Journalists call for scrapping Nepal Press Council
| Kathmandu, September 25: The controversy over the classification of newspapers, initiated by the Nepal Press Council (NPC) two days ago, has raised the hackles of pro-democracy journalists and fresh protests are likely to erupt. Addressing an interaction here, organised by the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ), journalists said the NPC should be dismissed as it remains a tool of the state for muzzling the Press. FNJ president Bishnu Nisthuri, charged that the NPC was biased against all those newspapers which raise their voices for press freedom. Action against the NPC is necessary to continue our fight for a free Press, he said. Former FNJ president Suresh Acharya said that the significance of NPC had ended with the recent result, adding, It should no more be there. Devendra Gautam, president of Nepal Editors and Publishers Society, said victimised newspapers should go to court for justice. He also claimed categorization of newspapers was biased. Meawhile, in a press release the FNJ demanded the government to dismiss the classification and the report. It also announced protest programmes against the controversial decision of the NPC. The movements will be of various types media activities, demonstrations, and all these will be completely legal, it added. In support of the FNJ decision, the Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur sections of the federation today issued ultimatums against NPC chairman Mathabar Singh Basnet and demanded he dismiss the report and resign his post within seven days. Basnet will be responsible for the consequences if he fails to heed this ultimatum, a joint statement of the FNJs three district chairmen said. Earlier, Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur sections of FNJ locked up the office of the NPC in protest against classificaion on Friday, after hustling out NPC chairman Mathbar Singh Basnet from the office. |
