Myanmar civil society groups stand in solidarity with Nepal’s People’s Movement

Mizzima

On 17 September, a coalition of Myanmar civil society organizations, together with FORUM-ASIA, issued a joint statement expressing solidarity with the people of Nepal following mass protests against the government’s attempted ban on 26 social media platforms. 

The statement is as follows.

We are in solidarity with the people of Nepal in their struggle for democratic accountability and in upholding civic freedoms. The people of Myanmar are all too familiar with the realities of state violence, censorship, and corruption. Our struggles are inseparable. Today in Myanmar, more than four years since the attempted coup of 2021, Myanmar’s youth continue their fight for democracy against dictatorship. We commend Nepal’s youth and communities who are mobilising with courage against repression and impunity.

The Government of Nepal’s 5 September attempt to ban 26 social media platforms was an outright abuse of power and a grave violation of fundamental freedoms. By silencing dissent under vague charges like “obscene” or “anti-national,” the measure lacked legal clarity, necessity, and proportionality, and sought to shrink civic space and control public expression. Nepal’s youth rose against this repression, and despite brutal crackdowns on the protest that resulted in the killing of more than 30 people, the people’s resistance forced the ban’s reversal and the resignation of Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli on the 9th September. The struggle for justice continues.