Kathmandu, August 23
Families of those killed and people injured during the Gen Z movement have announced that they will observe September 8 (Bhadra 23) as a “Remembrance Day” in memory of those who died during the protests.
The Gen Z Martyrs’ Family Welfare Society and the Injured Gen Z Nepal Joint Struggle Committee made the announcement at a press conference in Kathmandu on Sunday.
Ganesh Prasad Chaulagain, father of Gen Z martyr Shriyam Chaulagain and treasurer of the Gen Z Martyrs’ Family Welfare Society, said the remembrance programme will be held at the premises of the old Parliament building in Baneshwor.
The building was set on fire during the Gen Z protests.
Chaulagain said the government should bear all expenses and take responsibility for managing the event, while the families of martyrs and injured protesters would remain the organisers.
“We will observe Remembrance Day on Bhadra 23 in memory of the martyrs of the Gen Z movement. We will hold it inside the Parliament building in Baneshwor, which was burned during the movement,” he said.
He said the families of the martyrs and injured protesters were not financially strong enough to organise the event themselves.
“We want the government to take ownership of all arrangements for the programme, but the organisers will be the martyrs’ families and the injured,” he said.
The groups also said they plan to organise a seven-day Mahayagya, a religious ritual, inside the same building from October 1 (Ashoj 15). They have demanded that the government also take full responsibility for managing and financing the event.
“I had discussed this issue with the Home Minister. He told me he would discuss it with the Prime Minister and inform us, but we have not received any information yet,” Chaulagain said.
The government has already decided to observe Bhadra 23 every year as Gen Z Martyrs’ Day.
