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ShareKATHMANDU: Nepalese police took into custody at least 36 journalists, who staged a sit-in here demanding reinstatement of 49 of their colleagues sacked from a
state-owned media house after alleged Maoist intervention.
The scribes led by the Nepal Press Union (NPU) were staging the sit-in at the Government Secretariat Complex, Singhdurbar, when they were detained, sources close to NPU said on Thursday.
The journalists have been protesting for the past one week, demanding an end to Maoists' intervention in their affairs. Forty-nine journalists of state-run 'Gorakhapatra'
were fired last week by its pro-Maoist management.
Maoists also allegedly halted publication of two leading dailies 'The Himalayan Times' and 'Annapurna Post' for four days and shut down private HBC radio for over a week. Last month, they allegedly disrupted the distribution of 'Nepal Samacharpatra' and 'The Kathmandu Post'.
'The Himalayan Times' and 'Annapurna Post' resumed their publication on Wednesday after the Patan Appeliate Court directed the Maoist-affiliated All Nepal Communication and Press and Publication Workers' Union not to disrupt the publication.
Maoist leader and Minister for Communication Krishna Bahadur Mahara is also learnt to have directed the union workers not to block the publication.
The agitating journalists handed a memorandum to Mahara on Wednesday. They also handed him 49 broken pens and cartoon sketches that depicted intervention in the press.
The Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ), an umbrella organisation of the country's scribes, also expressed solidarity with the protesters.
Meanwhile, The Editors Alliance, a group of editors of Nepal's leading media organisations, expressed determination to fight against the deliberate attacks on press freedom by Maoists.
The alliance comprising Editors of 'The Kathmandu Post,' 'The Himalayan Times' and 'Nepal Samacharpatra,' has asked the Maoist leadership to honour their commitment to press freedom. The Maoist leaders, including Mahara, should honour their stated commitment to protect press freedom and not to incite attacks on the media, a statement issued by the alliance said.
