The situation of press freedom in Nepal during the period of direct rule of the king was the worst, a recent report said.
According to the ‘State of media freedom: Nepal Report 2062’ published by Kathmandu-based Freedom Forum on Sunday, there were 318 cases of short and long-term detention, 418 cases of manhandling, misbehaviour and beating and 33 cases of threats in between April 14, 2005 to April 24, 2006. Similarly, 29 journalists were interrogated, six abducted and some one dozen journalists were terminated from the job during this period. The report said 33 cases of ban or seizure and 18 cases of attack on journalists or media houses were noted in the period.
Speaking at the programme to release the report, Minister for Information and Communications, Dilendra Prasad Badu, said freedom of the press and right to information have major role to play in strengthening democratic principles and values.
He expressed commitment of the government to bring laws on Right to Information as guaranteed by the constitution accommodating recommendations made by the high-level media commission.
Registrar of the Supreme Court, Dr Ram Krishna Timalsena, said there was a need to bring a separate Act on right to privacy along with the right to information to make sure that correct and important information is disseminated effectively.
He said the state must develop a culture of providing information on issues of public interest even if no one asks for it. “Since indexing and file maintenance system among bureaucrats today is very poor, finding information on many important issues often becomes a tiresome job. This must be corrected,” he added.
President of the Forum and former president of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ), Taranath Dahal, presided the function.