KATHMANDU, March 5: The Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) has objected to the incident in which the Federal Parliament Secretariat suspended the parliament entry passes of journalists Kishor Shrestha and Prakash Oli for using ‘sensitive’ words while questioning Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and lawmakers.
The federation has drawn serious attention to the decision of the Parliament Secretariat and has urged the restoration of the journalists' entry passes.
Following a house session on February 16, journalists Shrestha and Oli asked PM KP Sharma Oli, “People call you Hitler and a dictator?” However, Oli did not respond.
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During the February 17 parliament session, CPN-UML leaders accused journalists of having bad intentions, calling the question directed at the Prime Minister objectionable.
A few days later, the Parliament Secretariat decided to suspend the parliamentary entry passes of journalists Shrestha and Oli through a general secretary-level decision. A source from the Parliament Secretariat claims that the decision was made under pressure from UML leaders.
According to the Parliament Secretariat, their entry passes have been suspended for one month.
The FNJ has stated that not allowing journalists to ask questions is against press freedom. General Secretary of the FNJ Ram Prasad Dahal has said that it is under the jurisdiction of the the Press Council of Nepal to evaluate the performance of journalists and the decision of the Parliament Secretariat is against press freedom.
Likewise, the Federation has urged the Parliament Secretariat to review the suspension decision and return the journalists' entry passes. In addition, the Federation has also requested journalists and media outlets to follow the journalist code of conduct in the course of performing their professional duties.
