Nepal Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak resigned from the government after taking “moral responsibility” for the violence, another government minister, who requested anonymity because he was not authorised to speak with the media, told Reuters.
Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli called an emergency cabinet meeting to discuss the unrest, which erupted after thousands of young people, including many wearing their school or college uniforms, took to the streets earlier on Monday.
A protester falls down during clashes with riot police in Kathmandu.Credit: AP
Many carried flags and placards with slogans such as “shut down corruption and not social media”, “unban social media,” and “youths against corruption” as they marched through Kathmandu.
Organisers of the protests, which spread to other cities in the Himalayan country, have called them “demonstrations by Gen Z”. They say the protests reflect young people’s widespread frustration with the government’s perceived lack of action to tackle corruption and boost economic opportunities.
“This is the protest by the new generation in Nepal,” another protester told ANI.
International nonprofit organisation Human Rights Watch said the government of Nepal should avoid perceiving these protests primarily through a law-enforcement perspective and recognise that demonstrators’ mass outpourings of criticism reflect deep frustrations throughout Nepal with entrenched corruption, nepotism, and poor governance.
“Nonviolent means should be utilised before resorting to force,” it said in a statement. “The use of force is only appropriate if other measures to address a genuine threat have proved ineffective.”
Police had orders to use water cannons, batons and rubber bullets to control the crowd, and the army was deployed in the parliament area to bolster law enforcement officers, Muktiram Rijal, a spokesperson for the Kathmandu district office, told Reuters.
Violence abated later in the evening, though protesters remained in the area outside parliament.
Police said similar protests were also held in Biratnagar and Bharatpur in the southern plains and in Pokhara in western Nepal.
Protesters clash with riot police on Monday.Credit: AP
Many people in Nepal think corruption is rampant, and the Oli government has been criticised by opponents for failing to deliver on its promises to tackle graft or make progress to address longstanding economic issues.
The Oli government has said the economy was recovering because of the corrective measures it had taken. Thousands of young Nepalis go abroad every year for work and education.
Nepal has been politically unstable since it abolished a 239-year-old monarchy in 2008. There have been 14 governments since 2008, not one of which has completed a full five-year term. Oli, 73, was sworn in to his fourth term last year.
Rameshwore Khanal, a former finance secretary, said that although job creation was not meeting expectations, popular anger appears to stem more from unhappiness with government appointments and its inability to stamp out corruption.
A police officer aims his weapon at protesters on Monday.Credit: AP
Nepal’s social media shutdown comes as governments worldwide take steps to tighten oversight of social media and big tech due to growing concern about issues such as misinformation, data privacy, online harm and national security.
Critics say many of these measures risk stifling free expression, but regulators say stricter controls are needed to protect users and preserve social order.
