Assault on Free Press: Lessons in Democracy for Nepali Maoists
Madhavi Bhasin
January 04, 2009
The Maoists have for long projected themselves as a transformative force in Nepal; a counter-current to monarchical autocracy and political corruption. In the elections for the Constituent Assembly (CA) of Nepal held in April 2008 the Maoists emerged as the single largest party by securing 220 seats in the 575 member body. Power sharing agreement with other political stakeholders led to the election of CPN (M) leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal (referred to as Prachanda) as Nepalīs Prime Minister. The Peopleīs Movement (Jan Andolan) and its culmination in the form of elections for a CA marked a historic development in the political evolution of Nepal. The CPN (M) claimed to be the leading force of that positive historical change. The merging a erstwhile guerrilla force into national political mainstream was a phenomenal event and aroused hopes for an inclusive and stable polity in Nepal. The CA is entrusted with giving shape to the institutional pillars of Nepalīs new democracy - the executive, legislative and judiciary. In the interim the Fourth estate of democracy, a free Press, was expected to moderate the political dialogue in the country. The freedom of press was the first test ( and now the first victim) of the Maoist commitment to a deliberative and representative political process. Recent developments indicate that the Press is waging a struggle for safeguarding its neutrality and dignity in the new democratic order.
The Alliance for Press Freedom, launched in December 2008, is the body designed to safeguard the rights and independence of the public media in the emerging polity of Nepal. The Alliance includes five major media bodies in Nepal - the Nepal Media Society, the Editors' Alliance, the Broadcasting Association of Nepal (BAN), the Association of Community Radio Broadcasters Nepal (ACORAB), and the Kathmandu Valley FM Broadcasters (KVFB). Expressing the raison dīetat of the new grouping, the Alliance statement read "We have come together to magnify the voice from all sectors of media for the protection of their freedom at a time when it is under serious threat," [Nepali Times, December 24, 2008, http://www.nepalitimes.com.np/2008/12/29/142] The Alliance is expected to operate as a collective pressure group to protect the constitutionally guaranteed freedoms of the press. The circumstances under which the Alliance was launched were provocative and threatening.
Maoist unionists attacked Himalmedia, a publication house that publishes Himal Khabarpatrika fortnightly magazine, Himal South Asian monthly and Nepali Times weekly, and injured over a dozen journalists on December 21, 2008. The attack was in response to a story critical of Maoist unionists published in Himal Khabarpatrika. The office of Himalmedia was vandalized and several staff members beaten up. Similar oppressive tactics were employed against the Kantipur Publications, and The Himalayan Times (THT) and Annapurna Post, when the Himalmedia incident received coverage in these dailies. Kantipur's regional office in Biratnagar was seized and printing halted, the reception desk of APCA House, the publisher of THT in Kathmandu, was overpowered. The apparent pretext for vandalism was labor issues, giving the unionists the representative authority to threaten the management. However, the available legal recourse to address labor-management problems did not figure in the unionist scheme of action.
In protest to the attacks the Alliance launched a nation wide agitation and put forth five pre-conditions for talks with the interim government. The demands included: the environment of threats against media houses is removed; the two Maoist affiliated union leaders, Ramesh Babu Panta and Ramesh KC, who led the recent attack on Himalmedia are arrested and criminal cases filed against them; a public apology from the government over the recent attacks on media; and a trustworthy commitment from the government to protect press freedom from further threats, intimidation and violence. Constituent Assembly members, representing various political parties, civil society groups and public demonstrations are pressurised the Maoists to ensure that the press is able to function in an atmosphere of free of political pressure and fear. Former CPN-UML General Secretary Madahv Kumar Nepal even stated the intention of his party to walk out of the government if the CPN-Maoist maintains its violent activities. Following popular and political pressure the Minister for Information and Communication, Krishna Bahadur Mahara, reached a ten point agreement with the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) on December 29, 2008. The broad outlines of the agreement include:
1) Resolve to express commitment in the Constituent Assembly to safeguard press freedom, security of journalists and media houses
2) Launching initiative to make political parties come up with their opinion on press freedom.
