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NepalTHE MEDIA, NEPAL
Previous constitutions guaranteed freedom of expression
as a
basic right, but in practice this right was severely
curtailed.
Prepublication censorship, cancellation of registration
for
publication, and other similar restrictive regulations
severely
handicapped the freedom of the press, and journalists
operated
under constant threats of harassment and imprisonment. In
1960 the
king decreed that all newspapers were required to obtain
official
clearance for reports of political activities. In 1962 a
government-controlled news agency, Rashtriya Sambad
Samity, was
established to collect and distribute news about and
within the
country. The Samity monopoly continued until the success
of the
prodemocracy movement. In addition, provisions of the
Freedom of
Speech Publications Act of 1980 limited the publication of
materials that might undermine the interests of
sovereignty of the
nation; contravene principles that underlie the
constitution; or
encourage, abet, or propagate party politics. This act was
repealed
in July 1990.
The constitution guarantees the freedom of the press as
a
fundamental right. It also prohibits the censoring of news
items,
articles, or any other reading materials and states that a
press
cannot be closed or seized for printing any news item,
article, or
any other reading materials. In addition, the registration
of a
newspaper or periodical cannot be cancelled for publishing
offensive news articles or reading material. The operation
of a
free press is circumscribed, however, by vague
restrictions against
undermining the sovereignty and integrity of Nepal;
disturbing the
harmonious relations among the people of different castes,
classes,
or communities; violating decent public behavior morality;
instigating crimes; or committing sedition or contempt of
court.
During the 1980s, several journalists were incarcerated
and held
without trial under the Public Security Act and the
Treason Act.
The Nepalese press was supportive of the prodemocracy
movement.
When the government repressed the movement, the Central
Committee
of the Nepal Journalists Association, headed by Govinda
Binyogi,
issued a statement that declared all censorship, banning
of
newspapers, and arrests of journalists as illegal,
unconstitutional, and undemocratic. The Nepal Journalists
Association reported that between January and April 1990,
forty
journalists were arrested for comments criticizing the
government.
During the same period, several newspapers halted
publication to
protest the government's attempts at precensorship. More
than ten
papers had entire issues seized by government authorities
when they
ran articles considered overtly critical. Several
newspapers were
severely pressed financially after successive government
seizures.
Since the momentous political changes of April 1990,
freedom of
the press has come into question only once, in November
1990, when
authorities charged two reporters with slandering the
royal family
in print. Charges were dismissed in December following
protests by
the Nepal Journalist Association to the prime minister. An
editor
also was detained overnight in November 1990 for
publishing
insulting remarks against the queen, but charges were not
pressed.
As of mid-1991, there were no reports of the seizing or
banning of
foreign publications deemed to have carried articles
unfavorable to
the government or the monarchy.
In 1991 there were approximately 400 Nepalese
newspapers and
periodicals, including a dozen national dailies with a
combined
circulation of more than 125,000. The circulation of other
newspapers, journals, and magazines was limited to only a
few
hundred copies each.
Except for two English dailies, Rising Nepal and
Commoner, both published in Kathmandu, other widely
circulating newspapers were published in Nepali. These
included
Gorkhapatra, Samichhya, Matribhumi,
Rastra
Pukar, Daily News, Samaya, and
Janadoot.
The number of publications in Hindi and Newari, however,
was
increasing in the late 1980s.
The daily Gorkhapatra and Rising Nepal
were
government organs. Before the success of the prodemocracy
movement,
both government dailies primarily provided coverage of
official
views, carried virtually no information on opposition
activities,
and muted criticism of the government. Nepal Raj
Patra, the
principal government publication since 1951, contained
texts of
laws, decrees, proclamations, and royal orders and was
available in
both English and Nepali.
Because of the government's near monopoly on domestic
news,
many newspaper readers relied on foreign publications.
They relied
on as Statesman, Times of India, and
Hindustan
Times--all from India--and the Pacific editions of
Time,
Newsweek, and China Today, published in
India in
Hindi, English, and Nepali.
Much of the fast proliferating printed matter was read
only by
a small elite and by government functionaries in the
Kathmandu
Valley. Staggeringly widespread illiteracy (about 33
percent of the
population were literate in 1990), lack of a transport
infrastructure, the general apathy of the rural people
toward the
affairs of Kathmandu--to which the press devoted a major
share of
coverage--and a general reliance on oral transmission of
information rather than on the written word were among the
factors
that impeded the dissemination of publications. By April
1990,
however, news coverage had broadened to reflect a wide
range of
views. Although in most circumstances editorial views
reflected
government policy, editors did at times exercise the right
to
publish critical views and alternative policies.
Electronic media consisted of radio and television
programming
controlled by the government. Radio Nepal broadcast on
short-wave
and medium-wave both in Nepali and English from
transmitters in
Jawalakhel and Khumaltar
(see Communications
, ch. 3).
Nepal
Television Corporation broadcast twenty-three hours of
programs per
week from its station at Singha Durbar, Kathmandu.
Transmitters
also were located at Pokhara, Biratnagar, and Hetauda.
Prior to the
unrest of 1990, programming closely reflected the views of
the
government. Although coverage of government criticism
remained
inadequate, programming in 1991 reflected a broader range
of
interests and political views. The Voice of America, the
British
Broadcasting Corporation, and several other European and
Asian
networks were monitored in Nepal.
Data as of September 1991
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