Government maintains chokehold on independent press
New York, March 2, 2005—The Nepalese government yesterday directed editors of four weeklies to replace the word “Maoist” with “terrorist” or face punishment. The weeklies, including Jana Astha, were forced to change large portions of their text to comply with the order. The Ministry of Information and Communication also issued a new notice banning media…
CPJ urges government to restore press freedom
Dear Ambassador Shrestha: Thank you for meeting with Joel Simon, deputy director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, and CPJ Washington, D.C., Representative Frank Smyth last week. As communicated in that meeting, CPJ is deeply alarmed at the treatment of Nepalese journalists since King Gyanendra’s February 1 declaration of a state of emergency, and we urged your government to restore press freedom immediately in the interests of your nation’s citizens and its international standing. We greatly appreciate your offer to convey our grave concerns to the king.
Security forces target journalists, impose blackout outside capital
New York, February 4, 2005—Security forces have arrested prominent social critic and columnist Khagendra Sangraula and are seeking to arrest Tara Nath Dahal, president of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists, who is currently in hiding. The arrest came on the fourth day of the state of emergency called by King Gyanendra, who has also banned…
King and army shut down independent press
New York, February 3, 2005—Two days after Nepal’s king declared a state of emergency, the independent press has been effectively shut down with blanket news bans introduced, military patrols placed at media outlets, and reprisals threatened against journalists. King Gyanendra has imposed a six-month ban on what state radio described as critical reporting on government…
CPJ deeply concerned about journalists’ safety, censorship
New York, February 2, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned about the safety of Nepalese journalists and the censorship of the press following King Gyanendra’s dismissal this week of Nepal’s multi-party government and his declaration of a state of emergency. “The suspension of civil liberties is a worrisome sign for all citizens, including…
NEPAL
FEBRUARY 1, 2005 Posted: February 4, 2005 All journalists HARASSED, THREATENED, CENSORED, LEGAL ACTION Nepal’s king declared a state of emergency and effectively shut down the independent press with blanket news bans, military patrols at media outlets, and threatened reprisals against journalists.
Journalists in prison, 2004
Around the world, 122 journalists were in prison at the end of 2004 for practicing their profession, 16 fewer than the year before. International advocacy campaigns, including those waged by the Committee to Protect Journalists, helped win the early release of a number of imprisoned journalists, notably six independent writers and reporters in Cuba.
Press offices attacked in riots sparked by killings in Iraq
New York, September 1, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists deplores today’s attacks on newspaper and television offices in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, during violent protests that followed the slayings of 12 Nepalese contract workers by militants in Iraq. At mid-day, crowds set fire to vans and motorcycles and wrecked equipment inside the premises of English-language Kantipur…
Maoists kill one journalist, threaten nine others
New York, August 18, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is alarmed by the increasing violence against journalists by Maoist rebels, including the murder of radio journalist Dekendra Raj Thapa and the subsequent death threats made against at least nine other rural reporters earlier this week. Rebels in midwestern Nepal’s Dailekh District claimed to have…