NEPAL: 'Radio can resume its transmission,' says Minister Shahi

Interior minister says Radio Sagarmatha can resume broadcasting immediately; IFJ calls for immediate release of journalists arrested during raid of station

Nepal News
Monday, November 28, 2005

AsiaMedia Editor's Note: Reports are unclear as to whether the lifting of the state of emergency on April 30 allows for press freedom, and thus Nepalnews may still be operating under the directives of King Gyanendra.

As media bodies and rights groups continue condemning the government's act of raiding Radio Sagarmatha FM and seizing its equipment, interior minister Dan Bahadur Shahi has said the station can air its transmission immediately.

Talking to BBC Nepali Service Monday evening, Minister Shahi said the government had instructed the radio not to re-broadcast the interview with Prachanda. "We haven't asked them to shut down their entire transmission," he added.

Meanwhile, talking to the state-run Nepal Television, Minister for Information and Communications, Tanka Dhakal, said the government had taken action against Radio Sagarmatha "for airing notice repeatedly regarding interview with a person against whom a Red Corner notice has been issued."

He was referring to the interview with Maoist chairman, Prachanda, over the BBC Nepali Service on Sunday. "The Radio violated the law outright. You can't make mistake by saying that other person is also committing the same mistake," he added.

Officials with the Radio Sagarmatha, however, say police raided the station, seized equipment and took five journalists and technical staff into custody when they had dropped the interview with Prachanda already.

Reporter Durga Karki was released late Sunday while four others were released on Monday.

Radio Sagarmatha relays live transmission of BBC Nepali aired from London.

Earlier in the day, hundreds of journalists, professionals and civil society activists took part in a rally organised to protest the police intervention at Radio Sagarmatha.

Addressing the corner meeting at Maitighar Mandala, rights activist Krishna Pahadi said the state had given rise to a new debate by alleging that Radio Sagarmatha was promoting terrorist activities by trying to re-broadcast Prachanda's interview.

"Terrorists are those who fear of poems, who fear of artistes and who fear of pen. They live in palaces, not in ordinary huts," he added.

Editor of The Kathmandu Post daily, Prateek Pradhan, warned that the government was likely to enact similar episodes of what he called 'naked dance' in the future. He said the Maoists were contemplating on renouncing violence. But, if they returned to peaceful means, this government will lose everything, he added.

Chairman of the Radio Sagarmatha management committee, Laxman Upreti, demanded that the government return the equipment seized from the radio station immediately. Dipak Raj Pandey, a programme presenter at the Radio Sagarmatha, narrated his tale in the overnight police custody.

Earlier, hundreds of journalists and rights activists had marched from Babarmahal to Maitighar chanting pro-democracy slogans.

The Supreme Court is also examining the case related to newly promulgated media ordinance and seizure of up linking equipment from Kantipur FM.

IFJ deplores govt raid on Radio Sagarmatha

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has expressed grave concern over the police raid on Radio Sagarmatha FM, a community radio station on Sunday night.

Radio Sagarmatha FM went off the air at 8:45 p.m. Sunday night after police raided the station, seized its transmission equipment and took into custody four journalists and a technician working at the station.

"The use of intimidation tactics by the Nepalese Government in attempts to silence the media and dissenting, critical voices is unacceptable," a statement issued by the IFJ quoted IFJ president Christopher Warren as saying.

The statement added that the reason for the raid against Sagarmatha is thought to be connected to the BBC Nepali Service airing an exclusive interview with Maoist chairman Prachanda alias Pushpa Kamal Dahal -- the first radio interview given by him in the last ten years -- despite Sagarmatha airing music instead of his interview.

"The government's attempts to quell all dissenting voices will only result in the complete quashing of all democratic space in Nepal, leaving little room for a peaceful solution to the ongoing conflict the king used as an excuse for the February 1 coup," said Warren.

"It is reported that approximately seven FM stations outside of Kathmandu were forced to drop their transmission of BBC Nepali Service on Monday November 28 by local authorities because of the interview," the statement adds.

The IFJ in its statement also called for the immediate release of the journalists and technicians who remain in custody after the incident.

The raid of Sagarmatha follows the October 21 police raid of the station of Kantipur FM where its equipment used to uplink its transmission were seized. The authorities are yet to return the equipment.

The government is taking action against FM Radio stations saying they are transmitting news defying the governments' order not to transmit news under recently promulgated Media Ordinance, which is under the Judicial review at the Supreme Court.

Date Posted: 11/28/2005