Nepal: Media Under Siege

Nepal stands on the brink of "becoming an isolated pariah state" unless it urgently restores democratic rule, freedom of expression and respects the rights of journalists. ENGENDERED: Riot police officers detain a pro-democracy activist during a demonstration on the anniversary of King Gyanendra's absolute rule in Katmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2006. Nepal's king announced Wednesday he would...

The International Mission for Press Freedom and Free Expression in Nepal has condemned the persistent repression of the media and the increasing crackdown on freedom of expression since King Gyanendra seized absolute power on February 1, 2005. The members of the mission announced their collective intention for a follow-up mission to Nepal in March 2006. ARM STRUGGLE: Riot police officers detain a...

Kathmandu, Feb 1 (PTI) Three dozen journalists were arrested in Nepal today as they held demonstrations to protest against the curbs imposed on media after King Gyanendra's assumption of absolute power a year ago. Two dozen scribes were arrested from New Road, a restricted area in Kathmandu, as they demonstrated, marking the first anniversay of the royal takeover as 'Black Day' to protest against...

KATHMANDU, Jan 23 - The security men on Saturday night detained Khem Bhandari, editor of local daily 'Mahendranagar Post' and 'Abhiyan tabloid' from the Campus road in Mahendranagar. Bhandari was arrested before 9 p m, when the curfew begins in the area, while he was returning home. Security officials claimed that he was taken into custody for an argument with the patrol team. The security men are...

KATHMANDU: In an echo of media curbs imposed in February 2005 when King Gyanendra seized power, the royalist government was trying to censor the Indian media as Nepal was thrown into fresh turmoil, reports said. Last year, after the royal coup, Indian news channels Aaj Tak and Star News had been closed down. This week, after opposition parties called a mass protest meet in Kathmandu on Friday and...

Media personnel blamed that the proposed the Broadcasting Authority Act is the conspicuous evident of the panic stricken mentality on the part of government." They accused the government of attempting to curtail press freedom through the introduction of the act, while the controversial Media Ordinance promulgated some months back is still under consideration of the Supreme Court. Speaking at the...

Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has voiced outrage at the continuing harassment of the independent press by the security forces in both Kathmandu and the districts, in which at least six journalists have been detained, attacked or threatened already this year. DOWN WITH THE KING: Supporters of the Nepal Workers and Peasant Party take part in a massive rally against the monarchy in the capital...

Kathmandu, Jan 9 (PTI) Police in an eastern Nepal district have allegedly grilled a journalist with a leading English-language daily to reveal the source of a report he had filed and threatened him with "trouble" if he failed to do so. A Deputy Superintendent of Police yesterday pressurised 'The Kathmandu Post' reporter Benupraj Bhattarai to reveal the source of his news story, which said a group...

Journalists across the country staged demonstrations on Friday, demanding press freedom and early end to the fresh curb on independent media. Hundreds of journalists, human rights activists and representatives of professional organisations joined a rally organised by the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) in the capital in the afternoon. Addressing a gathering at Indra Chowk after a rally...

The Supreme Court of Nepal ordered the government Wednesday to allow a private radio station to relay BBC programmes, the station's chief said. "We will resume the broadcast of the BBC Nepali Service from Wednesday," Radio Sagarmatha chief Lakshman Upreti said. RED RIDING HOODS: Nepalese activists shout anti-monarch slogans during a rally at Naya Baneswar in the capital Kathamandu December 2,2005...