Nepal Social Media Ban Removed: After protests and violence, the Nepal government takes a U-turn, removes ban on social media

The Nepalese government has announced the lifting of the ban on social media after violent protests. The lifting of the ban was announced by Information and Broadcasting Minister Prithvi Subba Gurung in the government of PM KP Sharma Oli. Accusing corruption, inequality, and scams, the people of the country reached the Parliament and expressed their anger. Seeing the crisis deepening due to the fire of youth's anger, the government called a cabinet meeting late on Monday night. Let us tell you that 20 people have died in the clashes between Nepal Police and protesters, while more than 340 have also been injured.

This is why the public is angry with the government of Nepal.

Due to the large number of youth taking to the streets, it is being called the Gen-G movement. The crisis in the Nepalese government has deepened due to public anger. The demand for the resignation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has intensified. Although the immediate reason for this movement is the ban on social media, at its core is the corruption, nepotism, and inequality prevailing in the country.

The government is not in favor of stopping the use of social media

After the ban was lifted, the Prime Minister said, 'I am deeply saddened by the tragic incident that took place during the Gen-Z generation protest. We believed that our children would peacefully raise their demands, but the protest was infiltrated due to vested interests. The situation that arose due to this has resulted in the tragic loss of the lives of citizens... The government was not in favor of stopping the use of social media and will ensure an environment for its use.'

An investigation committee will be formed, report in 15 days.

He said there was no need to continue protesting to use social media. The deteriorating situation will not be allowed to continue like this... I want to assure you that an inquiry committee will be formed to investigate and analyze the violence and damage, the reasons. A report will be submitted within 15 days, and recommendations will be made to prevent such incidents in the future.

The government does not regret the decision to ban.

After the cabinet meeting held late on Monday night, Minister Prithvi Subba Gurung said that the government does not regret its earlier decision, but the ban is being lifted in view of the movement. The way for the use of social media is being opened again in Nepal. He also appealed to 'Gen-Z' (a group of youth) to end the movement.

The government's argument in support of the ban

It is worth noting that last week the Nepal government banned the use of many platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube, Snapchat, Pinterest, and X (formerly Twitter). The government said that these companies could not comply with the registration deadline under the new rules, so the ban is being imposed. The government had also said that it is necessary to ban social media to prevent fake IDs, hate content, fraud, and cyber crime.

What did PM Oli reply to the issue of the ban on social media?

When this issue was raised in the country's Parliament, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had said that 'X' did not respect Nepal's sovereignty. Regarding this social media platform owned by American billionaire Elon Musk, the Prime Minister of Nepal said that X refused to register in Nepal. The government had been appealing to all social media companies to register for the last one and a half years, but this was not done. As a result, the government had to impose a ban.

What is the whole matter? Where did the anger arise from?

Let us tell you that thousands of youth demonstrated on the streets of Kathmandu against the ban on social media. The protesters were also seen trying to move towards the Parliament building. The police had to use water cannon, batons, and rubber bullets to control the situation. Posters with slogans like 'Stop corruption, not social media', 'Unblock social media' were also seen in the hands of the protesters. It is noteworthy that in recent years, many reports of alleged corruption involving ministers and officials in PM Oli's government have surfaced. After these reports, anger is growing among the public. Seeing the deepening crisis in the country after the news of deaths in violence and injured protesters, the United Nations Human Rights Office also expressed concern. The UN has demanded a fair and transparent investigation.