Freedom Forum has been concerned over a press freedom violation occurred in Kavre, a neighbouring district of the capital city on April 13, 2013.
According to the Kantipur daily's reporter from Kavre district, Manoj Bansnet, an unidentified group took a van belonging to the Kantipur Publications under control and set it on fire at Dhulikhel VDC-1. The vehicle (Ba 9 Cha 6658) was damaged completely while the group torched 2,500 copies of The Kathmandu Post and its sister publication Kantipur daily laden in the van.
Van driver Lila Bahadur Thapa said the youths identified themselves as the cadres of Nepal Communist Party Maoist (Revolutionary) while sprinkling kerosene on the vehicle and torching it.
In a separate incident, it is learnt that the administration suppressed a peaceful protest being waged by Chairman of Nepal Sadbhawana Party (Gajendrabadi) Bikas Tiwari in Saptari, a district in the southern plain of Nepal, last week.
Chairman Tiwari has been waging a hunger strike for 18 days against corruption rife in different public agencies of the district.
FF condemns both incidents- the first which blatantly violated press freedom, blocked circulation of newspaper and suppressed citizen's right to information which the latter violated the freedom of expression, and right to peaceful protest.
Therefore, FF urges the cadres of the party concerned to respect people's right to information and the administration respect the right to freedom of expression which are very fundamental in any democracy. The assailants on the press freedom need to be brought to book.
For more information,
Freedom Forum
monitoring@freedomforum.org.np
01-4102030/ 4102022