A Colour Revolution In Nepal?

All my investigations are free to read, thanks to the enormous generosity of my readers. Independent journalism nonetheless requires investment, so if you value this article or any others, please consider sharing, or even becoming a paid subscriber. Your support is always gratefully received, and will never be forgotten. To buy me a coffee or two, please click this link.

Over recent weeks, chaos has engulfed Nepal. Public and private buildings have been set ablaze, with dozens of civilians reportedly killed. On September 9th, Prime Minister K. P. Sharma Oli resigned. The Western media has universally framed the upheaval as spontaneous revolutionary fervour on the part of Kathmandu’s “Gen Z”, motivated by anger over official corruption, unemployment, state efforts to censor social media, and more. However, there are unambiguous indications the insurrectionary disarray has long-been in the making, and assisted by spectral, foreign forces.

The “Gen Z” protests comprise a cluster of local youth activist groups, and are widely dubbed “leaderless”, although Hami Nepal has clearly emerged at the movement’s forefront. English language Nepali Times has reported the hitherto unknown NGO “played a central role in guiding the demonstrations, using its Instagram and Discord platforms to circulate protest information and share guidelines.” The group was established to assist victims of earthquakes - a common occurrence in the country - and provide food, medical and other aid to disadvantaged Nepalese communities.

Subsequently, Hami Nepal oversaw the election of Kathmandu’s interim premier Sushila Karki on September 12th, via the highly unorthodox, and completely unprecedented, expedient of an online vote via Discord. The NGO’s chat group reportedly boasts 145,000 members, although it’s unclear how many people ultimately voted for Karki. The Western media, and local journalist Prayana Rana, a fervent supporter of the unrest who considers the palace coup to be wholly legitimate and organic, has acknowledged choosing a leader in this manner to be deeply problematic:

“It is much more egalitarian than a physical forum that many might not have access to. Since it is virtual and anonymous, people can also say what they want to without fear of retaliation. But there are also challenges, in that anyone could easily manipulate users by infiltration, and using multiple accounts to sway opinions and votes.”

Karki has firmly pledged to only serve six months in the post, until elections are held. She herself has an impressive revolutionary history, having participated in the 1990 People’s Movement that successfully overthrew Nepal’s absolute monarchy, for which she was jailed. In June 1973, her husband hijacked a plane, stealing vast sums of money to fund armed resistance against the country’s brutal regency, which similarly landed him in prison. Karki’s commitment to seriously tackling corruption as Nepal’s Chief Justice led to her politically-motivated impeachment in June 2017, after just one year.

It is entirely uncertain who and/or what will replace Karki, and by which mechanism they will attain office. Nonetheless, that Hami Nepal, a previously obscure NGO with no history of political activism has played such an outsized role in ousting the government of a country of 30 million people and installing its new ruler within mere days, should give us pause. While the organisation’s activities appear benevolent, its rollcall of “brands that support us” contains some entries that are puzzling, if not outright concerning.

‘Anonymous Profiles’

It is unclear what forms of “support” Hami Nepal has received from its sponsors, or when it was provided, but they run quite the gamut. For one, the list includes luxury Western hotels in Kathmandu, clothing and shoe brands, local conglomerate Shanker - the country’s biggest private investor - Israeli-owned messaging app Viber, and Coca Cola, notorious for its complicity in countless human rights abuses in the Global South. Elsewhere, the Gurkha Welfare Trust appears.

The Gurkhas have for centuries served as an elite, unique force within the British Army, often tasked with sensitive missions. The Trust, which provides financial aid to Gurkha veterans, their widows and families, is financed by the British Foreign Office, and Ministry of Defence. Meanwhile, Students For A Free Tibet is also listed. The NGO receives funding from the National Endowment for Democracy, an avowed CIA front. In a striking coincidence, NED is deeply concerned about the precise issue that triggered Nepal’s recent protests.

In August 2023, Nepal’s government signed off on a National Cyber Security Policy, imitating China’s “Great Firewall”, which limits foreign internet traffic into the country, while allowing for the proliferation of homegrown ecommerce platforms, social networks, and other online resources. The move was harshly condemned by Digital Rights Nepal, which is bankrolled by George Soros’ Open Society Foundations - a repeat sponsor of government overthrows. Digital Rights Nepal claimed the Policy would lead to mass censorship, and threaten citizens’ privacy.

Fast forward to February, and NED published a report warning “countries worldwide” including Cambodia, Nepal and Pakistan were looking to China’s internet sovereignty as a “potential model” to emulate. Rather than acknowledge the threat to Washington’s waning global web dominance posed by such ambitions, the Endowment asserted the real risk was Beijing’s “prestige” being enhanced internationally, thus helping “make the world safe” for the Chinese Communist Party. That month, Nepalese lawmakers began voting on a bill supporting the National Cyber Security Policy.

