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BOOK REVIEW |
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BOOK REVIEW |
Nepalese
Press In Emergency BOOK The book highlights difficulties faced by the Nepalese media at
this crucial period of the country’s history By
A CORRESSPONDENT Nepalese
press has passed through various phases of difficulties and uncertainties. Following the
restoration of democracy in 1990, Nepalese media has been enjoying unlimited freedom and
independence. As
the Constitution of Kingdom of Nepal 1990 guarantees all kinds of freedom, the media
industry has found the best opportunity to flourish and establish itself in the country.
For one decade, Nepalese media tested the real power of freedom and independence with
growing number of private media houses coming up. All of a sudden, Nepalese media faced one of the most difficult times in
the experiment of the twelve years of democracy when the government imposed the state of
emergency in November 2001. Impartial and independent news coverage was pretty hard in a
situation where the state restricted the mobility of journalists and when the rebels, too,
placed similar conditions. The restrictions placed on the press will deny the people's right to read
factual description of the events. In the first few months, the press did not get the
opportunity to visit different places either by the restriction of security forces or by
the rebels. Some journalists were either killed or put in the jail. In the course of
insurgency, half a dozen of Nepalese journalists were killed and a couple of journalists
are still missing. One of the most challenging duties of a journalist is to cover the story
regarding the conflict irrespective of threat to his/her life. Even if a media person
tries to portray impartial picture of events, he cannot find a friend. In most of the
cases, the victims are the journalists with independent background. A journalist cannot please both the factions of conflict in writing. If he
writes news that shows one side in positive light, the other side will naturally be angry.
This is the reason why a journalist always has to live under constant threat. "Nepalese journalists equally suffer from the threats of security
personnel and the Maoists. Both the group killed and tortured journalists," writes
Taranath Dahal, president of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) in his
preface of the book “Nepalese Press In emergency”. "The Federation made a lot of efforts to release those journalists put
behind the bar by security forces and rebels," he said. During the period of state of emergency in 2001, Nepalese media persons
survived the phase fraught with occupational hazards including threat, extortion, arrest
and kidnapping. The lives of journalists were in constant threat from both the warring
factions - the government and Maoist. Published by the Federation of Nepalese Journalists, the book “Nepalese
Press in Emergency” is a collection of articles and events that were reported during
the period. One of the main aspects of the book is that it gives a glimpse of how Nepalese
journalists survived in the period of emergency sacrificing their personal freedom. "We have done what we could to put all the available information in
brief. One of the major aims of the book is to give the real picture of Nepalese press
during the state of emergency," said Taranath Dahal. "We have documented
favorable and unfavorable events." Thanks to the efforts of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists, one can
read the events that took place during the period of state of emergency. The book also
includes names of journalists who were killed, went missing or those who were imprisoned. The book is a testimony to the difficult period that was successfully
overcome by the Nepalese journalists and their staunch adherence to principles of press
freedom and freedom of expression. |
Send your feedback to the
editor: spotligh@mos.com.np |
