Some two dozen journalists staged a sit-in at Madan Chowk of Mahendranagar for one hour Saturday afternoon.
The journalists demanded that actions be taken against the culprits behind the Dec 21 Himalmedia attack and the murderer of journalist JP Joshi. They also demanded that the condition of Kanchanpur-based journalist Prakash Thakuri, who went missing one and a half years ago, be determined.
Hari Prasad Joshi, the president of Kanchanpur district chapter of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists, said journalists will continue protests until the government guarantees security for mediapersons across the country.
Journalists´ sit-in at Mahendranagar
Bikram Giri/MyRepublica.com
Related story
RSP postpones press conference
Meanwhile in Kathmandu, journalists with black strips tied over their mouths gathered at Bhrikutimandap and staged a sit-in protest, placing their cameras, pens, reporters´ diaries and other reporting tools in front of them for an hour starting around 2:30 pm. Professionals from other fields and civil society members also joined the demonstration.
The Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) has been leading the protests after Maoist unionists on Sunday vandalized the newsroom of Himalmedia and injured journalists working with the publishing house besides creating obstructions at other media houses inside and outside Kathmandu Valley in recent days.
FNJ Chairman Dharmendra Jha, Editor-in-chief of dainikee.com Narayan Wagle, CPN-UML leader Raghuji Pant, and Nepali Congress leader Gagan Thapa, among others, addressed the gathering. They vowed to continue fighting for press freedom.
Similarly, journalists across the country demonstrated with black strips tied over their mouths for an hour on Saturday afternoon as a part of series of protests against Maoist attacks on media.
