Written by Deepak Adhikari

Newspaper circulation in Nepal is again being disrupted by what is claimed to be a concerted attack on media freedom. In the early hours of Saturday 6 June, thousands of copies of The Kathmandu Post and Kantipur Daily were set on fire along with the delivery van in which they were being carried. It’s the latest in a number of attacks on the media. Last year 342 incidents were recorded. International media watchdogs are being urged to intervene. Deepak Adhikari reports from Nepal.

In the early hours of Saturday 6 June protesters stopped a van carrying copies of The Kathmandu Post and Kantipur daily, set fire to it and destroyed 7,000 copies of the newspapers. On the same day, a motorcycle belonging to Avenues Channel was set on fire. Rajesh Baral, the cameraman of the channel was assaulted.  Just two incidents in what is a growing number of attacks on publishers and broadcasters in Nepal in recent months.

In early February, a group of around 20 local students in mid western Tarai burnt more than 1,000 copies of the local daily Mechikali in Butwal. They broke into the newspaper’s offices, threatened staff and accused the journalists of publishing a false news report about local robbery and vandalism.

Newspaper distribution disrupted

The same day another group entered the office of the Tinau FM, a local radio station and took control of the output for more than an hour. Radio is the only source of rural Nepal where illiteracy and poverty makes it hard to consume or afford other means of news.

In mid-February, groups in eastern Nepal disrupted the circulation of Aujar, a Nepali language daily published from Dharan.  Copies of the newspaper were burnt in protest at the publication of a satirical article.

The International Media Mission , in its sixth visit to Nepal in February this year, warned about the continuing threat to media freedom in Nepal citing 342 violations in 2008 alone.

The mission was also concerned about a number of physical attacks against journalists and media houses in Nepal. Since 2006, four journalists - Uma Singh, Birendra Sah, Puskar Bahadur Shrestha and J.P. Joshi - have been killed.

In this atmosphere, Nepali journalists continue to work under extreme pressure from groups that are either demanding coverage on their terms or opposing news coverage. As a result it is becoming increasingly difficult for journalists to deliver objective, impartial, fair and balanced journalism without coming under attack. In this climate of intimidation some journalists are being silenced or forced to flee the area.

The international community needs to come to the aid of journalists in Nepal to ensure that they are able to report accurately free of fear or favour.

Note: Deepak Adhikari is a reporter with the Kantipur Daily. He is happy for this piece to be reproduced as long as he is credited and a link is provided to this article which was written exclusively for Media Helping Media. Click here for his blog. All images courtesy of The Kathmandu Post