Ban on social media lifted in Nepal, Oli expressed grief, two days of mourning in educational institutions

Nepal/Kathmandu: The government finally had to bow down in front of the Zen Ji movement in Nepal's capital Kathmandu. Most of the banned social media sites started working again at around 1 am on Monday midnight. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has admitted that the government failed to convince the sentiment of the new generation. Oli said that there is no need for any Zen Ji to come on the road from tomorrow. Meanwhile, two days of mourning have been declared in educational institutions in memory of the students killed in the movement.

The government, scared of the movement, gave verbal information to internet service provider companies to run social media sites late at night. Shortly after this, Facebook, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Instagram and YouTube started working in Nepal. However, the government has not yet officially announced the lifting of the ban. Government spokesman, Information and Communication Minister Prithvi Subba Gurung said that the necessary process to lift the ban will start from Tuesday. It is reported that the ministry gave verbal instructions to all ISPs to lift the ban on social media.

Oli issued an appeal to the protesters at midnight. He said that from tomorrow no person needs to come on the road to use social media. He admitted that the government failed to understand the sentiments of the new generation. Oli said that the infiltration of protesters led to a horrific situation. Expressing grief over the death of protesters across the country including Kathmandu, he said that we failed to explain the reasons for the ban imposed on social media sites.

The Prime Minister clarified that his intention was never to impose a complete ban on social media or to shut it down completely. The Prime Minister has announced a judicial inquiry into the incident. Meanwhile, NMA, APEN, Hisan, National Pabson and Pabson issued a press release and in a joint statement expressed grief over the death of the protesting students and announced to keep the schools closed on 09 and 10 September. These organizations have announced two days of mourning. The joint statement was signed by NMA president Pavitra Limbu, APEN president Badri Dahal, HISSAN acting president Yubaraj Sharma, National PABSON president Subhash Neupane and PABSON president Krishna Prasad Adhikari.