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Kathmandu Friday June 08, 2001 Jestha 26, 2058.
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Malicious
attempt
The Koirala government arrested Kantipur daily editor
Yubraj Ghimire, Kantipur Publications (Pvt) Ltd managing director Kailash Sirohiya and
director Binod Raj Gyawali the other day. The reason was that the daily had published an
opinion piece by Maoist leader Dr Babu Ram Bhattarai, in which he talked about conspiracy
behind the recent killings of King Birendra and his entire family. The charge labelled
against the Kantipur officials and editor Ghimire is sedition. Now that action has been
joined, so to speak, we will have to await a court ruling to find out whether an act of
sedition was in fact involved. But there is legitimate ground for suspecting Koirala’s
motives in moving against Kantipur. Is it that the media cannot act as an open forum and
publish an opinion piece by a Maoist leader, that too at a time when the government itself
has been trying to hold a political dialogue with the insurgents?
This is not the first time that Maoist leaders have broken out in print and everyone who
reads newspapers in this country knows the thrust of what they have to say. No action was
taken against the newspapers involved then.
Against this background, one rather suspects that the
action being taken against Kantipur now is in retaliation for exposure of corruption in
high places by that daily and its English language sister publication. The two papers have
been very critical of Koirala’s involvement in several corruption cases — right
from the Dhamija scam to the still unresolved Lauda mess. A few months ago also, while
addressing a group of journalists in Biratnagar, Koirala had lashed out openly against
Kantipur. Since then, there have been attempts on the part of the Koirala government to
malign that daily. If the Koirala government felt that "sedition" or violation
of basic constitutional tenets was involved in the publication of the Babu Ram’s
article, it could have ordered the arrest of the editor alone, and not the publishers.
Editorial freedom at a newspaper means that the editor generally has a free hand in
deciding what goes onto the pages of that periodical. A mass circulation newspaper cannot
function efficiently otherwise. This possibly malicious attempt by Koirala not only
concerns Kantipur in particular but also the media in general. We cannot deny that such
attempts will not be repeated against other national media. The fourth estate has played
an important role in strengthening democratic values in this country, particularly after
the restoration of democracy. Unfortunately, the Koirala government does not seem to
appreciate that except in lip service. Koirala has to respect the freedom of the press
even if Kantipur makes life difficult for him from time to time as a result of his
involvement in several corruption cases.
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