(FNJ/IFEX) – Journalist Kedar Koirala was injured when security personnel indiscriminately charged at and clubbed him with batons while he was covering the pro-democracy protests organised by the Seven Party Alliance (SPA) defying government shoot-to-kill curfew orders at Shantinagar, Kathmandu on 23 April 2006 at around 11 a.m. (local time). Koirala’s leg was injured and […]
(FNJ/IFEX) – Journalist Kedar Koirala was injured when security personnel indiscriminately charged at and clubbed him with batons while he was covering the pro-democracy protests organised by the Seven Party Alliance (SPA) defying government shoot-to-kill curfew orders at Shantinagar, Kathmandu on 23 April 2006 at around 11 a.m. (local time).
Koirala’s leg was injured and he was taken to Kathmandu Medical College for treatment.
The government had imposed an 11-hour long curfew from 9:00 a.m. on 23 April in Kathmandu as the pro-democracy activists continued their protest against the royal proclamation and demanded restoration of total democracy.
This is the fourth consecutive day the local authorities imposed a daytime curfew in the valley.
The FNJ condemned the attack and demanded immediate action against those responsible for Koirala’s injury.
Meanwhile, mobile phone connections in the capital have apparently been blocked since the afternoon of 22 April. Authorities have not given any reason for this action. Without mobile phones, the communication and dissemination of information has been badly obstructed in Kathmandu. It has also affected reporting news on pro democracy agitation organized by Seven Party Alliance (SPA).
The mobile phones went down as tens of thousands of people took to the Kathmandu streets on Saturday defying curfew orders and denouncing Friday’s royal proclamation.
The authorities have disconnected mobile telephones in the past to foil demonstrations organized by Seven Party Alliance (SPA).
The district administration offices of Kathmandu and Lalitpur have imposed a curfew from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. within the Ring Road areas on 22 April.
The curfew orders come amid a wave of protests in various parts of the capital on 22 April by the pro-democracy demonstrators against the 21 April Royal Proclamation.
In another development on 22 April, the government refused to provide curfew passes to the private FM radios. Without curfew passes, their reporting on mass demonstrations during curfew hours has been obstructed.
FNJ president Bishnu Nisthuri issued a press statement condemning the government’s move to deny curfew pass to the private FM stations. He also condemned the government’s decision to block mobile telephone communications. He urged the authorities to respect the right to freedom of expression and opinion. The FNJ also asked the government to respect people’s right to information.