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Nepal: Media Professionals Call for Unity Against Broadcasting Authority

Posted on: Wednesday, 18 January 2006, 12:00 CST

Text of report by Nepalese radio Kantipur FM on 18 January

Media professionals said that all those working in the media sector must be united in protest against the government's proposed Broadcasting Authority. They said that there is no alternative to a strenuous effort against any proposal or ordinance aimed at curbing the freedom of the press.

Speaking at an interaction programme organized by the Federation of Nepalese Journalists in the capital today [18 January], they said that there were no grounds for the government to introduce the Broadcasting Authority through an ordinance. The president of the federation, Bishnu Nishthuri, said that the government was trying to clamp down on independent media because its media ordinance had failed to achieve the government's desired goals. He said it was clear now that the government was bent on curbing the freedom of the press in some way or other. He also made it clear that the Federation of Nepalese Journalists would not accept any move that is designed to curb press freedom, human rights or anything against the spirit of the constitution.

Senior journalist Harihar Birahi said repeated ordinance related to the media was a clear sign that the government was actively working to restrict the media sector. He said the government is scared that FM radio stations would inform the people properly and he argued that this was the reason the government was introducing the Broadcasting Authority through an ordinance to restrict the independent radio stations. Birahi also said that people would be forced to listen to FM stations operated by the Maoists if the government tried to close down independent radio stations. He said this could prove to be counter productive for the government.

Raghu Mainali of the Save Independent Radio said the government was determined to close down independent radio by trying to make it financially difficult for the broadcasters to operate. He said it was unfortunate that the government was trying to bring in another ordinance related to the media when there was already a media ordinance case being discussed at the Supreme Court. Likewise, Chairman of Nepal Press Institute, Dhruba Hari Adhikari, said all media professionals must be united to protest against the government's proposed Broadcasting Authority.

Source: BBC Monitoring Media

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