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Fast-unto-death demanding respect to press freedom; THT/AP distribution disrupted

In the wake of strike by pro-Maoist 'republican radio workers', which has caused the Radio HBC FM to go off the air since last one week, manager of that FM Birendra Dahal has launched fast-unto-death demanding full respect to press freedom.

Dahal started his fast-unto-death from Sunday within the premises of Media Village in Tilganga.

"There are still some people who want to create a monolithic society by suppressing all kinds of press freedom. My struggle is against such thinking," said Dahal.

Dahal had, on Saturday, handed over a memo to Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala asking him to ensure a written commitment from the Maoists and the groups that project themselves as being affiliated with Maoists, expressing unflinching support to internationally accepted norms of press freedom.

In order to express their solidarity with Dahal's struggle, senior journalists and all major representatives of Nepal Media Society reached the venue on Sunday.

On the other hand, the pro-Maoist trade union has continued to obstruct the distribution of The Himalayan Times and Annapurna Post dailies.

According to the newspapers, the Maoist-affiliated trade union workers have continued to obstruct the printing of the two national dailies.

"On Saturday's night, the Maoist-aligned Communication, Printing and Publications Workers' Union (CPPWU) workers gheraoed the Sama Printers in Bhainsepati and disrupted the printing of both papers. Union leaders also threatened printing press staffers not to print the papers," states the statement by the newspapers.

The union workers had disrupted the distribution saying that the two newspapers had carried news against them on their front pages in Saturday's edition. "On Friday evening, Arjun Kumar Gautam, chairman of APCA Nepal unit of the union, had entered the editorial floor of Annapurna Post and threatened not to distribute the newspapers if the news against them was published the next day. Both the dailies had carried the news about the Patan Appellate Court's summons to the Maoist affiliated trade union leaders in Saturday's editions."

The newspaper has further stated that APCA Nepal, the marketer of the two dailies, has initiated disciplinary action against Arjun Kumar Gautam and dispatcher Narayan Pahadi for causing huge losses to the organisation.

Meanwhile, the newspaper, in its website, has reported that the union, on Sunday evening, threatened physical action against Annapurna Post reporter who filed the story about the disturbances in both the dailies.

It stated that speaking at a corner meeting at APCA House in Anam Nagar, Arjun Kumar Gautam the chairman of APCA Nepal branch of the Maoist-aligned Communication, Printing and Publications Workers' Union said that they have identified the reporter who filed the story on disturbances in both the papers and added they will take physical action against him. nepalnews.com sd Aug 13 07