00:00because residents in Kathmandu are now under curfew as the city reels from days of violent
00:05clashes and widespread arson. Soldiers have been deployed to patrol the streets in a bid to restore
00:10calm. The death toll has risen to 25 people, including 19 killed on Monday when police used
00:17tear gas and rubber bullets against youth-led demonstrations. Although Tamil has forced
00:23Prime Minister Shama Ali to resign, protesters are demanding action against corruption and
00:29economic inequality. A controversial social media plan has now also sparked the latest outrage but
00:35it has been reversed. Eliza Herbert has the very latest. Nepal remains under curfew. Troops are
00:44patrolling the streets, threatening to crack down without hesitation on any new demonstrations or
00:49acts of vandalism. Burnt out cars and buildings remain, serving as a reminder of the public's
00:56anger, which has not completely subsided despite Tuesday's resignation of Prime Minister Shama Ali.
01:03They ruled for several years. They deceived the poor and spent citizens' money for their own profit.
01:10Despite the damage, it's a historic revolution that's awakened me and my compatriots. Everything
01:19will change with the fall of the government. From now on, citizens will get their fair share.
01:23The Gen Z protest movement began in response to a social media ban, nepotism and corruption among
01:32the elite. It was billed as peaceful but quickly turned deadly, when on Monday police officers opened
01:38fire on demonstrators. In turn, the protests grew increasingly violent and by Tuesday government
01:46buildings and politicians' homes had been set alight. Several figures are being considered to replace the
01:52outgoing Prime Minister until elections are held, including former Supreme Court President Sushila Kaki,
01:59who protest leaders said Wednesday is their preferred candidate.
02:02This is only an interim government because our country is faced with so many threats.
02:07We can't let an army rule and we need to protect democracy.
02:11Authorities say that more than 13,500 prisoners took advantage of the political instability to escape from
02:21prison. A volatile situation which also has China concerned, and hoping its neighbour can restore
02:28order and national stability as soon as possible.
02:31Well, let's bring in Sandra Devbata, who is a political scientist who joins us now from Kathmandu by phone.
02:40Sandra, we have soldiers on the streets of Kathmandu, thousands of protesters also.
02:47What have the last few days been like for you in the city?
02:51The last few days have been really chaotic for Nepal. You know, almost more than 30 persons have
03:00already lost their life and the city is under curfew. There are lots of youths in the streets.
03:06You know, the major administrative buildings have been burnt and a lot of top political leaders have
03:13been trashed out and they have been handed over to the security officials by the people from the
03:19generation. It's really chaotic. We really don't know how things will unfold in the days to come.
03:25But as of today, the Gen Z have proposed the former Chief Justice Sushila Kharki as their
03:35favorite candidate for the prime minister. But there are some legal issues as well, constitutional issues
03:42as well with regard to her appointment as the prime minister, because we still have got a parliament in place and we
03:51cannot because the constitution does not allow anybody to become a prime minister outside of the constitutional
03:58framework. So there are some legal hurdles on it. But the president will have to be I think president can come up with
04:06certain solutions, along with the Nepal army, now who is playing a crucial role in forming the next government
04:14in Kathmandu. But still, it looks very, very, very uncertain how the days will unfold. There are the protesters are also
04:24divided along different lines and their protest, in fact, has been hijacked by the interest group, different types of interest group.
04:33There were political leaders as well in the protest. There were people from the Maoist party. There were pro-monarchist
04:41people as well. So different yet ultimately have hijacked the protest initiated initially by the young people of Nepal.
04:54Well, one of their key grievances among the protesters is corruption. They say that there's a lot of corruption going on.
05:02There's the trend Nepo baby that's gone viral on social media, accusing government ministers of using taxpayers' monies to
05:10fund a lavish lifestyle for their children. Is there any truth in that?
05:18We're going for a long period of time. In fact, Nepal has witnessed a series of political instabilities over the period of time.
05:26If you remember last year, one of the famous newspapers from France itself declared Nepal as a champion of political instability.
05:34On top of the instability, there has been huge corruption. And those, you know, who are closely affiliated with political parties have been reaping the benefits in one way or the others.
05:45But youth at large will have to, they did not have any opportunities within the country.
05:50If you look at almost 2,500 plus youth have been leaving the country for their livelihood outside.
05:57So this has been building on for a long period of time. But the current problem arised when Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Wally put ban on social media.
06:09And they, in fact, that irritated youths and they come out, they came out in the street.
06:15So their initial demand was to end corruption, the rampant corruption, which has been going on country for decades.
06:24And they were also, you know, they also wanted bans to be lifted on the social media.
06:30Rather than doing that, Prime Minister chose to use force. And that derailed the situation in Kathmandu and led to the violence of the scale, which has never been witnessed in the past.
06:46Well, Sanjay, I did want to ask you about that ban on social media. Why did the government put that in place in the first place?
06:52I think the government was quite, you know, quite worried about its own, its own work on the popularity of the government was declining day by day.
07:06But government still wanted to convey the message that it is doing the work.
07:11And there are some political reasons as well. The CP and UML party who was in power was having its, its conventions.
07:19And there were some problems within the party, which they did not really, you know, they wanted to put some sort of ban on their own cadres as well.
07:29So they introduced this ban on social media primarily for their own interest.
07:37And on top of that, they basically wanted to, you know, suppress the voice of the people as well.
07:45Apart from that, they have said that the social media companies like Facebook X, Facebook and X are required to register in Nepal as per the law of the land.
07:58But they were not doing it. And this was also the there was also the the the the verdict given by the Supreme Court of Nepal,
08:06that anybody who is any company who is operating in Nepal will have to be registered with the with the concern authorities of the government.
08:15But there were no proper laws to do to do that.
08:18That's why they were reluctant to to register as well.
08:22The the officials of the X said that we don't want to register in a country where corruption is rampant.
08:29So there were multiple factors working together.
08:32So Sandra is really good to get those explanations from you.
08:35Thank you so much for joining us on the program today on Prime East Paris.
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