(CEHURDES/IFEX) – The following is a CEHURDES press statement: CEHURDES Condemns Maoist Rebel Action Against Journalists Kathmandu, September 11 — The recent reports of journalists being detained in the mid-western district of Rolpa for more than seventy hours by Maoist rebels have drawn the attention of the Center for Human Rights and Democratic Studies (CEHURDES) […]
(CEHURDES/IFEX) – The following is a CEHURDES press statement:
CEHURDES Condemns Maoist Rebel Action Against Journalists
Kathmandu, September 11 — The recent reports of journalists being detained in the mid-western district of Rolpa for more than seventy hours by Maoist rebels have drawn the attention of the Center for Human Rights and Democratic Studies (CEHURDES) and the organisation condemns such activities.
At a time when talks are being held between the government and the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN, Maoists) in efforts to to resolve the problems related to the five and a half year old Maoist insurgency, and with the Maoists themselves holding open mass meetings, the act of denying access to media workers to cover the Maoist activities in their strongholds is in violation of universally accepted norms of press freedom and freedom of expression as well as fundamental human rights of citizens.
According to reports, between Friday, September 7 and Sunday, September 9, Maoist rebels detained Yagya Bikram Shahi, Nepalgunj correspondent from the publication Kantipur, Kashi Ram Dangi, Rolpa correspondent from Kantipur, Raja Ram Gautam of Kantipur’s Nepal fortnightly, photographer Nishchal Chapagain, Sudhir Sharma of Himal fortnightly and human rights activist Ghanashyam Acharya in Rolpa.
CEHURDES believes that the above act is also in violation of the constitutionally guaranteed right to free movement within the country and fundamental values of human rights. We demand that the Maoists immediately stop violating universal rights of mass media workers and honor their right to unrestricted access to information, ensuring a free and fair news reporting environment.
