Media Helping Media

There are claims from within Bhutan that the government is again blocking the Bhutan Times website. The block was put in place a month ago after claims that the Bhutan Times had been covering ‘controversial issues’. That block appeared to have been lifted earlier this month. International media freedom campaigners are being urged to investigate.

The Bhutan Times is reporting that the government block on its service within the country has been lifted. According to sources at the Bhutan Times, the earlier action had been taken because officials claimed the site had been covering 'controversial issues'. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) had called on the Bhutanese government to overturn the decision describing the move as ''blatant censorship".

A group of newspaper, magazine and TV editors in Nepal has set up an alliance to fight what the editors say is a "concerted and deliberate" spate of attacks on press freedom. Ten members of the Nepal Editors’ Alliance are concerned about what they see as a sinister pattern of intimidation and threats against journalists by Maoist-affiliated organisations. Patrice Schneider posted the following news release on behalf of the editors' alliance.