RSF/IFEX) - The Nepalese army is continuing to prevent privately-owned newspapers from publishing while around 1,000 journalists, particularly those working for the dozens of FM radio stations, could lose their jobs as a result of the crackdown on the news media imposed by the king on 1 February 2005, RSF warns.
The organisation said it was horrified by the impact of the six-month ban on all independent news and information. "The abusive use of the press law is a clear violation of the international undertakings given by Nepal, which has ratified the UN's International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights," RSF said.
The daily "Kathmandu Post" reported that about 1,000 journalists have had to stop work and could lose their jobs. Nepal has a total of 41 FM stations employing hundreds of journalists and technicians. Stations such as Hits FM and FM Adhyatma Jyoti each have more than 10 reporters. The largest stations, such as Kantipur FM, have at least 90 correspondents throughout the country.
Some stations such as Kantipur FM and Annapurna FM, which is based in the central town of Pokhara, have already been forced to lay off journalists, while the audio news agency Communication Corner, which distributed programmes to some 14 radio stations, has had to close. <snip>
http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/64419/