9 March 2005
CRACKDOWN ON JOURNALISTS WORSENS
More than 30 days after King Gyanendra of Nepal dissolved parliament and declared a state of emergency across the country, censorship and attacks on journalists have worsened, say IFEX members.
In a new report entitled "Nepal: Coups, Kings and Censorship", the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) says authorities have recently issued new orders barring the media from disseminating any information related to security issues without obtaining prior permission from security forces.
The new regulations coincide with reports of increased violent attacks on the media by security forces. Journalists have been held and interrogated or beaten for their reporting. In one case, a Nepal TV reporter was beaten for photographing bodies of soldiers killed by Maoist rebels, says IFJ.
IFJ says governments should suspend military aid to Nepal until democracy is fully restored.
The International Press Institute (IPI) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) have also expressed concerns. They report that authorities last week ordered the editors of four weekly newspapers to replace the word "Maoist" with "terrorist" in their publications. Under threat of punishment, the weeklies, including "Jana Astha", were forced to change large portions of their text to comply with the order.
Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch has called on the Nepalese government to end the army's practice of enforced disappearances. The IFEX member says the army has become one of the world's worst perpetrators of enforced disappearances - a worrying trend considering the heightened role of the security forces after the King's seizure of power.
Visit:
- IFJ Report: http://www.ifj.org/default.asp?Index=2986&Language=EN
- Human Rights Watch: http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2005/03/01/nepal10224.htm
- IPI: http://www.freemedia.at/Protests2005/Rep_Nepal2005.htm
- CPJ:
http://www.cpj.org/news/2005/Nepal02mar05na.html
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