Free expression activists from within the country and abroad have said situation of press freedom and freedom of expression has deteriorated in the country since last year’s royal takeover.

Taking part in an interaction programme organized by the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) on the occasion of the launch of a six-day long ‘International Advocacy Mission for Press Freedom in Nepal’, one of the delegates representing the Denmark-based International Media Support (IMS), Jesper Hojberg, said international community was very much concerned at what he called the deteriorating situation of media freedom in Nepal since the royal takeover of last year.

He said Nepali media should develop persistent strength to overcome the repressive policy and atrocities of the state.

Hojberg said they would continue their advocacy at the international level to garner more support for restoration of media rights and freedom of expression in Nepal and would return the next year to monitor if things have changed for the better.

President of FNJ, Bishnu Nisthuri, said journalists in Nepal will continue to fight for press freedom in the country despite repressive policies and hurdles and challenges. He said media personnel in Nepal had dual role to play – as journalists advocating the freedom of expression and as representatives of the people in the absence of elected parliament.

Senior journalist, Kanak Mani Dixit, said lawyers and media personnel were in the forefront to resist the government’s atrocities by rejecting all restrictive regulations and laws that the royal regime had been trying to enforce to curb press freedom. He alleged that the state had adopted the policy of attacking the entire independent media rather than targeting individual journalists as in the past.

Mr. Dixit said local authorities had terrorized media personnel — whose role was very important in influencing people to fight for peace and democracy—at the local level. He said the Nepali journalists should prepare themselves for more difficult days ahead. He also urged the international mission to lend hands of support in the future as well.

A documentary depicting the situation of media in Nepal after the royal takeover was screened on the occasion.

The mission delegates visited offices of Nepal FM, Radio Sagarmatha FM, Kantipur FM and Kantipur Publications this evening. Three teams of the mission together with FNJ representatives is to visit Pokhara, Surkhet and Birtamod over the next two days to study the situation of media freedom in the districts since the royal takeover.

The mission delegates are also scheduled to meet senior government officials, opposition leaders, diplomatic community based in Kathmandu and interact with the civil society representatives.

The organizations participating in the mission include Article 19, Free Voice, International Federation of Journalists, South Asia Press Commission, International Media Support, Rory Peck Trust, IFEX and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), among others.

The latest visit is the continuation of the international advocacy mission that visited Nepal in July last year.