The legislation required foreign social media networks and messaging apps to formally register with Kathmandu’s Ministry of Communication and Information Technology. This was intended to not only make these platforms more legally accountable, but ensure the government could collect tax on revenues they generated locally. The Committee to Project Journalists issued a statement imploring parliamentarians to reject the bill, alleging it posed a grave threat to press freedom, due to potential content restriction and banning of “creation or use of anonymous profiles.”

The CPJ is bankrolled by Open Society Foundations, a welter of leading Western news outlets, US corporate and financial giants, and Google and Meta - both would be adversely affected by the legislation. The law nonetheless passed, imposing a deadline of September 3rd for registration. While TikTok and Viber complied, US platforms - including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, and YouTube - refused, prompting Kathmandu to ban usage of 26 foreign-owned sites. This was the spark that ultimately toppled Nepal’s government.

‘Secure Environment’

On September 4th, The Federation of Nepali Journalists published a statement signed by 22 civil society organisations, expressing “strong objection” to the mass shut down. FNJ is funded by NED and Open Society Foundations. Most of its cosignatories receive money from the same sources, and other Western foundations, governments, and social media platforms. For Hami Nepal, the ban was a “tipping point”, the group scheduling a mass rally for four days later. Hami Nepal extensively prepared participants in advance, even establishing a “protest support helpline”.

The September 8th protests quickly turned extremely violent. “Gen Z” leaders distanced themselves from the destruction, claiming their peaceful action had been “hijacked” by “opportunists”. Yet, Hami Nepal’s Discord server had bristled with belligerent messages in the preceding days. Some users openly advocated killing politicians, and their children. Others posted requests for weapons including machine guns, and openly announced their intention to “burn everything”. Nepal’s parliament and the Prime Minister’s official residence were duly torched, prompting ministers to flee in helicopters.

The next night, in the wake of K. P. Sharma Oli’s resignation, Nepalese military chiefs met with protesters, to discuss the shape of the country’s future government. As The New York Times reported September 11th, chief “Gen Z” agitators told army officials they wanted Sushila Karki to serve as interim leader - days before this was apparently confirmed by competitive Discord vote. Kathmandu’s powerful, popular military has pledged to “create a secure environment until the election is held,” effectively signing off on the violent coup.

It may be significant one of Hami Nepal’s donors isn’t publicised on its website - arms dealer Deepak Bhatta. He has an extensive history of procuring weapons for Nepal’s military and security forces, and allegations of corruption have swirled around many of these deals. For example, in July 2022 he was accused of sourcing guns for local police from an Italian company at four times the actual unit price. Bhatta’s long-running relationship with the army could well have facilitated its friendly contact with protest leaders.

Yugoslavia’s CIA, NED and USAID-orchestrated “Bulldozer Revolution” in 2000 was the world’s first “color revolution”. Over subsequent decades, the US has ousted governments the world over using strategies and tactics identical to those that successfully dislodged Slobodan Milosevic from office. In almost all cases, youth groups have been key regime change footsoldiers. In Belgrade, after almost a decade of lethally destructive sanctions, capped off with a criminal 78-day-long NATO bombing campaign, many residents of the country had legitimate grievances, and wished to see Milosevic fall.

Nonetheless, the aftermath was a blunt-force lesson in the importance of being careful about what one wishes for. Milosevic’s downfall is dubbed the Bulldozer Revolution due to iconic scenes during the much-publicised unrest of a wheel loader helping anti-government agitators occupy state buildings, and shield activists from police gunfire. Its driver quickly turned against the “Revolution”. Subsequent Western-imposed privatisation decimated Yugoslavia’s economy, causing his successful independent business to fail, and him to go bankrupt. He subsisted until his dying day on meagre state welfare payments.

Herein lies the rub. There’s little doubt many Nepalese citizens were justifiably disillusioned with their government, and sought change. Yet, colour revolutions invariably exploit grassroots public discontent, to install governments considerably worse than those that preceded them. In this context, the military inviting disgraced local businessman Durga Prasai, who supports the restoration of Kathmandu’s monarchy, to transition talks with “Gen Z” activists is rendered deeply suspect. That he has been falsely promoted by the BBC as the protests’ leader is all the more ominous.

Even enthusiastic local supporters of Nepal’s “revolution” acknowledge it is uncertain whether Sushila Karki will actually be able to convene elections in six months. In any event, all established parties were in the firing line of demonstrators, leaving the question of who will contest any future vote likewise an open one. There is quite some political vacuum in Kathmandu presently - and history shows us NED, Open Society Foundations, and intelligence-connected Western foundations are ever-poised to exploit such “windows of opportunity”. Watch this space.