3) Setting a special bureau, under the Ministry of Information and Communication, to look after the incidents of press freedom violation and the complaints would promptly be sent to authorities concerned for action
4) Constitution of a task force responsible for recommending a long-term policy on press freedom and security of journalists
5) An undertaking that the government will express commitment to take legal action against the culprits of the incidents of Dadeldura, Achham, Dolakha, Sindhuli and Kavre and compensate the victims
6) Agreement that the government and FNJ would initiate talks between the owners and workers of the media houses to resolve the labor issues and reinstate the suspended workers
Following this agreement and Government appeal to the concerned parties to allow publication of Kantipur and The Kathmandu Post from Biratnagar, the agitation by the media houses has been withdrawn.
The scope of the new agreement in addressing the greater challenges confronting the media in Nepal appears doubtful. The one door policy on the distribution of public advertisement highlights the institutional mechanisms being devised by the Government to gag the press. Under the new policy, currently in the drafting stage, separate "advertisement authority" would be established to administer public advertisement distribution. This implies that publishing houses with more pro-government coverage would receive maximum advertisement offers, swelling their revenues. On the contrary, revenues collected through advertisements would be highly limited for media houses voicing any criticism of the official policies. In October last year the government appointed a Secretary in the National Information Commission (NIC), creating serious concerns about the independence of the NIC. The NICīs mandate is to implement the Right to Information Act, guaranteeing the Nepali citizens legal access to information.
Violence against the media has been widespread since the Maoists took to the political centre-stage. Pending a memorandum submitted by the FNJ, Kanchanpur Chapter, there are no leads on the whereabouts of Prakesh Thakuri, a journalist missing since over a year. The CPN-Maoist cadre has been allegedly involved in the Thakuri case. Several incidents involving unidentified groups, suspected to be Maoists, have wrecked havoc in the newspaper offices and attacked journalists. Official documents at Tarai Times Daily, a newspaper from Dhanusha, were destroyed in October last year; in November, Abadesh Jha, vice-president of the FNJ Saptari chapter and Sanatan Mandal, news correspondent for New Today were assaulted; few days later office of National News Agency (RSS) in Biratnagar was vandalized; 1300 copies of the Himal Magazine were set ablaze before being distributed. Instances of such incidents can be multiplied, reflecting the magnitude of the threats faced by the journalists since a representative government has assumed office.
The freedom and neutrality of the press is severely challenged given the current political dynamics in Nepal. Nevertheless, the press in Nepal has survived various forms of official censorship and opposition since its inception. From the use of the press as a propaganda arm of the Panchayat regime to the mobilization of the army against the media following the Royal Declaration of emergency on February 1, 2005, the press in Nepal has survived multiple onslaughts. The resilience displayed by the media ensures its existence as zealous bastion of democratic rights and responsible governance in the emerging polity of Nepal. While the press might survive the political highhandedness, the recent developments raise questions regarding the intention and ability of the Maoists to adopt the democratic essentials of dialogue and reconciliation. It appears that the Maoists would take some time to unlearn the aggressive modes of interaction acquired during years of armed struggle. Fair resolution of the on-going politics-media brawl is more test for the survival of Maoists as a mainstream political force than the media in Nepal.
The Alliance for Press Freedom, launched in December 2008, is the body designed to safeguard the rights and independence of the public media in the emerging polity of Nepal. The Alliance includes five major media bodies in Nepal - the Nepal Media Society, the Editors' Alliance, the Broadcasting Association of Nepal (BAN), the Association of Community Radio Broadcasters Nepal (ACORAB), and the Kathmandu Valley FM Broadcasters (KVFB). Expressing the raison dīetat of the new grouping, the Alliance statement read "We have come together to magnify the voice from all sectors of media for the protection of their freedom at a time when it is under serious threat," [Nepali Times, December 24, 2008, http://www.nepalitimes.com.np/2008/12/29/142] The Alliance is expected to operate as a collective pressure group to protect the constitutionally guaranteed freedoms of the press. The circumstances under which the Alliance was launched were provocative and threatening.
Maoist unionists attacked Himalmedia, a publication house that publishes Himal Khabarpatrika fortnightly magazine, Himal South Asian monthly and Nepali Times weekly, and injured over a dozen journalists on December 21, 2008. The attack was in response to a story critical of Maoist unionists published in Himal Khabarpatrika. The office of Himalmedia was vandalized and several staff members beaten up. Similar oppressive tactics were employed against the Kantipur Publications, and The Himalayan Times (THT) and Annapurna Post, when the Himalmedia incident received coverage in these dailies. Kantipur's regional office in Biratnagar was seized and printing halted, the reception desk of APCA House, the publisher of THT in Kathmandu, was overpowered. The apparent pretext for vandalism was labor issues, giving the unionists the representative authority to threaten the management. However, the available legal recourse to address labor-management problems did not figure in the unionist scheme of action.
