In Nepal, the police opened fire on protesters: 17 were killed and almost 150 were injured
Mass protests took place in Nepal’s capital Kathmandu against the authorities’ decision to block social networks, including Facebook, X and YouTube. The police opened fire on the demonstrators: 17 people were killed, another 145 were injured, reports CNN.
On September 8, tens of thousands of protesters gathered near the government building of Nepal. The action turned into clashes with the police: the protesters broke through the barbed wire fence around the parliament and forced the security forces to retreat inside the complex.
“Stop the ban on social networks, stop corruption, not social networks”, chanted the protesters.
The police opened fire on the crowd. The government of Nepal has declared a curfew for Monday in the areas around the parliament, the government secretariat, the presidential residence and in key parts of the city.
The wounded were taken to the hospital. According to the doctors of the National Trauma Center, among them are people with severe chest and head injuries. The police reported that the protesters also managed to injure the security forces. A total of 28 law enforcement officers were injured.
On September 5, the government of Nepal announced that it had blocked most social platforms, including Facebook, X and YouTube, because the companies did not comply with mandatory registration requirements in the country.
The authorities emphasized that about 20 popular platforms in Nepal have repeatedly received notices about the need to officially register their activities. Among those who have done so are TikTok and Viber, which have received permission to operate.
The government requires companies to establish a contact center in the country. A draft law aimed at ensuring proper regulation of the activities of social networks, their responsibility and accountability was submitted to the parliament. The document has not yet been reviewed, but it has already been criticized for attempting to introduce censorship. It was because of these initiatives and the threat of blocking social networks that the people of Nepal took to the streets. Local media dubbed the events “Protests of generation Z”.
