Nepal still a very dangerous place for journalists, says IPI

The International Press Institute (IPI), a media rights watchdog has decided to retain Nepal in its Watch List while its director said that the country is a very dangerous place for journalists.

The Executive Board Meeting of the IPI held recently in Germany unanimously voted to add Sri Lanka to the IPI Watch List and retain Ethiopia, Nepal, Russia, Venezuela and Zimbabwe on the list.

"The IPI Watch List is a list of countries in which press freedom conditions have rapidly deteriorated. The guiding principle behind the Watch List is to open up a dialogue with these countries before they slide into repression," a statement by the IPI says.

Regarding Nepal, IPI Director Johann P. Fritz noted, "widespread disrespect for press freedom still strongly affects journalists and media outlets' ability to report freely. This makes Nepal a very dangerous country for journalists." nepalnews.com sd Nov 21 07