Activists of the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoists (CPN-M) led by Matrika Yadav vandalized a vehicle belonging to Kantipur Publications and assaulted three of its employees at Manaharwa Chowk in Siraha in the southern plain of Nepal on May 24 (Tuesday).
A group of 30 cadres of the party smashed the windowpanes and headlights of the vehicle and beat up the publication’s driver Lila Khadka and distributor duo Rajesh Bhandari and Ram Bandhu Poudel, according to The Kathmandu Post, an English Daily brought out by the Publications.
According to Poudel, the Maoist activists accused the publications of not covering their party’s news. Police arrested one suspect in connection with the incident.
At a time when the country is fast approaching to the extended deadline of the Constituent Assembly (CA), May 28, a series of strikes and bandh have been enforced by different political parties and sectarian ethnic groups demanding their proposals to be addressed in the new constitution. Journalists are bearing the brunt of agitation and protest programmes mostly in the name of not covering the news from their respective sides.
Terming this incident an act of vengeance for not publishing the news content in favour of the party, Freedom Forum strongly condemns the way the cadres of Yadav-led Maoist party came up. The Forum asks the government to shrewdly observe the incidents of press freedom violations and investigate into the particular incident meant to stop the distribution of newspaper. It is the responsibility of the government to give a feeling to media workers that they could freely perform their duty without any interruptions.
For more information,
Freedom Forum
monitoring@freedomforum.org.np
01-4102030/ 4102022