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February
2, 2005 - PRESS RELEASE
CPJ
| NEPAL:
King and army shut down independent press |
Two
days after Nepal's king declared a state of emergency, the independent
press has been effectively shut down with blanket news bans introduced,
military patrols placed at media outlets, and reprisals threatened against
journalists.
King
Gyanendra has imposed a six-month ban on what state radio described as
critical reporting on government activities, according to international
news reports. Soldiers are posted at Nepal's major print and broadcast
outlets, are controlling television broadcasts, and are vetting news articles,
according to CPJ sources and international news reports.
Internet
and telephone communication, including domestic land lines and mobile phones,
remained cut off today. Local reporters who have smuggled information from
the country through satellite communications have asked not to be identified
for fear of punishment by authorities.
Editors
at the major dailies Kathmandu Post and Kantipur have been summoned by
the principal press secretary of the king and warned that they may face
military punishment, according to sources inside the country. Soldiers
have surrounded the offices of The Kathmandu Post and officers are scanning
all content before it goes to print, according to a local source.
Jana
Aastha weekly, which has been critical of the monarch in the past, has
been placed under special army surveillance, local sources said. Eighteen
soldiers led by a colonel entered the weekly's offices at 6 p.m. on Tuesday
and detained journalists there until 11 a.m. the following day, a source
told CPJ. The officer censored all contents and warned reporters to avoid
criticizing the king or the army.
"There
can be no conceivable reason for this very alarming ban on news reporting,
which makes Nepal less secure by cutting off information when it is most
needed," CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper said. "The ban raises grave
international concerns that, at this moment of great crisis, the world
is prevented from knowing what is happening in Nepal."
Hundreds
of people have already been arrested since the king's declaration, according
to local sources. The Nepalese-language Rajdhani daily has risked punishment
to publish the names of those arrested this week.
Fearing
punishment, hotels refused to allow foreign news crews to set up satellite
dishes on their roofs, according to Reuters.
Despite
the great risk, Tara Nath Dahal, a prominent journalist and president of
the Federation of Nepalese Journalists, issued a statement condemning Tuesday's
royal announcement.
"This
has undoubtedly destroyed the fabric of democracy and has also confirmed
that the lives of ordinary civilians as well as national values are in
grave danger," he wrote. He called the action an "enormous mistake" which
has ended Nepalese citizens' hard-won freedom of expression and press freedom.
February
3, 2005 - PRESS RELEASE
CPJ
| NEPAL:
King and army shut down independent press |
The
Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned about the safety of
Nepalese journalists and the censorship of the press following King Gyanendra's
dismissal this week of Nepal's multi-party government and his declaration
of a state of emergency.
"The
suspension of civil liberties is a worrisome sign for all citizens, including
journalists," CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper said today. "Already at
great risk from both sides of the conflict between Maoists and the government,
journalists are now in danger of the kind of heightened abuse by security
forces that marked Nepal's last state of emergency, when scores of journalists
were unjustly detained and often physically abused."
The
king has curtailed basic freedoms, including freedom of the press, the
constitutional protection against censorship, and the right against preventive
detention, according to a summary of his statement by The Associated Press.
He announced his intention to restore a multi-party democracy within three
years.
Internet
and phone lines have been cut, and Nepal's news Web sites are out of service.
King
Gyanendra's censorship of the media was evident in the bland coverage produced
today by Nepal's usually outspoken newspapers, according to the BBC. The
king's dismissal of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba's government was
reported without critical editorial comment.
Security
forces have additional powers during the state of emergency, according
to the king's announcement. Even before Tuesday's declaration of a state
of emergency, journalists were at risk of preventive detention and abuse
by security forces.
Sitaram
Parajuli, executive editor of Kathmandu-based Shram weekly, told CPJ last
week that he was taken into custody by security forces on December 28,
tortured, and held incommunicado for nearly two weeks. He said he was kicked
and shocked with electric currents by security forces interrogating him
for information about possible Maoist connections.
During
the last state of emergency in Nepal, from November 2001 until August 2002,
more than 100 journalists were detained by security forces.
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