Violent protests in Nepal over alleged corruption and a short-lived government ban on social media have left parts of Kathmandu engulfed in smoke and chaos, according to Canadian traveller Paige Clucas, who witnessed the unrest first-hand.
Clucas, who was visiting the Nepali capital with a friend from Oslo, Norway, said the demonstrations near Parliament drew tens of thousands of people and quickly escalated.
“We got tear gassed for a couple of hours, and they were firing at us as well, doing anything to keep us back,” she told CTV News Channel Tuesday.
Clucas said police were not successful in their attempts to control the crowd.
“Eventually the gates just opened ... people flooded it, set everything on fire and looted it,” she added.
According to the Associated Press, demonstrators set both government buildings and politicians’ homes on fire while attacking some leaders.
Videos shared on social media showed protesters beating up Nepali Congress party leader Sher Bahadur Deuba and his wife, Arzu Rana Deuba, the current foreign minister. Both appeared to be bleeding, while one video showed the party leader being helped to safety. The party is the country’s largest and is part of the governing coalition.
Nepali Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli resigned Tuesday amid widening criticism of the country’s political elite. However, the resignation appeared to have little effect on the unrest.
The protests were triggered by the government’s sweeping ban on social media apps including WhatsApp, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter, leaving only TikTok accessible — saying the companies had failed to register and submit to government oversight.
The social media ban was lifted Tuesday, but the protests continued, fuelled by rage over the deaths of 19 people killed a day earlier and accusations of political corruption in the nation wedged between China and India.
Clucas said many Nepalis told her they felt cut off from their families abroad.
“The owner of this hostel told me ‘I can’t talk to my daughter anymore. There’s no way to contact her,’” she said.
As for the way forward, Clucas said it depends on what the Nepali government does next and who steps in.
“If it continues to be how it has been for the last 20, whatever years, then the protests are definitely going to continue. They just want change.”
The demonstrations are being called the protest of Gen Z as many young people are angry that the children of political leaders — so-called “nepo kids” — seem to enjoy luxury lifestyles and numerous advantages, while most youth struggle to find work.
