NEW DELHI, September 9. /TASS/. Military helicopters are evacuating members of the Nepalese government from their residences to Kathmandu International Airport over protest rallies erupting across the country, the India Today TV channel reported.
The airport has suspended its services for regular flights, the media outlet said.
According to the TV channel, the operation involves at least five helicopters. No less than 300 servicemen have been stationed at the airport. Evacuating the country’s Prime Minister Sharma Oli is also possible, India Today said. It is reported that the officials are being taken to safe locations controlled by the Nepalese army.
The decision to evacuate the government officials was made after several residences of the country’s politicians had been vandalized and torched, including the Bhaisepati main government residential complex.
On September 8, thousands of people took part in a protest rally dubbed Gen-Z Revolution near the parliament building in Kathmandu. They were protesting against a decision by the government to restrict social networks and messaging services in the country, as well as corruption. The protesters, mostly young people, broke through fences and got inside the parliament building. Clashes between the demonstrators and the police broke out. According to India Today, law enforcement used water cannons, tear gas as well as opened fire. Authorities introduced a curfew in the area near the parliament building and in other key locations in the capital. Nineteen people were killed, more than 100 were injured.
Protests against the ban on social networks were held in other major cities in the country in addition to Kathmandu.
On September 4, the Nepalese government introduced a ban on WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram (prohibited in Russia due to ownership by Meta, which has been designated an extremist organization), as well as other major social networks which had not registered with the country’s Ministry of Communication and Information Technology in due time. The decision was made in accordance with a directive by the Supreme Court prescribing the government to ensure the official registration of all online platforms and social networks, both domestic and foreign, before operating in Nepal to allow the monitoring of undesirable content. Access to platforms was blocked after not a single one of them applied for registration.
On September 9, the authorities lifted the restrictions.