media”, “Unban social media”, and “Youths against corruption” as they marched through Kathmandu, while videos with hashtags like #NepoKid, #NepoBabies, and #PoliticiansNepoBabyNepal flooded social media.
“We are here to protest because our youths and friends are getting killed, we are here to seek that justice is done and the present regime is ousted. KP Oli should be chased away,” said Narayan Acharya, who was among the protesters outside the battered wall of the parliament building on Tuesday, according to Associated Press.
“We need to protest the killings of so many young ones and students, aimed directly at their heads by this Hitler-like KP Oli’s government. As long as this government is in power, the people like us will continue to suffer,” said Durganah Dahal, another protester.
What Led To Protests
Several widely used social networks, including Facebook, X and YouTube, were blocked in the Himalayan nation last week after failing to comply with a new requirement to register and submit to government oversight. Monday’s rallies against the ban swelled to tens of thousands of people in Kathmandu, and crowds surrounded the Parliament building before police opened fire on the demonstrators.
“Stop the ban on social media. Stop corruption, not social media,” the crowds chanted, waving national flags. Monday’s rally was called the protest of Gen Z, which generally refers to people born between 1996 and 2010.
