Freedom Forum is alarmed over the threat issued to Director at Nepal Republic Media Limited, Shova Gyawali on June 12.
The Republic Media wrote to FF that Minister for Foreign Affairs Arzu Rana Deuba threatened Director Gyawali for editorial- Press Council Nepal, FNJ must act to restore media-judiciary trust and news- ‘Arrest warrant issued against journalist Dil Bhusan Pathak over news broadcast’ published on Nagarik and Republica national dailies on June 11 and 12. Both the national dailies are publications of the media house.
According to Director Gyawali, she received a call on Whatsapp from personal secretary to Minister Rana, Kamal Rawal. As she received the call, Minister Rana took over the conversation and asked about news published on journalist Pathak. She further threatened of taking strict action on the media office and its management for publishing news. Gyawali added that even though she asked for some time to review the published content the Minister continued to issue personal and institutional threats.
The media house has also written a letter on June 13 to the National Human Rights Commission’s Chairperson urging to initiate an impartial and independent inquiry into threats and recommend necessary safeguards to prevent abuse of authority in future.
However, Minister Rana claimed the conversation was distorted. She took to social media (Facebook) on June 13 and wrote - “I had called Director Gyawali to inform her that as the matter was in the court, we would follow whatever punishment the law prescribes on the case. In fact, I had suggested that a reputed media outlet, which I regularly read, should verify facts before publishing news, rather than relying on such misleading videos as sources. I am surprised that our phone conversation was distorted and reported as threat in the news published.”
To this, FF Executive Chief Taranath Dahal observed, “Threatening media over news publication is against press freedom, a constitutional right. If there is discontent over news story, Press Council Nepal is right body to consult.”
Freedom Forum urges the concerned authority to stay alert and address the issue farily to ensure safe atmosphere for media and journalists.
For more,
Freedom Forum
monitoring@freedomforum.org.np