4 years, 3 protest movements: How public fury toppled leaders in Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh

By SHEIKH SAALIQ NEW DELHI AP The swelling wave of masses anger first swept through the island nation of Sri Lanka in and ousted the president Two years later it erupted in Bangladesh as protesters toppled the ruling governing body On Monday inhabitants fury exploded in Nepal forcing its prime minister to resign a day after Related Articles Despair and destruction Civilians in Ukraine s eastern strongholds struggle as Russia advances UN nuclear chief says agreement provides for access to all of Iran s nuclear facilities Hong Kong lawmakers reject a bill recognizing same-sex partnerships Russia s violation of Poland s airspace is the the greater part serious in a string of cross-border incidents Qatar digs through the rubble of Israel s attack on Hamas leaders in Doha Each protest movement began with a specific grievance that flared up ending in the rejection of the authorities or its leaders In numerous methods the protest movements share a common feature disillusioned peoples resentment against the ruling elite and an entrenched political system they hold responsible for rampant corruption deepening inequality and economic disparities Often led by young people the protests have sparked deadly violence and sometimes left behind a political vacuum filled by unelected leaders and a worsening law and order situation A perception of ruling elites as being both corrupt and ineffective at delivering a plausible path forward has created a structural basis for major crises stated Paul Staniland a politics professor specializing in South Asia at the University of Chicago Nepal s society fury is largely against the political elite The youth-led protests in Nepal began on Monday as simmering discontent over years was ignited by the establishment s ban on major social media platforms A large number of were particularly angry that the children of political leaders seem to enjoy a lavish lifestyle while preponderance of the population was dealing with economic problems rising unemployment and widespread corruption The unrest has left at least people dead Smoke billows from the parliament building after it was set on fire during a protest against social media ban and corruption in Kathmandu Nepal Tuesday Sept AP Photo Prakash Timalsina Protesters who have not clearly spelled out their demands apart from rallying under the anti-corruption call burned the parliament building presidential house and residences of several ministers and other politicians Bending to mounting society pressure Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli reversed the social media ban and quit However he will still lead a caretaker executive until a new one is in place It is unclear what the new establishment would look like and whether it will constitute the old political guard Several Nepalis fear a familiar sequence of bargaining among the same political class they want to overthrow Nepal is fraught with frequent political instability and each prime minister s tenure has lasted just a year or two since the new constitution came into effect in The country abolished its monarchy in after a violent uprising that forced its former king to give up his authoritarian rule Staniland mentioned the violence could make it much harder to determine who should be in charge or how they should proceed The big question now in Nepal will be whether order can be restored and new stable political dispensation forged he commented Before Nepal there was Bangladesh and Sri Lanka Those in Nepal looking for answers about its future will not find solace in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka The lack of consensus on basic improvement demands like elections and anti-corruption mechanisms and an uncertain road map for the future have dented the democratic progress in those countries and further exacerbated the problems they face In Bangladesh student-led protests started with anger against rules that limited the number of civil provision jobs based on merit They morphed into a massive nationwide uprising in July last year that culminated in the ousting of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Hundreds of people mostly students were killed in violent protests Hasina fled to India and an unelected interim administration headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus was installed He promised to restore order and hold a new voting process after necessary reforms FILE -Protesters climb a masses monument as they celebrate the news of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina s resignation in Dhaka Bangladesh Aug AP Photo Rajib Dhar File FILE -Protesters shout slogans demanding acting president and prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe resign in Colombo Sri Lanka in Colombo Sri Lanka July AP Photo Rafiq Maqbool File A protester throws a photograph of Nepal Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli in the fire at the Singha Durbar the seat of Nepal s regime s various ministries and offices during a protest against social media ban and corruption in Kathmandu Nepal Tuesday Sept AP Photo Niranjan Shrestha Show Caption of FILE -Protesters climb a populace monument as they celebrate the news of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina s resignation in Dhaka Bangladesh Aug AP Photo Rajib Dhar File Expand One year on Bangladesh remains mired in instability Politic parties are bickering over electoral contest dates Mob violence political attacks on rival parties and groups and hostility to vulnerable minority groups by religious hard-liners have surged In Sri Lanka the then-Prime minister Ranil Wickremensignhe took over the country after protesters forced the powerful Rajapaksa clan out in The country later had a democratic transition of power after Marxist lawmaker Anura Kumara Dissanayake was elected as president last year He promised to improve standards of living clean up cabinet and hold corrupt politicians responsible for their actions Almost a year later Sri Lanka s problems seem far from over Its people continue to deal with issues like economic hardships human rights concerns and foreign-debt default There is no sign of the ideals of change desired by the protesters stated Veeragathy Thanabalasingham a Colombo-based political expert Wider instability in the region New popular revolts have also rocked other nations in the region In Indonesia deadly protests last week over lawmakers perks and the cost of living forced the country s president to replace key economic and precaution ministers The protests have led to the death of at least seven people In Myanmar imprisoned former leader Aung San Suu Kyi s democratically-elected regime was ousted by the military in Resistance to the military regime has grown and the country is now in the midst of a brutal civil war Staniland noted while majority of protests come and go without such dramatic results as those seen in Nepal Sri Lanka and Bangladesh the kindling is there for miscalculations and unexpected events to spiral I think Nepal represents the new politics of instability in South Asia he announced Associated Press writer Krishan Francis in Colombo Sri Lanka contributed to this overview