One Year After King's Rule, Nepal Media Still Under Fire

More than a year after the fall of King Gyanendra's absolute regime, Nepal's press continues to be under fire from armed groups, media watchdog Reporters Without Borders said.The attacks have intensified in the Terai plains in the south, the epicentre of fresh unrest in a kingdom bedevilled by a 10-year communist uprising and decades of political instability, where at least 72 journalists have been assaulted or threatened since January, the Brussels-based watchdog said in a statement issued late Wednesday.

Expressing alarm at the continued attacks on the media, especially with elections scheduled for November, the press freedom organisation urged the eight-party government to ensure security for journalists.'This is alarming,' it said. 'Armed militants are harassing journalists with the aim of silencing them or turning them into propagandists. The authorities, especially the interior and information ministries, must do everything possible to put an end to this climate of open hostility. 'The government has a duty to ensure that the press is able to work, especially in the run-up to elections.'

Though the Maoists signed a peace pact with the government last year and joined the ruling alliance in April, formally signalling an end to their armed revolt that has killed over 11,000 people, their success with the gun has inspired the emergence of new armed groups in the Terai, some of whom are led by their former comrades.Nearly nine armed groups have become active in the plains, continuing the extortion, abduction and killings once started by the Maoists.Journalists are especially vulnerable in the plains where the government has little control.'Death threats have become commonplace in the southern provinces,' the media organisation said.

In one of the most recent cases on June 1, members of the Jantantrik Terai Mukti Morchha (JTMM), a band of former Maoists, threatened the employees of two private radio stations -- Narayani FM and Radio Birgunj -- for not broadcasting any reports about a closure enforced by them.Earlier, the faction took under their control two journalists of the Auzzar National Daily, Rajendra Rai and Dewaan Rai.'In some cases, they criticise journalists for producing reports that highlight their abuses,' Reporters Without Borders said. 'In other cases, their motive for attacking journalist is the lack of coverage of their activities.'

The Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, a group that calls itself unarmed and this month began talks with the government, has been branded as the most aggressive towards journalists. 'It alone has been responsible for at least 16 cases of threats or violence against journalists since the start of the year,' the statement said.'Its members attacked reporters Ram Sarraf, Dhruba Sah, Bhuwan Jha and Kiran Pande in January and threatened to kill any journalists who tried to cover the rioting then taking place.'The Forum, however, says it is a victim of biased reporting by the Nepali press dominated by people from the hill community, who have been exploiting the plains people and ignoring their plight.

The media watchdog has also come down on the Maoists, now part of the government, saying their youth wing, the controversial Young Communist League, has been reported to be involved in harassing a journalist working for the Indian TV channel, Nepal1, last month.It also cited at least three instances of journalists being harassed without any group taking responsibility.'Journalists think they bear the hallmarks of Maoist groups,' Reporters Without Borders said.The statement comes at a time Nepal's Information And Communications Minister Krishna Bahadur, who is also the government spokesperson, belongs to the Maoist party.

The group said it was particularly calling on the minister to 'quickly intercede with all affiliated organisations in order to get them to stop the attacks and threats against journalists'.For 15 months from 2005, when King Gyanendra seized power with army backing, Reporters Without Borders had marked Nepal as one of the bleakest places for journalists with a high incidence of arbitrary arrests, closure of critical media organisations and a draconian ban that prevented journalists from criticising the royal family or the royal government.Though the royal regime ended due to a public uprising and the new government pledged to restore media freedom, the emergence of new dissenting groups now poses a fresh threat to the media.

Source: News Post India, June 7, 2007