A former DJ and a Nepali non-profit organization he barely knew launched a massive protest using a social media app popular with video gamers. Through this, they unexpectedly became influential in shaping the leadership of the country’s new interim government.
At least a dozen people who took part in the protest said that the founder of the organization called ‘Hami Nepal’ (We are Nepal) is Sudan Gurung, 36. He organized the anti-government protests using the messaging app Discord and Instagram.
In Nepal, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli was forced to resign in the face of protests by the Gen-G generation of youth. The protests have triggered the bloodiest political crisis in the Himalayan country in decades.
The people who took part in the protest also said that the organization used VPNs to access the banned platform. Their call for protest and protest reached thousands of young people through this platform. Representatives for Oli could not be reached for comment.
“I was invited to join a group on Discord, which had about 400 members, and we were asked to join a protest a few kilometers from the parliament building,” Karan Kulung Rai, an 18-year-old student not affiliated with the group, told Reuters.
Hami Nepal’s early social media posts became so influential that they were even featured on national television channels.
When protests turned violent, the group identified messages that were labeled as “fake news” and shared hospital phone numbers for people’s convenience.
Members of Hami Nepal, who use pseudonyms online and do not want to reveal their identities for security reasons, said Gurung and other leaders of the group are now at the center of important decisions. Their decisions are now taking on important issues, such as appointing the leadership of a new interim government until elections are held on March 5.
Three members of the group said they had already convinced the country’s president and army chief to appoint former Chief Justice Sushila Karki, known for her tough stance on corruption, as Nepal’s first female prime minister.
Gurung said in her first press conference since the protests on Thursday, “I will ensure that power is in the hands of the people and every corrupt politician is brought to justice.”
Members of Hami Nepal said Gurung and his party met on Sunday to decide on key cabinet posts. They proposed removing some government officials appointed by the previous administration.
“A meeting is underway between Karki and the group members. We will finalize the cabinet soon,” said one member. Gurung and Karki did not immediately respond to questions sent to their mobile phones.
Hami Nepal said on Instagram that the process was being carried out carefully so that skilled and capable youth are included in the cabinet.
From DJs to revolutionaries
Monday’s protest has become known as the ‘Gen-G’ generation movement due to the participation of young people. Most of the participants were in their 20s. Their few hours of protest turned bloody and quickly led to the collapse of the government.
The protest was primarily against widespread government corruption. It intensified after several social media and messaging platforms were banned. However, the Oli government later lifted the ban. But it was too late. At least 72 people were killed and more than 1,300 were injured in clashes between protesters and law enforcement.
Gurung is not from the Gen-G generation in terms of age. His party has promised not to take any cabinet posts. But they want to participate in future decision-making.
Ronesh Pradhan, a 26-year-old volunteer with the organization, said, “We don’t want to be politicians. Sudan Gurung was only helping the youth of the Gen-G generation and we are not only interested in taking the voice of the nation, taking the leadership.
Gurung was a DJ before founding Hami Nepal. In 2015, the worst earthquake in Nepal’s history killed more than 9,000 people. He was actively involved in various activities, including distributing relief materials during that time and during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Along with Gurung, the team members who run the Instagram account and Discord post include 24-year-old cafe owner Ojaswi Raj Thapa and law graduate Rehan Raj Dangal. Their Instagram followers have grown to 160,000.
Thapa, who quickly emerged as one of the main leaders of the protests, told Reuters in an interview that the judiciary was not independent and that ensuring its independence would be a top priority after the formation of an interim government.
“We may have to make some changes to the constitution. But we do not want to abolish the constitution,” Thapa said on Thursday.
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