No less than 14 folks have been killed and dozens extra injured in Nepal’s capital as protesters clashed with police over a authorities resolution to dam 26 social media platforms together with Fb, X and YouTube.
Protesters pushed by way of fencing and compelled riot police to retreat as they surrounded the parliament constructing in Kathmandu on Monday.
Police have been stated to have shot at protesters making an attempt to storm the parliament constructing.
“Stop the ban on social media, stop corruption not social media,” the crowds chanted and waved nationwide flags.
State-run tv reported the variety of fatalities and wounded.
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Demonstrators gathered on the entrance of the parliamentary complicated. Pic: Reuters
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Pic: Reuters
The unrest and violent clashes prompted authorities to impose a curfew throughout elements of town, together with the areas surrounding parliament and the presidential home.
Monday’s rally was known as the protest of Gen Z, usually referring to folks born between 1995 and 2010.
The federal government stated social media networks have repeatedly been given notices to register their firms formally within the nation however had failed to take action.
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Pic: Reuters
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Pic Reuters
Nepal’s minister for communication and data Prithvi Subba Gurung stated final week the platforms could be blocked instantly.
TikTok, Viber and three different platforms have registered and are working with out interruption.
The federal government despatched a invoice for debate in parliament to make sure social media platforms are “properly managed, responsible and accountable”.
The invoice has been broadly criticised as a software for censorship and punishing authorities opponents who voice their protests on-line.
Rights teams have known as it an try by the federal government to curb freedom of expression and violate basic rights.
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In 2023, Nepal banned TikTok after accusing the platform of disrupting “social harmony, goodwill and diffusing indecent materials”.
The ban was lifted final yr after a sequence of pledges by TikTok executives to adjust to native legal guidelines.
The legal guidelines included a ban launched in 2018 of pornographic websites.
