June 21, 2001	atimes.com

India/Pakistan Nepali media find freedom tested after royal killings By Suman Pradhan KATHMANDU - Soon after the June 1 massacre of Nepal's entire royal family, the media of this tiny Himalayan kingdom - arguably the most successful embodiment of its 11 years of democracy - is facing new restrictions. The arrests in early June of three top journalists from Kantipur Publications, Nepal's largest and most influential private publishing house, have sent shivers down the spine of the Fourth Estate. Although Kantipur editor Yuvaraj Ghimire and his two colleagues were later freed by a special anti-terrorist court, the case still drags on and is likely to set new precedents on just how far the press can go in disseminating news and opinion which fall foul of the government. "These are definitely not good times for the press in Nepal," says Suresh Acharya, president of the Federation of Nepal Journalists Association. "This case shows that the government is trying to intimidate us." The case in question began immediately after the June 1 massacre in the royal palace that claimed the lives of 10 royals, including King Birendra, his wife and children. A few days later, Kantipur, an influential Nepali-language newspaper, published an opinion piece written by Dr Baburam Bhattarai, the mercurial rebel leader whose Maoist guerrillas have been waging an anti-state insurgency for the last six years. Dr Bhattarai blamed a palace conspiracy for the murders and urged the Nepali army to rise in revolt against the new monarch, King Birendra's younger brother, Gyanendra. The government acted swiftly. The day the article was published on June 6, it arrested Ghimire and two top executives of the publishing group, and charged them with sedition. In court papers filed later, the government asked for the maximum possible sentence for the "crime" of publishing an article that it deemed to be against the national interest. Deputy Prime Minister Ram Chandra Paudel defended the government action by saying: "There are limits to press freedom. We will not tolerate attempts to ridicule the monarchy and incite soldiers against the state." Local journalists were aghast. It was the first time since multi-party democracy was established in this impoverished Himalayan kingdom in 1990 that the government had taken such action against a mainstream newspaper. Loud howls of protest followed, from journalists' groups, political parties and civic groups. The US State Department even issued a statement of concern, as did the British Embassy in the capital Kathmandu. They all pointed out that freedom of information has been guaranteed under Nepal's democratic constitution and that the government has no right to infringe on that right. Besides, the article in question was an opinion piece, and everyone has the right to disseminate his or her views. But the damage had been done. "This was a clear act of intimidation of the press," says Daman Nath Dhungana, a top constitutional lawyer and a former speaker of parliament. "No matter how unpalatable the views, in a democracy you cannot stop those views from being aired. But the government here has forgotten that. The judges who tried the trio of journalists agreed with this line of reasoning and freed them pending a full hearing which could take months to settle. The arrests have also embarrassed the Royal Palace, because many here feel it was palace officials who ordered the crackdown. That such an action was initiated soon after the new King Gyanendra was crowned also raised plenty of eyebrows, but palace officials swiftly denied any links. The Royal Palace press officials went out of their way to convince anyone who would listen that they had no hand in the government action. In many ways, the case is helping to define the area of press freedom in Nepal - not such a bad thing, say many analysts. "We hope the courts will now draw a clear line [for] how far the government can intervene with the press. This is a precedent- setting case and we are optimistic of the outcome," says Taranath Dahal, an editor of a local weekly. In the rough-and-tumble decade of democracy in Nepal, if any one sector gained rapidly, then it was the press. Private newspapers and radio stations, once banned or tightly controlled, have flourished at the cost of state-owned media outlets. Prior to 1990, the broadsheets, radio and television were only owned by the government, although several private tabloids were also allowed to be published. But since the new constitution came into effect in 1991, the media scene has boomed. There are at least half a dozen private broadsheet newspapers in Nepal now, including Kantipur. Another dozen or so private and community FM radio stations have also come into operation, and there is talk of opening up the television market to the private sector as well. But while all this has occurred swiftly, the economy has taken a beating due to government bumbling and allegations of corruption, and politicians themselves have suffered a bad image. Today, Nepal's politicians, its political parties and many of its institutions suffer from credibility precisely because of corruption. Only the media has gained some credibility, analysts say. "The vibrant media scene was the only bright spot of Nepal's democracy," says analyst K Hachhethu. "And now when this too comes under attack, many are asking, where are we headed?" (Inter Press Service)

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