NEPAL: Plight of a country and its journalists still on people's minds

Public remains supportive of efforts to restore democratic processes and press freedom despite growing dissatisfaction with the country's political leaders, say Nepalese journalists

By Vincent Lim
AsiaMedia Contributing Writer

Thursday, June 30, 2005

Nearly six months after King Gyanendra assumed power over the country of Nepal in a stunning and surprising royal coup, Nepalese journalists remain committed to restoring their country to what it once was.

Though they continue to be arrested on a seemingly daily basis for protesting in the name of democracy and freedom of the press, journalists believe they have a responsibility to take action against the injustices they feel are afflicting their country.

Yet, for all their efforts, the public seems to some degree indifferent to the plight of the many journalists and politicians who regularly stage protest rallies against the royal government.

"Unfortunately, the general public seems to be tired of protest rallies," says Kantipur reporter and blogger Dinesh Wagle.

In spite of the public's support for the restoration of democratic processes in Nepal, there continues to be skepticism about the viability of democracy in the country under constant threat of attack from Maoist insurgents. Wagle says the public continues to harbor reservations about the abilities of the leaders of Nepal's political parties to remedy the problems currently troubling the country.

"They are skeptical about the political leadership," Wagle says. "The majority of people here don't support the king, but, for now, they also don't support the parties as well."

He further adds that the King might be using the public's skepticism about the country's political parties to bolster his claim that he is ruling with the support of Nepal's people.

"The King is exploiting the skepticism," Wagle says. "The King is trying to show that people's indifference toward parties means they support him."

Yubaraj Ghimire is the former editor of Kantipur who was arrested on charges of treason for running a signed article by a Maoist ideologue that called upon the Nepalese army to revolt against King Gyanendra. He says the relatively recent adoption of democratic institutions in Nepal may be another cause of people's current ambivalence towards their political leaders.

"Nepal transformed into a multiparty democracy and constitutional monarchy only in 1990," Ghimire says. "It was the first time that the people could dream or express their expectations publicly."

Ghimire says that the people of Nepal might have had unrealistically high expectations for their new democratic government, which may be a reason for the now declining support for Nepal's political leaders.

"It was also equally true that the people's expectations were not well within the realm of realities," Ghimire says.

Still, in Ghimire's opinion, the public feels that the King's decision to essentially seize complete control of the country was unjustified. "People got disappointed with political parties for corruption and infighting, but they never wanted the king to appropriate power in the manner he did."

Though much of the country's political power continues to reside in the hands the King, the Supreme of Court of Nepal is also beginning to question the legitimacy of some of the royal government's actions.

Just last Tuesday, the Supreme Court challenged the royal government's order that prevents Nepalese citizens from peaceably assembling in so-called "restricted zones" and ordered the release of a reporter imprisoned for violating the Terrorists and Disruptive Activities (Control and Punishment) Act.

Ghimire believes the fact that the judiciary appears supportive of journalists is a sign that public support for the restoration of democratic processes and press freedom remains high.

"Journalists are getting support," Ghimire says. "Even the Supreme Court has now come to give judgment on press freedom, individual freedom and habeas corpus because of public pressure in which journalists, bar [lawyers] and ordinary citizens are at the forefront."

But the limitations against freedom of expression in the country are still a concern, and the order against protesting in "restricted zones" that the Supreme Court recently challenged, remains a major issue of contention between journalists and the royal government.

Ghimire, nevertheless, considers entering "restricted areas" to protest a sort of necessary civil disobedience.

"The issue has been debated time and again in Nepal, whether journalists should be entering the prohibited zone or not," Ghimire says. "But because of the total curb on their freedom…[journalists] want to make a point that the King's arbitrary seizure of power and freedom should not go unprotested."

Date Posted: 6/29/2005

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