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Speaker 1: Already. And this is the Daily This is the Daily OS.

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Speaker 2: Oh, now it makes sense. Good morning, and welcome to

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Speaker 2: the Daily OS. It's Wednesday, the tenth of September. I'm

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Speaker 2: Emma Gillespie.

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Speaker 1: I'm Sam Kazlowski.

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Speaker 2: Nepal's government has lifted a controversial social media ban after

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Speaker 2: deadly protests swept through the country, killing nineteen people. Thousands

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Speaker 2: of young demonstrators took to the streets of the capital, Katmandu,

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Speaker 2: demanding an end to government corruption and the reversal of

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Speaker 2: restrictions on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and other platforms. The

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Speaker 2: protests have been dubbed as the country's gen Z Uprising

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Speaker 2: and represent some of the worst unrest Nepal has seen

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Speaker 2: in decades. In today's deep dive, we will take you

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Speaker 2: through everything you need to know about this social media

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Speaker 2: ban and the protests it inspired, as well as the

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Speaker 2: government response and backflip. But first a quick message from

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Speaker 2: today's sponsor.

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Speaker 1: So, and this is a story that has developed quite

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Speaker 1: quickly over the past few days. I find it really

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Speaker 1: helpful when we do stories such as this one to

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Speaker 1: really get a bit of a snapshot into the political

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Speaker 1: dynamics on the ground in Nepal. Nepal is not a

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Speaker 1: country that comes up in the news cycle a lot.

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Speaker 1: Give me a sense of what sparked these protests in

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Speaker 1: the first place.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so this all relates to a decision by the

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Speaker 2: Nepalese government to ban twenty six major social media platforms.

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Speaker 2: Officials essentially had put out a notice for social media

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Speaker 2: platforms to register with its Ministry of Communication. A deadline

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Speaker 2: was set back in August, and essentially the government was

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Speaker 2: arguing that it would set up this infrastructure, these channels

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Speaker 2: to handle hate speech and fake news and crack down

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Speaker 2: on online misinformation and disinformation right as well as fraud.

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Speaker 2: But critics had suggested that this was more about an

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Speaker 2: attempt at censorship, a way to control free speech. So

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Speaker 2: there was that deadline that I mentioned, and on Thursday

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Speaker 2: last week, the government announced that it would be blocking

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Speaker 2: social media platforms that failed to register by that deadline. Now,

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Speaker 2: this included pretty much every platform you can think of, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube,

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Speaker 2: even WhatsApp, x, LinkedIn, and Reddit. So a really far stretching.

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Speaker 1: Ban, so it doesn't isolate a particular company like we've

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Speaker 1: seen in other regulatory efforts. This was a ban on

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Speaker 1: pretty much any social media platform you could think of.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly. I think it's surprising to see the likes

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Speaker 2: of LinkedIn included in these sorts of vans. But it

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Speaker 2: is important to note, in terms of you know your question, Sam,

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Speaker 2: about a snapshot of Nepal. About half of Nepal's thirty

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Speaker 2: million people have Internet access, and more than seventy percent

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Speaker 2: of the country's Internet traffic comes through social media platforms. Now,

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Speaker 2: those who have opposed the ban, including these protesters, have

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Speaker 2: described these platforms as really critical communications channels for many

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Speaker 2: Nepalese families.

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Speaker 1: Talk me through that. So that we're talking here about

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Speaker 1: more of a demographic argument, then.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly. So I did not know this before, but

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Speaker 2: was fascinated to learn that about eight percent of Nepal's

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Speaker 2: population that's over two million people live abroad, mostly as

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Speaker 2: migrant workers. Now, many families in Nepal rely entirely on

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Speaker 2: platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger to stay in touch

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Speaker 2: with their relatives who work overseas. So when the government

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Speaker 2: suddenly blocked these platforms, it cut off communications for millions.

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Speaker 2: But there's also a really crucial economic stability angle to

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Speaker 2: all of this as well. According to World Bank data,

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Speaker 2: the money that these international workers send home to their

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Speaker 2: families in Nepal, what's known as personal remittances, that actually

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Speaker 2: accounts for over thirty three percent of Nepal's GDP. It's

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Speaker 2: the highest that figure has ever been. So there's a

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Speaker 2: really critical economic link between Nepalese families in the country

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Speaker 2: and their relatives abroad, you know, financially and from a

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Speaker 2: connection communications perspective.

