FNJ to protest noose on press
Amid widespread criticism and condemnation from all quarters of the government’s decision to restrict information of public importance, the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) has declared a phase-wise protest against the move.
The government recently issued a new classified information directive that bars an individual, the media or an organisation from gaining 140 types of information, including that related to big development projects, parliamentary decisions and major decisions of the government. The classification was made by a committee under Chief Secretary Madhav Prasad Ghimire.
However, the Right to Information Act 2007 restricts supply of only five categories of information related to national sovereignty, security and judiciary. The FNJ said that the recent classification violates Article 27 of the Interim Constitution and the RTI Act.
The media fraternity and civil society, as well as Nepal Bar Association and Freedom Forum, have flayed the decision terming it a move towards authoritarianism.
A public interest litigation was filed in the Supreme Court on Friday urging it to intervene for the scrapping of the government’s decision.
An emergency meeting of the FNJ central committee on Monday announced a three-day nationwide protest programme. The FNJ is scheduled to show black flags in front of the Constituent Assembly building at 3 pm on Tuesday. Its chapters will stage various forms of protest across the country on Wednesday and Thursday.
The meeting also condemned the arrest of journalists in Dhankuta on Sunday during the visit of Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai for the inauguration of a trade fair there. Security personnel had taken 36 Dhankuta-based journalists under control for four hours to foil the latter’s bid to present themselves with black armbands at the programme attended by the PM.
The Reporters’ Club Nepal, condemning the noose on press freedom, has urged the government to withdraw its decision.
Posted on: 2012-01-31 08:12
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All of them discussed the issue. The result was the same...and we have committed to continue discussions on the issue till midnight.
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