Journalists' Federation Announces Phased Protests to Defend Press Freedom

The Federation of Nepali Journalists has announced a phased protest movement to defend press freedom and the country's mass communication laws. The federation says the government's Media Council bill and the recent police action against journalists have raised serious questions about the freedom of the press.

The announcement came at an interaction the federation held in Kathmandu on Thursday with people from across the media sector. The federation plans to ask the President to withdraw what it calls a one-sided bill, and to carry the movement forward to protect the rights of journalists.

The protest follows the detention of three journalists last Friday. Plainclothes police entered the office of Nepal Press and took journalist Bishwamani Subedi into custody, and the editors of Motif News, Shobhraj Baral, and DNA Khabar, Dhiraj Basnet, were also taken into custody soon after. All three were released after some time, but the federation says police entering newsrooms and detaining journalists has shaken confidence in press freedom.

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Former federation president Dharmendra Jha told the meeting that the federation is now in a movement, and the fight is not only for journalists but for democracy and the right to information. He said the Media Council bill is written with control in mind, and the government wants the media to run the way it likes.

Jha also said the government stopped public welfare advertising, the court ordered it to be restored, and the bill still carries a provision that would stop such support against the court's order. He questioned why the bill was pushed through an ordinance without further discussion, and noted that no government body has taken responsibility for the arrests. "If non-state actors also start entering newsrooms after learning this, who will take responsibility?" he asked.

Federation vice-president Nitu Pandit said the bill comes from a mindset of control, and the full press freedom promised in the constitution must appear in the bill. She said some of its words are vague, and the bill weakens the federation. Former president Suresh Acharya said the state has directly interfered with media freedom, and former president Bishnu Nisthuri said the government has been testing how much resistance journalists, the judiciary and political leaders can offer.