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Speaker 1: Which in some ways is universal. I mean in countries,

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Speaker 1: both emerging economies and established economies, social media and instant

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Speaker 1: messaging is used for many economic reasons as well as

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Speaker 1: keeping in touch with families. And so then this led

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Speaker 1: to the protests that broke out on Monday. Were the

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Speaker 1: protest organizers and those who attended the protests were they

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Speaker 1: driven just by this social media ban or was this

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Speaker 1: kind of the tip of the iceberg for this group?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly. This isn't just about social media access. This

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Speaker 2: ban has really become a catalyst for protests that follow

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Speaker 2: much deeper seated issues. So we're talking about allegation of

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Speaker 2: widespread government corruption, what protesters have described as a lack

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Speaker 2: of economic opportunities for young people that ties into the

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Speaker 2: idea that you know, millions of Nepalese people are leaving

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Speaker 2: the country to find work, and Nepal has seen frequent

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Speaker 2: changes in government since its monarchy was abolished in two

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Speaker 2: thousand and eight, so it's really faced a period of

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Speaker 2: political instability pretty much ever since independence was achieved. I

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Speaker 2: mentioned corruption. One protester told local media that videos had

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Speaker 2: emerged on TikTok showing kids of Nepalese politicians living lives

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Speaker 2: of luxury in a country where the per capita income

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Speaker 2: is just over two thousand dollars dollars per year.

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Speaker 1: So there's some pretty deep seated and historic anger that's

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Speaker 1: coming through in these protests. Social media get switched off

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Speaker 1: and then these protests emerge quite quickly. What happened at

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Speaker 1: the protests themselves.

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Speaker 2: So the demonstration started at nine am local time on

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Speaker 2: Monday in central katman Do, and thousands of young people

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Speaker 2: had mobilized gathered at that time, many of them students

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Speaker 2: in school uniforms or wearing their university logo and merchandise,

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Speaker 2: and there were holding signs that read things like shut

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Speaker 2: down corruption not social Media, unbanned social Media, Youth against Corruption.

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Speaker 2: The protest was organized by this group called Hami Nepal,

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Speaker 2: which means We Nepal in English, and they'd actually received

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Speaker 2: official permission to hold this rally, so it wasn't a

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Speaker 2: surprise that demonstrators had turned out. But as the day

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Speaker 2: went on, things really escalated.

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Speaker 1: Well, what you're talking about there is the violence that

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Speaker 1: we've seen at the rallies. Was there a moment where

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Speaker 1: things did turn violent.

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Speaker 2: Yes, So the protest moved towards the Nepalese Parliament and

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Speaker 2: that's where some demonstrators kind of broke through police barricades

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Speaker 2: they entered this restricted zone. There was vision circulating showing

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Speaker 2: groups of young people climbing the walls trying to enter

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Speaker 2: parliamentary building. And it was really at that point that

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Speaker 2: authorities reacted with quite strong force. A curfew was imposed

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Speaker 2: in parts of the city and police used water cannons,

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Speaker 2: tear gas, rubber bullets to try to disperse the crowds,

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Speaker 2: but then, really distressingly and according to multiple reports and

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Speaker 2: eyewitness accounts, police began to fire live rounds of ammunition

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Speaker 2: at the demonstrators. By the end of the day, hundreds

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Speaker 2: of people were injured and at least nineteen people were dead.

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Speaker 2: Seventeen in Katmandu and two in the eastern city of Iahari.

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Speaker 1: Talk me through the international response to this. Then live

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Speaker 1: rounds on protesters escalates protests no matter where they are

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Speaker 1: in the world to attract international attention. What's the reaction been.

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Speaker 2: So, the UN Human Rights Office said it was shocked

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Speaker 2: by the killings and injury of protesters. It has urged

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Speaker 2: what it called, quote, a prompt and transparent investigation, and

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Speaker 2: the UN said it's received several deeply worrying allegations of

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Speaker 2: unnecessary or disproportionate use of force by security forces during

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Speaker 2: the protests. So the UN has called on Nepalese authorities

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Speaker 2: to quote respect and ensure the rights of peaceful assembly

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Speaker 2: and freedom of expression. Then we had Amnesty International release

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Speaker 2: of statement which said it strongly condemns the unlawful use

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Speaker 2: of lethal and less lethal force by law enforcement in Nepal.

