KATHMANDU, June 3: The media has suggested giving priority to Dalit issues. Speakers at a seminar organized by the Nepal Press Council and the Working Dalit Journalists Association of Nepal in the capital on Thursday suggested the media prioritze news reports regarding incidents that revolve aroud Dalits.

Chairman of the Nepal Press Council Bal Krishna Basnet said that the issues of the Dalit community are the issue of the state and other bodies including the media should fulfill their responsibilities. “The issues of the Dalits are also the issues of the state. The Nepal Press Council also works to make the media aware of the issues of Dalits and to do other things,” Basnet said. 

Basnet said the council would work on the Press Council and Dalit issues, and work as a bridge between the media and the government.

“Through the program, the media regulatory body and the media will make policy arrangements for the responsibility of all,” he added.

On the same occasion, Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) President Bipul Pokhrel said that a structure has been set up for the inclusion of journalists from the Dalit community. He said that the issue of Dalit community was raised by the media but it was the responsibility of the Dalit movement to give priority to the issue.

Similarly, Nagarik Daily Editor-in-Chief Gunaraj Luitel said that journalists should be able to feel the issues of the Dalit community as their own grief like other grievances seen in society. He said that not only Dalits but also other journalists need to be sensitive on the issue of discrimination against the Dalit community.

 
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