The ban on social media is seen as the trigger for the violent overthrow of the government of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.
“I think the ban was more targeted at controlling the system so that the political parties have favorable things said about them,” said Maj Gen Binoj Basnyat, formerly of the Nepal Army and currently a well known strategic thinker and commentator.
In a short interview on The Gist, he said that the politicians were looking ahead at elections and well aware of their many shortcomings, saw the ban on social media as a convenient way to ensure the public only heard what they wanted to be conveyed.
But that was not to be.
“The peaceful protests have degraded their legitimacy,” he said alluding to ousted prime minister Oli, Nepali Congress leader Sher Bahadur Deuba and even Prachanda, head of the Maoist party.
“I think we can compare it somehow or the other with what’s happening in Bangladesh, to the political parties and their governance history, legitimacy has degraded, but not entirely gone.”
In his view, the protests in the streets are an entirely homegrown phenomenon. There were three mass protests, he noted, from March to May this year, their demands were unmet and in fact, the movements were forcibly put down.
The protests centred around the return of the monarchy and restoration of Nepal’s Hindu status, but these frittered out.
The current agitation, he says, “is more to do with the rights of the people, freedoms and the legitimacy of human rights, and the behavior of the security forces. It is aimed at the amendments in the Constitution and the governance system which is corrupt.”
He says in this volatile situation, no political party will want to take the reins of power, fearing a backlash from the angry young people in the streets.
Thirty eight years in journalism, widely travelled, history buff with a preference for Old Monk Rum. Current interest/focus spans China, Technology and Trade. Recent reads: Steven Colls Directorate S and Alexander Frater's Chasing the Monsoon. Netflix/Prime video junkie. Loves animal videos on Facebook. Reluctant tweeter.
