Twenty-two journalists, including chief of the Dailekh district chapter of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) Puskar Thapa, who arrived in Surkhet on January 24, are participating in the hunger strike.[break]
According to Mid-Western Regional coordinator of Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ), Surya Mani Gautam, they decided to organize the hunger strike after the government and the UCPN (Maoist) turned a deaf ear to the problem of displaced journalists. He also informed that the relay hunger strike would continue until the government ensured their safety and return to work in the district.
The journalists decided to hold a relay hunger strike after their dialogue with Regional Administrator Sharada Prasad Trital ended inconclusively. Trital had told the journalists that he would speak on the issue of their safety only after discussing it with the chief secretary and home secretary.
Meanwhile, nine Surkhet-based daily newspapers have decided not to publish their Monday´s edition to protest the government apathy toward the safety of journalists. Similarly, four local FM radio stations have also decided to halt their broadcast for half an hour on Monday, according to Durga Thapa, chief of the FNJ Surkhet chapter.
The agitating journalists, issuing a press statement, claimed that they have kept the evidence of the threats safely. The statement signed by Thapa further claimed that Maoists had kept weapons in four buses near the spot of their Surkhet district convention.
The Mid-Western Regional Administrator Trital said it was a serious mistake to transfer the district´s security and administration chief after the Dailekh-incident.
Speaking in the stakeholder meeting organized by the Community Radio Broadcasters´ Organization for the resolution of the Dailekh problem at Birendranagar on Sunday, Trital said that he had not agreed to the transfer.
Following the incidents of clashes between the Maoist cadres and the activists from six opposition parties at a Maoist party´s program on January 23, attended by top UCPN (Maoist) leaders including Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, the government had transferred Dailekh Chief District Officer Umesh Kumar Dhakal, along with Deputy Superintended of Police (DSP) Sharada Prasad Chaudhari.
Regional Administrator Trital also said that the harsh words of the leaders of UCPN (Maoist) led to the clashes.
“Responsible people like them should not have spoken in that manner. It helped some rouge elements waiting for a reason to start a fight,” he added.
Meanwhile, FNJ has expressed worry that the government is yet to ensure the security of the Dailekh-based journalists, four days after their displacement.
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