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Speaker 2: It said the government must genuinely listen to the legitimate

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Speaker 2: demands of the youth to end corruption, deliver accountability, and

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Speaker 2: ensure civil liberties instead of melting out such reckless violence

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Speaker 2: against them.

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Speaker 1: Well, let's talk about that government response. Then there were

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Speaker 1: clear calls on the government. Have they responded to both

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Speaker 1: the social media band and the protests themselves since Monday. Yes.

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Speaker 2: So, in the initial aftermath of these deadly protests. On

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Speaker 2: Monday night, as the death hole was rising, as this

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Speaker 2: story began to make global headlines, the country's Prime Minister KP.

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Speaker 2: Sharma Olli called an emergency cabinet meeting. Then we had

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Speaker 2: a statement in which the PM said he was deeply

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Speaker 2: saddened by what had happened, but ultimately he blamed what

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Speaker 2: he called quote infiltration by various vested interest groups for

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Speaker 2: the violence. He didn't specify who these groups were, but

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Speaker 2: he also said his government was quote not negative towards

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Speaker 2: the demands raised by the GenZ protesters. Initially, there was

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Speaker 2: resistance within the government to lifting the social media ban.

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Speaker 2: We had some MPs saying that they were doubling down,

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Speaker 2: that they were not going to wind it back just

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Speaker 2: because of this unrest. Some reports suggested the Prime Minister

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Speaker 2: himself was strongly opposed to reversing the decision, But ultimately

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Speaker 2: it was reversed.

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Speaker 1: And that all happened yesterday. Yeah, so the ban is

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Speaker 1: now no longer in place.

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Speaker 2: Exactly so, less than twenty four hours after the deadly protests.

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Speaker 2: The Communications and Information Technology Minister announced that the ban

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Speaker 2: had indeed been lifted, telling Reuter's quote, we have withdrawn

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Speaker 2: them shut down of the social media. They are working now,

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Speaker 2: So all platforms back online.

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Speaker 1: Okay. So, and where does this all leave Nepal now

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Speaker 1: and the gen Z protesters as they've been described in

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Speaker 1: international media. Where do things go for the country?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, So, the government has announced a high level probe

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Speaker 2: committee to investigate the incident that will have to submit

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Speaker 2: a report within two weeks to kind of give its

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Speaker 2: assessment on what happened, what led to the deaths, analyzing

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Speaker 2: the use of force during demonstrations, right, and the government

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Speaker 2: has also promised compensation for the families of those killed,

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Speaker 2: as well as free medical treatment for the injured. And

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Speaker 2: it is worth noting that the bill cited as the

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Speaker 2: basis for the social media ban, it hasn't actually passed

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Speaker 2: parliament yet. Oh well, so I'm sure there'll be more protests,

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Speaker 2: more demonstration, more action as we wait to see the

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Speaker 2: fate of that piece of legislation unfold. You know, these

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Speaker 2: issues remain largely unaddressed, and I think it's been particularly

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Speaker 2: fascinated to see the voice of young people of gen

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Speaker 2: Z protesters elevated on the world stage, and this kind

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Speaker 2: of activism really can be a wake up call. So

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Speaker 2: I'm sure this is not the last we will be

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Speaker 2: hearing about.

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Speaker 1: This one I mentioned before, but I think it's just

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Speaker 1: so interesting that the international coverage of these protests really

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Speaker 1: is leaning into this phrase of the gen Z protests.

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Speaker 1: And it's not the first time in the world that

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Speaker 1: we've seen this age group do widespread protests and demonstrations.

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Speaker 1: It's the first time I can remember that there's a

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Speaker 1: really strong link between those protesting and the generation that

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Speaker 1: they represent. Exactly fascinating, really interesting. Thank you so much

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Speaker 1: for taking us through that, m and thank you for

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Speaker 1: joining us on the Daily Os today. We're going to

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Speaker 1: be back in the afternoon with your headlines, but until then,

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Speaker 1: have a wonderful Wednesday. We'll ch out to you later.

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Speaker 1: My name is Lily Madden and I'm a proud Arunda

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Speaker 1: Bunjelung Kalkuttin woman from Gadigal Country. The Daily Os acknowledge

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Speaker 1: that this podcast is recorded on the lands of the

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Speaker 1: Gadigal people and pays respect to all Aboriginal and Torrestrate

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Speaker 1: Island and nations. We pay our respects to the first

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Speaker 1: peoples of these countries, both past and present.