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Kathmandu Tuesday June 12, 2001 Jestha 30, 2058.
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Dubious
motive
In arresting Kantipur daily editor Yubaraj Ghimire, the
much tainted Koirala government has spewed its wrath on press freedom. What is even more
surprising is the arrest of the Kantipur Publications managing director and director also.
This has left enough room for suspicion that it is a calculated move on the part of the
government, emanating from deep animosity towards Kantipur Publications, given its mission
of exposing prevalent political and social anomalies. The Nepali Congress, which never
tires of equating itself with democracy, should now examine its own democratic conscience.
Undoubtedly, freedom of expression is not above the Constitution. It is governed by
certain guidelines and restrictions. And whether the detainees are guilty or not will now
be decided by a court of law. The circumstances of the arrests, however, suggest that
vindictiveness has gotten the upper hand. Though the government preaches constitutional
rights and freedom of expression, it is actually seething with rage and hostility towards
private media committed to unmasking corruption and unscrupulous activities against the
interests of the people. Such a state of affairs is truly unbecoming of a dispensation
whose only claim to be better than the old Panchayat regime now remains its democratic
credentials. A democracy cannot function properly except in the glare of adverse
publicity. Those who cannot withstand such constant exposure should take up some other
calling. Those who cannot stand the heat should exit the kitchen.
In view of the way the government has taken Kantipur to
task for perceived failing, take a look at the way the government itself has foundered and
failed in keeping the public informed in the wake of the royal shootings. The government,
particularly the Home and Information and Communications Ministries, not only showed
itself incompetent or irresponsible, but also unduly deferential to foreign media. If this
were not so, why were they so prompt and forthcoming in sharing information with foreign
television channels? While keeping the entire nation under an information blackout, they
were vigorously feeding Indian and western media with unconfirmed reports and sensitive
quotes. But they never deemed it necessary, during the initial stages of the tragedy, to
release authentic information to the Nepalese public. In the absence of official
statements, anti-social elements began working the rumour mills. For several days, the
capital and various parts of the country fell prey to misinformation, leading to chaos and
confusion. Baseless rumours, ranging from poisoned water and milk to kidnapping and
detention of important personalities and deaths and suicide of VVIPs added to the
confusion. Miscreants infiltrated mourning processions, and tried to provoke the rest of
the public and instigate violence. As things spun out of control, curfews had to be
clamped for three consecutive days, in which several people were killed and several others
injured. In all this, lack of information proved to be the main evil. At a time when the
public was hungry for information surrounding the Royal tragedy, there was hardly a
trickle from the Ministry concerned. However, this is not the first time the government
has resorted to hide and seek in the wake of an unpleasant incident - be it the Hrithik
Roshan episode or the Indian plane hijacking. Ironically, Nepalese had to rely heavily on
foreign media, that often carried half-baked and unsubstantiated reports. Such being its
own credibility and reputation, the Koirala regime is not in much of a position to take a
position on the limitations of the press. Concern and compassion shown by local and
international journalists and human rights activists over the editor’s arrest are
indeed remarkable, and hopefully, they will pursue the matter with the same gusto.
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