Nepal urged to protect journalists

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has criticised the Nepalese government for not doing enough to protect journalists after a fortnight of threats and attacks on media persons.

"We urge the Nepalese government to take a firm stance against the shocking treatment of journalists," IFJ Asia-Pacific director Jacqueline Park said in statement.

Attacks have been made upon numerous print and broadcast journalists over the past week, said the statement.

According to an IFJ affiliate, the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ), police personnel attacked FNJ representatives of the Chure Sandesh weekly and Kayakairan daily June 16 in Chitwan, reported INEPNEXT news service.

FNJ sources reported that policemen beat up the journalists, Suresh Chandra Adhikary and Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya.

A day later, Yadhav Poudel of the Morning Times and Mechi Tunes FM and Narayan Khadka, a correspondent of the daily Nepal Samacharpatra, were injured in their eyes and backs when unidentified men attacked them at Birtamod in Nepal's Jhapa district.

Also in Jhapa, a group of armed pro-monarchy demonstrators reportedly interrupted the transmission of the Kanchanjunga FM radio channel for a few hours July 17 when they descended on the station and threatened staff.

According to the FNJ, a leader of the Nepali Congress, the party of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, in Gorkha district of western Nepal has apparently threatened journalists in response to media reports about his alleged involvement in timber smuggling.

Land belonging to Madhav Acharya, the former president of FNJ's Dhanusha wing, was recently confiscated by the Goit faction of the Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha (JTMM) at Dhanusha in central Nepal, reported FNJ.

According to FNJ, Morang Chapter cadres from Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (MJF) burned editions of the daily Nepal Samacharpatra and the pro-Maoist Janabidrohi Daily, published from Biratnagar, June 17 in the eastern district of Sunsari.

The group reportedly stopped the Samacharpatra and Janabidrohi Daily vehicles, and threatened the distributors with plans to burn the vehicles the next day if they did not publish news of MJF activities.

IFJ echoed calls from FNJ demanding that the government provide journalists with adequate security.

"The increasing number of attacks and threats directed at journalists is deeply distressing.

"We are very concerned about the safety of threatened journalists and the Nepalese government must take responsibility to ensure its journalists' basic human rights are protected," said Park.

The Brussels-based IFJ represents over 500,000 journalists in more than 115 countries.

(IANS)

Viewer's Comment

Comments Not Available

More Stories