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| Thursday, 3 March 2005 |
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Nepal cracks down on reporting on Maoist insurgency KATHMANDU, Wednesday (AFP) Nepal has cracked down on reporting of the long-running Maoist insurgency, ordering editors only to publish information provided by the security forces or face punishment, state-run radio announced Wednesday. "Unless any publication or broadcasting house acquires information (from) sources of security bodies, publishing interviews, articles, news, information, reading materials, opinion or personal views that directly or indirectly instigate or support terrorist and destructive activities and terrorism will be punished," it said, quoting an information and communciations ministry statement. The media has already been restrained from publishing criticism of King Gyanendra's seizure of absolute power and declaration of emergency rule last month, during which a number of journalists were detained without trial. Information and Communciations Minister Tanka Dhakal, meanwhile, Wednesday urged the media to "restrain itself, be restrained, responsible and disseminate objective information", state-run news agency RSS said. "The government has just tried to make the information and communications sector systematic so that the morale of the terrorists will not get a boost in the course of dissemination of information," RSS quoted Dhakal as saying. "This measure is not censorship," he said. "Terrorism can be blunted only if the mass media fulfils its duty and responsibility in a responsible manner. "The state does not bow down to terrorism, the media should extend cooperation in this task and we all should work towards establishing peace by rooting out the scourge of terrorism," Dhakal said. The Maoists have since 1996 been fighting to overthrow the monarchy and install a communist republic in Nepal. The insurgency has already cost more than 11,000 lives. On Tuesday, army spokesman Brigadier General Dipak Gurung said more than 70 Maoists and four security force members were killed in a clash at Ganeshpur in Bardiya district, 500 kilometres (312 miles) southwest of Kathmandu. The international community has reacted sharply to Gyanendra's power grab, with India and Britain suspending military aid vital to Nepal's fight against the rebels, while Washington warned it would follow suit if the king does not restore fundamental rights. |
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