A MART脥NEZ, HOST:
The prime minister of Nepal resigned this morning, according to The Associated Press and other outlets - this after protesters defied a curfew and breached a government building. Now, the protests are in response to the killing of 19 people Monday in demonstrations partly triggered by people flaunting their wealth online. NPR's Diaa Hadid reports from Mumbai, with Rajneesh Bhandari in Kathmandu.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MONEY, MONEY, MONEY")
ABBA: (Singing) Money, money, money...
DIAA HADID, BYLINE: Anger was brewing for weeks as youths shared images hashtagged #NepoBaby of the social media lives of Nepal's elites, like the politician's son standing beside a Christmas tree made from Louis Vuitton boxes. The average Nepali makes just over $2,000 a year. They made reels of the images to catchy music.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MONEY, MONEY, MONEY")
ABBA: (Singing) If I had a little money. It's a rich man's world.
HADID: Anger escalated more last week after the government banned most social media, saying the platforms had not registered with authorities. Protests then erupted Monday, apparently called for by students online. Some set fire to branches of political parties, to the home of a former leader. They chanted, we want our taxes back.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: (Non-English language spoken).
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Non-English language spoken).
HADID: Protester Anjil Shrestha (ph) said he was on the streets.
ANJIL SHRESTHA: Because of corruption and because of the banners, we cannot have any freedom of speech.
(SOUNDBITE OF SIREN WAILING)
HADID: Activists say security forces opened fire after protesters breached a wall surrounding Parliament. One doctor, Sanjay Gautam, described what he saw.
SANJAY GAUTAM: We found the metallic bullets in the thigh, in the leg, in the arm, in the abdomen, in the chest, in the ear. Everywhere. Everywhere.
HADID: Meenakshi Ganguly of Human Rights Watch says authorities must be held to account.
MEENAKSHI GANGULY: These were schoolchildren. They were in uniform. For the police to open fire on kids like this is just really, really unacceptable.
HADID: The government lifted the social media ban Monday, but protesters say they'll keep going until they see accountability.
Diaa Hadid, NPR News, Mumbai, with Rajneesh Bhandari in Kathmandu.
(SOUNDBITE OF KIKAGAKU MOYO SONG, "CARDIGAN SONG") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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