Newly appointed Nepalese Interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki began work yesterday by visiting young protesters wounded in the deadly anti-corruption rallies that ousted her predecessor.
Karki, a 73-year-old former chief justice, was tasked a day earlier with restoring order and addressing protesters’ demands for a corruption-free future ahead of elections in six months.
She has not spoken publicly since being appointed late on Friday, but started her work to restore government by meeting some of the scores wounded in hospital.
Photo: EPA
Protests began on Monday and quickly escalated, with parliament and key government buildings set ablaze, as they fed into long-standing economic woes in Nepal.
At least 51 people were killed in the worst unrest since the end of a decade-long civil war and the abolition of the monarchy in 2008.
The capital, Kathmandu, took a step toward normality yesterday as a curfew was eased, with markets opening, traffic returning and families visiting temples.
Soldiers scaled back their presence on the streets, where they had been deployed in large numbers since the protests.
“We don’t know what will happen in the future now, but we are satisfied today,” said Durga Magar, a 23-year-old Kathmandu shopworker. One-fifth of people in Nepal aged between 15 and 24 are unemployed, according to the World Bank, with GDP per capita standing at just US$1,447.
The appointment of Karki, known for her independence, came after intense negotiations by Nepalese President Ramchandra Paudel and army chief Ashok Raj Sigdel with representatives of “Gen Z,” the loose umbrella title of the youth protest movement.
Thousands of young activists had used the Discord app to debate the next steps and to name Karki as their choice of next leader.
Parliament was dissolved and elections set for March 5, shortly after she was appointed.
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