Shah said he did not join the protests, which he said were mainly for people under 26 who might view him as too old, but that it was important to listen to protesters’ demands.
On Tuesday, after Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli resigned, he called on protesters to show patience and restraint.
“Now your generation will have to lead the country!” he told his almost 800,000 followers on Instagram. “Be prepared!”
‘An impatient generation’
The protests have had deadly consequences in both Nepal and Indonesia, where police fired on demonstrators. The violence last week in Nepal, where protesters set fire to government buildings and political leaders’ homes, left at least 72 people dead, the country’s health ministry said Sunday. In Indonesia, 10 people died in the five-day protests, according to the independent National Commission on Human Rights.
But they have also forced government changes in both countries.
In Nepal, a Himalayan country of about 30 million people, the 73-year-old Oli has been replaced by former Supreme Court Chief Justice Sushila Karki, also 73, who was the choice of student protesters and is the country’s first female leader. Karki is serving in an interim capacity, and new elections have been called for March.
In Indonesia, the world’s biggest Muslim-majority country, President Prabowo Subianto rolled back the government perks and fired five ministers, including the ministers of finance and security.
Authorities in both countries pledged to crack down on vandalism and violence during the protests, but the show of force only served as a catalyst, with incidents quickly going viral on social media and mobilizing Gen Z.
