I'm sorry, you died at wrong time

I’m sorry for Birendra Shah, the unfortunate journalist from Bara who was killed by the dirty hands of the Maosits, (who say they do everything for the people and for poor, marginalised and suppressed class of people).

Shah’s body was found today afternoon. The body was to be found after it was buried. I’m not talking about the killers who are buried in laps of Prachanda or Baburam Bhaatrai.

I’m sorry in many senses. First being a journalist, I am sorry because I see my face in his photograph when his photos were pinned on my friends’ T-shirts. I can imagine what payment he had from the four media houses he worked with – Avenues TV, Nepal FM, Drishti and one other. I was looking at the eyes of his wife and I could see so many unwritten stories of Shah. It was like I read all the stories he could not write.

Next sorry because he was killed by the Maoists. I’m not personally biased for or against the revolutionists. But I was concerned because I was hearing too much of their kind of press freedom when the started the strategy of blocking newspapers at Kantipur, Nepal Samacharpatra and Annapurna Post. I could imagine how they could support press freedom. And when I look at their faces in the TV programmes, either sitting on the pile of newspapers at the office of Annapurna Post or smashing the windscreen of vehicles at Kantipur Publication premises, I can see who were behind him and why it took place.

Now, for the third sense. I’m sorry that he died in this critical condition. No doubt, he was a supporter (or a cadre) of CPN-UML. One can imagine how difficult it is for common people to be member of the UML-affiliated Press Chautari and how meaning for it is to be in that position who dream of being in the UML politics. See, he died………..he really died. But the party has been silent for whole month. When the journalists were making all hue and cry in the capital and also in other districts. The only person we see in the crowd is Raguji Panta, who come to the mass as an ex-journlaist than a UML central committee member. We know, the UML is intereseted to bag the prime minister’s set with the help of Maoists and it is the worst time for the Maoists to say thing thing that counld be unpleasant to the Maoists (If the UML only could remember the slogan of the Maoists to “dhad ma chadera tauko ma hirkaune”). Otherwise, the UML knows the best way to do politics over dead bodies. I’m sorry Shah was not fortunate enough to receive party flag on his body. This is politics. Sorry man.

UML is threatened by press freedom

Raghuji Panta is a known feltist politician of Nepal. He belongs to a party called CPN-UML (which partially supported the king when he started his coup move against democracy). He even won a seat of parliament some eight years ago.

Surprisingly, on Wednesday, the 17th of October, he charged Nepali press of overdoing journalism and enjoying too much of press freedom. He said that Nepali press is given too much of press freedom and they are not at all responsible to the readers. He was addressing an interaction on constitutional crisis and press freedom. He spoke a lot about politics, ie, critised the Maoists (this is what they do, to coverup their plan to avoid the election of constituent assembly) in the programme organised by Nepal Press Institute at Hotel Himalaya.

He also chraged that Nepali Press does mistakes and character assassination every day and opined that they should be penalised. "The law against media in Nepal is very weak. In other countries, many of the newspapers get bankrupted just because they failed to pay compensation against the crime they do to others," he said.

But he failed to name a single crime done by the media and also he did not remember when he or his party filed case against the media and what punishment the court annouced for the media.

In fact, what I know is that, Nepali media are the cheapest parrots to the polticians and they never venture to criticise the leaders. They just make news out of the bullshit bhashan they make here and there. Many of the reporters are just in pockets of the leaders and they do what the leaders want. Some are given political promotion for what they write supporting the impotent and unethical leaders.

Still, the UML leader is not happy with the media. What could be the reason? I guess, he is being appointed as a communication minister. Excactly, the king's communication miniser Shreesh Samshre used to say like that.

I know Raghuji since the time when he was living in a a rented toom at Pulchowk.

In this context, it is to be noted that Nepal surges 20 places in World Press Freedom index. Nepal has surged more than 20 places to be placed at 137th position in the ranking of the world press freedom index owing to revival of basic freedoms after the end of war, according to a report published by Paris based Reporters Sans Frontiers Tuesday (www.nepalnws.com).

This, Maobadi press freedom

The Maoists today exhibited the extent of their totalitarian vision.

The Maoists leadership must be happy to know that their cadres today successfully demolished printing press of Kantipur Daily and also tried to set fire in the premises of Kantipur Office. Of course, they have to be. This did not happen in 238 years of monarchy, 15 years of king's democracy and 18 months of king's dictatorship. I do not remember anything similar could take place in "glorious" insurgency of Maoists (though I have not forgotten the mruder of journalist Gyanendra Khadka). In all sense, it was a history and the dates could be improtant for lecturers of Nepali journalism.

"Press is dangerous". This is the most common welcome note you will find when you visit a government officer. They want to stay at the office and wait the "sanktranti" to grab the salary. They just do not want to be in problem by telling the journalists what is truth. Similarly, the party leaders also consider the media persons as their enemies. They want the journalists to be either their puppet and work as their "Prachar Prsar Bibhag" or do not want to talk with them.

We know quite well, none of the governments - either in the Panchayati regime, during the king's democracy, or any other period - were tolerant to the press. They want all the newspapers to be the pet dogs of the government, mainly the ministry of information is set up to control the media and to force them to speak in favour of the government. That is why none of the governments were ready to privatize Gorkhapatra and The Rising Nepal, which toot the government's horn out of the tax payers' money. And that was the reason the Maoists were doing all the "nakhara" to get hold of the ministry of information.

And this is the climax of Maoists are showing dictatorship's character. They have let some of its cadres in the publication house and forced the management and the journalists to obey to what their leaders say. When they failed to make the journalists write positive of all the indirect insurgency they are carrying out in the country , the came to the level of "dadagiri".

Otherwise, how can you take everything naturally, when there are hundreds of factories, industries and other service centres in the country but only the employees of the media houses are ill-treated? And even in the media houses, there are other trade unions, which are affiliated with other parties. Why those trade unions do not see any problem anly only the Maoist trade unions are feeling unethical suppression? It is as clear as day, the Maoists want to quell press freedom.

The king's day came to the end right from the day when he started to quell the press freedom. Does the Maoists of Nepal also want the same? I really believe the Maoists do not like the same thing to happen to them.