Nepal lifts social media ban after 19 die in Gen Z protests

Nepal revoked the ban on social media it had imposed after violent protests by youths rocked the country on Monday, with police's use of force leaving at least 19 people dead and over 300 others injured, and home minister Ramesh Lekhak resigning over the situation.

Swati Thapa, central committee member of the opposition Rastriya Prajatantra Party, told TOI, "All 26 social media platforms have been restored - but lifting the ban alone is not sufficient. What matters is accountability. The state has brutally murdered unarmed and peaceful young people - some of them in school uniform. Though the home minister has resigned, that does not settle matters. The govt must face the court of law and be held responsible for this mass murder of innocents.

And we will not be silent - Gen Z will return to the streets on Tuesday to protest these atrocities and RPP will stand with them."The army was deployed in the capital after the situation deteriorated. Army personnel have taken control of the roads surrounding the parliament complex. Earlier, thousands of youths, including school students, under the banner of Gen Z, staged a massive protest in front of Parliament in the heart of Kathmandu and shouted anti-govt slogans demanding immediate revocation of the ban.

The protests, which also broke out in other parts of Nepal, were the most extensive in a single day in the country's recent history. The violent response by security forces added to pressure on the govt of PM K P Sharma Oli, as both the opposition and a few members of the governing coalition called for his resignation. The demonstration turned violent when some protesters entered the parliament complex, prompting police to use water cannon, tear gas, and live rounds to disperse crowds, eyewitnesses said.Pratibha Rawal, joint spokesperson of Rastriya Swatantra Party, another opposition party, said Tuesday's Gen Z protests would go ahead as planned despite the partial rollback of restrictions. "This was not a law-and-order response - it was a massacre. These were young people holding placards, not weapons. Their voices were met with bullets. A resignation is not justice. This generation will not be silenced - we will return to the streets, not just to reclaim our rights but to demand accountability for state violence.

"Outrage has been growing in Nepal over a perceived lack of effective prosecution of high-profile corruption cases, as well as economic inequality. Demonstrators were also angered by the ban on dozens of social media platforms, including Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and WeChat. Officials implemented the ban Thursday after saying the platforms had failed to comply with new requirements to register with the govt.Nepal police spokesperson Binod Ghimire said 17 people were killed in clashes in various parts of Kathmandu, and two protesters died in Sunsari district of eastern Nepal in police firing. The protests spread to Pokhara, Butwal, Bhairahawa, Bharatpur, Itahari and Damak. Lekhak, who represented Nepali Congress in coalition govt, quit on moral grounds.Following the violence, the administration imposed a curfew in parts of the capital.

Besides Kathmandu, curfew orders were issued in Lalitpur district, Pokhara, Butwal and Itahari of Sunsarai district. Oli said on Sunday that his govt would "always oppose anomalies, and would never accept any act that undermines the nation". The PM said the party is not against social media, "but what cannot be accepted is those doing business in Nepal, making money, and yet not complying with the law".