“If we go through newspapers, the number of corruption related news has stopped coming from outside Kathmandu,” said Poshan KC, Secretary General of Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ).
Speaking at an interaction program organized by the American Embassy, KC said journalists in Tarai districts are under political pressure not to publish corruption news.
KC expressed his displeasure over lack of legal action against those involved in the killing of journalists during and after the Maoist insurgency.
He also accused the government of not seriously taking the murder of media entrepreneurs Jamim Shah and Arun Singhaniya.
“The government should not accuse them of being involved in this and that after their death. Had the government known about their involvement in other things, it should have taken action against them,” KC said.
Babita Basnet, chairperson of Sancharika Samuha, an NGO, said that the number of women journalists quitting the profession following the death of journalist Uma Singh has gone up.
A human rights report of the US State Department released in March said that a journalist was killed while another was shot at in 2009. Likewise, over 50 journalists were attacked or threatened by security persons, different groups and persons.
Related story
Under pressure
