Pokhara, 9 September | Following the government’s brutal crackdown on the Gen-Z youth protests, leaders of the All Nepal National Free Students’ Union (ANNFSU), the student wing of the CPN-UML, are resigning from the party and the organization. The police firing during the protests against the government’s social media ban and widespread corruption has resulted in the deaths of 19 people, leading to a wave of discontent among student leaders who were previously in a state of critical support for the party leadership.
Amidst widespread criticism of the government and increasing demands for the resignation of Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, Smriti Baral, the outgoing head of ANNFSU’s international department, announced her resignation from all positions within the party and the organization. In a Facebook post, she described Monday’s event not just as an act of repression but as an open display of the rulers’ arrogance. “The way the state repressed today is not just repression; it is an open display of the arrogance of the rulers,” she wrote. She added that ANNFSU has failed to protect its own existence and that she is leaving the party’s flag to embrace the flag of the nation.
Similarly, Bishwadarshan Parajuli, ANNFSU Gandaki Province co-coordinator, also announced his resignation from his organizational responsibilities and deactivated his CPN-UML membership. He wrote on Facebook, “When my party and the government led by my party betray me and youth like me, and the entire state and its people, I can no longer be a part of it.” Another student leader who participated in the Gen-Z movement, Nikesh Giri, also announced his resignation from ANNFSU via Facebook, expressing his support for the movement and his opposition to the government’s repression. Giri, who was the secretary of ANNFSU’s Pokhara University Central Campus chapter, stated that the once glorious organization no longer exists.
Many other members within the party and the organization are also protesting the incident and demanding action against those responsible. The deaths of 19 young people and injuries to hundreds more during the protests, the first of their kind by the Gen-Z generation, have dealt a significant blow to ANNFSU. The incident has created a deep rift between the CPN-UML-led government and its student wing, leading to the rapid resignations of student leaders.
