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• Kantipur editor, publishers arrested
• ‘Lay off the press’
• Govt alerts press media

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Govt muzzles press
Kantipur editor, publishers arrested

Post Report

KATHMANDU, June 6 – The government today launched a crude campaign to muzzle press freedom in Nepal when it ordered the arrests of an editor and publishers of Kantipur Publications, the publishers of this newspaper.

Plain-clothes policemen arrived in an unmarked car brandishing arrest warrants Wednesday afternoon. They left with Yubaraj Ghimire, editor of Nepal’s largest-selling newspaper Kantipur, Kailash Sirohiya and Binod Raj Gyawali, respectively the managing director and director of Kantipur Publications Pvt Ltd.

Ghimire, Sirohiya and Gyawali, are all charged with sedition, a serious charge that, if proven, carries at least three years of imprisonment. And the reason, said police officers, was because Kantipur had published an opinion article today by Dr Baburam Bhattarai, a rebel Maoist leader, which talked about a conspiracy behind the recent killings of late King Birendra and his entire family.

Editor Ghimire and publishers Sirohiya and Gyawali were taken to Hanuman Dhoka Police Station, the district police headquarters, at about 5.50 p.m. in an unmarked police vehicle. After the interrogation that lasted more than an hour, the interrogating officials decided to keep the three in police custody today.

It was not immediately known how long they would be kept in police custody before being produced to the court. The courts will reopen on Monday.

When police officers were asked for more details about the reasons behind the arrests, one high ranking official said, "the arrests were made on the orders of the concerned higher authority".

The Home Ministry refused to answer any queries. The spokesman at the Ministry expressed his ignorance of the whole affair. And Deputy Prime Minister Ram Chandra Poudel, who is also the Home Minister, refused to come to the phone to answer queries put by this newspaper.

Ostensibly the arrests were made due to an article by Dr Baburam Bhattarai, a top Maoist leader that was published on the opinion page of the mass-circulation daily. This is not the first time that Bhattarai’s articles have appeared in the Nepali daily. But never before any arrests were made.

However, the publications had lately been under the government’s sights for the investigative reporting of its newspapers which exposed massive corruption in government circles.

The attorney general, who decides whether or not to fight the case on the government’s behalf, had been criticized repeatedly by Kantipur for his recent attempts to escape the scrutiny by the nation’s anti-corruption watchdog agency. Even Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and many of his cabinet members have been linked to many corruption scandals, including the now infamous Lauda Air scandal.

‘Lay off the press’

KATHMANDU, June 6 (PR) – Condemnations of the arrests of Kantipur Publications management and editor have been pouring in from all over Kathmandu and abroad as news of the arrests were broadcast by various television and radio channels.

The Federation of Nepal Journalists Association strongly condemned the arrests of Kantipur Editor Yubaraj Ghimire, Publications Managing Director Kailash Sirohiya and Director Binod Raj Gyawali. The Association president Suresh Acharya said, "this is an indication of the psychological pressure being put on the press to curtail its freedom. We strongly demand that the arrested people be released immediately."

Acharya added that Nepal’s press had always fought for basic rights such as freedom of expression and press even in the dark old days of autocracy, and will continue to do so even now.

The Working Journalists’ Association also put out a strong statement condemning the government action. "The government has no right to muzzle the press," said Prem Kaidi, the president of the group. "The government dare not inform the public about the real causes of the killings of our beloved monarch but it doesn’t hesitate to arrest journalists. We strongly condemn the action."

Main opposition Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) has also come down heavily against the arrests. The party spokesman Pradip Nepal said, "this is the first deplorable assault on press freedom. It is anti-democratic and unconstitutional." The UML has also demanded the immediate release of the editor and publishers.

A similar statement by former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba also condemned the government action. In a statement faxed to the newspaper, Deuba, who is also a top leader of the governing Nepali Congress party, said, "I am shocked to learn of the government’s intervention in the nation’s premier publication. At these tragic and disconcerting times when the entire nation should be held together by any means, this intervention to me strikes as shocking. I demand the immediate release of the arrested persons."

Deuba further said, "no one should forget that freedom of the press is an inseparable part of democracy."

The attempt to muzzle Kantipur Publications has also been condemned by Dr Prakash Chandra Lohani, central committee member of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP). When asked to comment, Dr Lohani said, "the arrest of the fearless editor and publishers of Kantipur Publications who have often investigated and criticized the government’s policies illustrates the revenge motives of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala’s government. It is essential to put a halt to this negative trait in government."

The government has, as expected, defended its actions. "If a publications like Kantipur publishes anti-monarchy articles by Dr Baburam Bhattarai, and if it charged for it, then I have nothing to say," Minister for Information and Communication Shiva Raj Joshi said.

Meanwhile, the Human Rights and Peace Society, a non-governmental rights group, also condemned the arrests. "We remind the government that it is their responsibility to uphold the principle of freedom of the press. We demand the immediate and unconditional release of the editor and publishers of Kantipur. We also urge everyone to refrain from targeting journalists and media with revenge motives."

Amnesty International, the London-based rights watchdog group, has also expressed concern over the arrests. Phoning from London, AI officials said they were urging their chapters worldwide to launch a campaign to win freedom of the arrested journalist and publishers.

The British Embassy in Kathmandu also rang up with expressions of concern. Deputy Ambassador Andrew Mitchell called and expressed the Embassy’s concern over the arrests of Ghimire, Sirohiya and Gyawali.

Various international news organizations have also sent their expressions of shock and disbelief over the arrests, as has local journalists and media organizations.
 

Govt alerts press media

Post Report

KATHMANDU, June 6 - The government on Wednesday called on all the press-media not to publish news and opinions that contravene the national unity and integrity.

It was informed at a press conference called by the government at the Radio Nepal meeting hall.

"Let no news and opinions that affect the nationality and mislead the people be published," said Shiva Raj Joshi, the Minister for Information and Communication. No news that affect the public opinions adversely would do good for the country, he added.

He also appealed the publishers to uphold the 2048 Constitutional provisions binding on the press while publishing the news.

When asked why the deadly incident that took place inside the Royal Palace on Friday night was not informed on time, Minister Joshi said the government could not get the information from the place as the Palace was "sensitive" .

He also revealed that the government has opened a separate branch for information so as to provide easy access to news for the media. "The government is looking the media with hopes to escape the (present) turbulent situation", the Minister said.

Minister of State for Information and Communication, Puskar Nath Ojha requested the press to publish only the factual news keeping in mind the critical situation. " There are efforts to disrupt the peace and security for which press should come forward and help the government," Ojha added.

(Excerpt from The Kathmandu Post Main News)