Freedom Forum has been concerned over the vandalism on the press vehicles in the capital city Kathmandu on February 19, 2013.
The banda (general shutdown) organizers- cadres of the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist, vandalized the vehicles belonging to the Kantipur publication and the Sagarmatha Television while carrying media persons and distributing the newspapers in the morning.
Such incidents are responsible for panicking journalists which ultimately results in self-censorship. The self-censorship is again detrimental to the professional journalism.
Moreover, the vandalism affected the distribution of the newspapers which obviously obstructed timely information to the public.
Freedom Forum therefore condemns the incident and strongly urges the Maoist party to respect the press freedom and right to information.
For more information,
Freedom Forum
monitoring@freedomforum.org.np
01-4102030/ 4102022