Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) has condemned the government notice warning Nepal FM 91.8 to scrap its license for ‘violating’ the ban on FM radios.

The notification of the Ministry of Information and Communication asking the FM station for clarification regarding its ‘news program’ is completely against the rights enshrined in the constitution, the right to information and free expression as well as the precedents established by the Supreme Court, the FNJ said in a statement Thursday.

Demanding that the government immediately withdraw its warning, the federation also announced to organise a protest rally in Kathmandu on Friday.

Saying that the FM station has – by airing news on its daily program called “Rajdhani Khabar” – been challenging the government decree, the ministry in its notice on Wednesday asked why its operating license should not be scrapped on account of the violation of the National Broadcasting Regulations (2051 B.S).

Meanwhile, the Nepal Bar Association (NBA) and the Listeners Club have described the government warning as being illegitimate. Issuing separate statements today the NBA and the club demanded that the government take back the warning to the FM station and stop all its attempts to muzzle the independent media.

FM stations around the country have been banned from airing news since Feb 1 when King Gyanendra assumed direct power. The ban has already rendered over 1000 radio journalists jobless while a number of FM stations are on the verge of closure.