District committee member of Unified Communist Party of Nepal (UCPN-Maoist) has threaten Birendra KC, correspondent for Kantipur National Daily in Arghakhanchi in the western part of Nepal, to break down his hands and legs on May 12.
Taking up the issue of news coverage entitled 'Maoist's directives to chase away NC and UML cadres from Village', KC had been receiving indirect threat from Maoist cadres while he was given direct threat with life following 10 days of the earlier warnings by local Maoist leader Baburam BK.
"Who allowed you to publish that news, have you listened or not the news of breaking up the legs and hands of journalist and their killing, do you wish to be thrown with your hands and legs broken up?" KC said referring BK's saying. KC further said he was being compelled to leave district headquarter just to get saved from Moist cadres. According to him, Maoist cadres are still following him and his activities.
However, Chandra Bahadur Khadga aka Ujjwal, Maoist district in-charge stated that the party has not exercised such strategy and plan and pledged to curb such incident in coming days.
Freedom Forum concludes that the press freedom violation carried out by the largest party of Constituent Assembly (CA) is condemnable as such deliberate threat and attack on journalist curtails the latter's right to expose fact and curtails people's constitutional rights to get information. Forum urges Maoist party to avert such press gagging activities and mend its way towards paying due respect to press for democracy and peace in long-run.
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Freedom Forum
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