The Australian federal government has released urgent advisories for its citizens in Nepal following the police’s use of firearms on anti-government protesters, resulting in at least 17 casualties.
The protests erupted over a government effort to regulate social media, which led to the blocking of major platforms such as Facebook, X, and YouTube.
Demonstrators flooded the area surrounding the Parliament building, with tens of thousands expressing their outrage at the authorities, who accused the tech companies of not registering and submitting to state supervision.
The video-sharing app TikTok, Viber and three other platforms have registered and operated without interruption.
Seven of those killed and scores of wounded were received at the National Trauma Center, the country’s main hospital in the heart of Kathmandu.
“Many have sustained severe injuries, with wounds indicating shots to the head and chest,” stated Dr. Badri Risa. Family members anxiously awaited updates on their loved ones, while individuals queued to donate blood.
Victims of government-backed massacre still searching for justice
“Lift the social media ban. Combat corruption, not social media,” chanted the crowd outside the Parliament, brandishing the national flags in red and blue. The demonstration was dubbed the Gen Z protest, typically involving those born between 1995 and 2010.
The government’s proposed regulation would require these companies to establish a liaison office or designate a contact point within the country. Human rights organizations have criticized the move as a bid to restrict freedom of speech and basic rights.
Nepal in 2023 banned TikTok for disrupting “social harmony, goodwill and diffusing indecent materials.”
The ban was lifted last year after TikTok’s executives pledged to comply with local laws, including a ban of pornographic sites that was passed in 2018.