In protest to the attacks the Alliance launched a nation wide agitation and put forth five pre-conditions for talks with the interim government. The demands included: the environment of threats against media houses is removed; the two Maoist affiliated union leaders, Ramesh Babu Panta and Ramesh KC, who led the recent attack on Himalmedia are arrested and criminal cases filed against them; a public apology from the government over the recent attacks on media; and a trustworthy commitment from the government to protect press freedom from further threats, intimidation and violence. Constituent Assembly members, representing various political parties, civil society groups and public demonstrations are pressurised the Maoists to ensure that the press is able to function in an atmosphere of free of political pressure and fear. Former CPN-UML General Secretary Madahv Kumar Nepal even stated the intention of his party to walk out of the government if the CPN-Maoist maintains its violent activities. Following popular and political pressure the Minister for Information and Communication, Krishna Bahadur Mahara, reached a ten point agreement with the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) on December 29, 2008. The broad outlines of the agreement include:
1) Resolve to express commitment in the Constituent Assembly to safeguard press freedom, security of journalists and media houses
2) Launching initiative to make political parties come up with their opinion on press freedom.
3) Setting a special bureau, under the Ministry of Information and Communication, to look after the incidents of press freedom violation and the complaints would promptly be sent to authorities concerned for action
4) Constitution of a task force responsible for recommending a long-term policy on press freedom and security of journalists
5) An undertaking that the government will express commitment to take legal action against the culprits of the incidents of Dadeldura, Achham, Dolakha, Sindhuli and Kavre and compensate the victims
6) Agreement that the government and FNJ would initiate talks between the owners and workers of the media houses to resolve the labor issues and reinstate the suspended workers
Following this agreement and Government appeal to the concerned parties to allow publication of Kantipur and The Kathmandu Post from Biratnagar, the agitation by the media houses has been withdrawn.
The scope of the new agreement in addressing the greater challenges confronting the media in Nepal appears doubtful. The one door policy on the distribution of public advertisement highlights the institutional mechanisms being devised by the Government to gag the press. Under the new policy, currently in the drafting stage, separate "advertisement authority" would be established to administer public advertisement distribution. This implies that publishing houses with more pro-government coverage would receive maximum advertisement offers, swelling their revenues. On the contrary, revenues collected through advertisements would be highly limited for media houses voicing any criticism of the official policies. In October last year the government appointed a Secretary in the National Information Commission (NIC), creating serious concerns about the independence of the NIC. The NICīs mandate is to implement the Right to Information Act, guaranteeing the Nepali citizens legal access to information.
Violence against the media has been widespread since the Maoists took to the political centre-stage. Pending a memorandum submitted by the FNJ, Kanchanpur Chapter, there are no leads on the whereabouts of Prakesh Thakuri, a journalist missing since over a year. The CPN-Maoist cadre has been allegedly involved in the Thakuri case. Several incidents involving unidentified groups, suspected to be Maoists, have wrecked havoc in the newspaper offices and attacked journalists. Official documents at Tarai Times Daily, a newspaper from Dhanusha, were destroyed in October last year; in November, Abadesh Jha, vice-president of the FNJ Saptari chapter and Sanatan Mandal, news correspondent for New Today were assaulted; few days later office of National News Agency (RSS) in Biratnagar was vandalized; 1300 copies of the Himal Magazine were set ablaze before being distributed. Instances of such incidents can be multiplied, reflecting the magnitude of the threats faced by the journalists since a representative government has assumed office.
The freedom and neutrality of the press is severely challenged given the current political dynamics in Nepal. Nevertheless, the press in Nepal has survived various forms of official censorship and opposition since its inception. From the use of the press as a propaganda arm of the Panchayat regime to the mobilization of the army against the media following the Royal Declaration of emergency on February 1, 2005, the press in Nepal has survived multiple onslaughts. The resilience displayed by the media ensures its existence as zealous bastion of democratic rights and responsible governance in the emerging polity of Nepal. While the press might survive the political highhandedness, the recent developments raise questions regarding the intention and ability of the Maoists to adopt the democratic essentials of dialogue and reconciliation. It appears that the Maoists would take some time to unlearn the aggressive modes of interaction acquired during years of armed struggle. Fair resolution of the on-going politics-media brawl is more test for the survival of Maoists as a mainstream political force than the media in Nepal.