(FNJ/IFEX) – On 2 September 2007, Amrit Baskune, district correspondent for the “Naya Patrika” daily, and Dinesh Shanta Baruwal, district member of the FNJ’s Myagdi branch, were attacked by cadres of the Young Communist League (YCL), a Maoist-allied group. The assault occurred in the Parbat district, near Myagdi, in western Nepal. According to Ghanshyam Khadka, […]
(FNJ/IFEX) – On 2 September 2007, Amrit Baskune, district correspondent for the “Naya Patrika” daily, and Dinesh Shanta Baruwal, district member of the FNJ’s Myagdi branch, were attacked by cadres of the Young Communist League (YCL), a Maoist-allied group. The assault occurred in the Parbat district, near Myagdi, in western Nepal.
According to Ghanshyam Khadka, president of the FNJ’s Myagdi branch, YCL cadres attacked the two journalists while they were gathering information about an incident involving YCL members forcefully trying to release some of their colleagues being held by the police. Khadka explained that, following a clash between local residents and the YCL, the YCL members were caught by the local residents and handed over to the police. A group of other YCL supporters then arrived at the scene and used force against the police. While Baskune was photographing the incident, the cadres seized his camera to prevent him from printing the pictures.
The FNJ condemns these kinds of attacks on journalists. It urges members of the YCL to respect press freedom in the future. FNJ also appeals to the government and other concerned parties to give special attention to the security of media persons.