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Kathmandu Tuesday February 26, 2002 Falgun 14, 2058.
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Interaction on role of media
held
Post Report
KATHMANDU, Feb 25: An interaction programme on
the role of media in the state of emergency period was organised here today to explore the
situation of news, reporters and credibility of news releases dispatched in the past three
months.
Nepali Congress lawmaker Hom Nath Dahal said
that the duty of the government is to assist the press dispatch unbiased and true story to
the public during the state of emergency.
Nevertheless, he also warned that the government
cannot allow the people do anything against the national interest just because they hold
licence of being a journalist. "If somebody, a journalist or otherwise, acts to
promote the terrorists, the government cannot forgive them," he said.
Similarly, a parliamentarian from the CPN-UML
Pradeep Gyawali said that the government should honour the press for its role in bringing
out the fact about the Maoists.
"The press did not leave any stone unturned
to find out the reality about the extreme activities of the Maoists even when the
ministers were praising the Maoists," said Gyawali.
He said the security forces should be informed
which book is the document of the Maoists and which book discloses the brutal reality of
the terrorists adding one of the journalists were arrested because he possessed a book
written by him on the reality behind Prachadaism.
President of Federation of Nepalese Journalists
Suresh Acharya said altogether 59 journalists were detained in the past three months of
emergency period and 20 are still in custody.
Most of the participants expressed that the
regular press release dispatched by the Ministry of Defence lack supporting facts and the
news based on the releases would have been stronger if the journalists were given chance
to interact with the ministry officials.
They said the International Media Support Fund
(IMSF), an international-funding organisation, working for the benefit of journalists
worldwide, would offer assistance if the Nepali journalists demanded.
IMSF president Torben Krogh said the
organisation was providing security to the journalists who protest against mistreatment
and advocate professional journalism.
"We can provide a long-term or a short-term
assistance to strengthen journalism in the state of emergency," he said.
The programme was jointly organised by IMSF and
Nepal Press Institute.
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