KATHMANDU, May 2: US Ambassador to Nepal Nancy J Powell said on Saturday that the US is concerned about reported incidents of attacks on the media.
“We continue to be concerned about reports of attacks on and intimidation of the press in Nepal,” said Ambassador Powell, in a statement issued on the eve of the World Press Freedom Day that falls on May 3. “There is no justification for the use of violence and intimidation against the media by any party or criminal group.”
Why media must be free
She said democracy flourishes only when the press freedom is protected and rule of law is established. “We encourage the Government of Nepal to protect press freedom and ensure rule of law by investigating any attacks on the media and prosecuting the perpetrators.”
While noting that press offices and journalists were subjected to deliberate and organized assaults primarily from agitating armed groups in the Terai, youth wings of political parties, security personnel, the 2008 Human Rights Report on Nepal released by the US State Department had said the government rarely took action to investigate the cases of violence against journalists.
