(CEHURDES/IFEX) – On 29 March 2003, a dozen journalists were assaulted during an action by Nepal police officers at the Birendra International Convention Centre (BICC). The assaulted journalists included Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) Central Vice-President Gopal Budhathoki, Krishna Murari Bhandari and Rajesh K. C., of “Kantipur” daily, and journalists Shiva Ganule, Dharmendra Jha, Nawaraj […]
(CEHURDES/IFEX) – On 29 March 2003, a dozen journalists were assaulted during an action by Nepal police officers at the Birendra International Convention Centre (BICC). The assaulted journalists included Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) Central Vice-President Gopal Budhathoki, Krishna Murari Bhandari and Rajesh K. C., of “Kantipur” daily, and journalists Shiva Ganule, Dharmendra Jha, Nawaraj Chalise and Bhagawan Tripathi. The journalists were also denied entry into the convention centre.
The journalists were attempting to enter the convention centre to attend a programme organised by the Dialogue Management Support Committee. Communist Party of Nepal (CPN-Maoist) leader Baburam Bhattarai and other members of the dialogue committee were appearing in public for the first time since the cease-fire was declared on 29 January. Bhattarai, the CPN’s chief negotiator, has been living underground for over seven years.
In a separate incident, Minister for Water Resources Deepak Gyawali harassed journalist Prabhakar Ghimire, the Chitwan-based reporter for Kantipur Publications. According to “Kantipur” daily, on 31 March, Minister Gyawali also refused Ghimire entry to a press briefing held at Devghat. The minister stated, “‘Kantipur’ is involved in a kind of ‘mission journalism’ against me. So I refuse to entertain ‘Kantipur’ journalists.” Gyawali was on an official visit to Chitwan district to observe the Sapta Gandaki hydro project site.
CEHURDES condemns the actions of the security personnel and those responsible for attacks on journalists. CEHURDES further urges the authorities and officials to respect the media’s freedom to access information and ensure that journalists can freely express themselves.
