UN agency tasked with upholding press freedom condemns attacks against journalists in Nepal
May 11th, 2010 - 5:14 am ICT by BNO NewsUNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) – The United Nations (UN) agency tasked with upholding press freedom on Monday spoke out against the intimidation and attacks on Sunday against journalists covering Maoist protests in the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu.
Following peaceful May Day demonstrations, the Maoists called for an extended strike, or “bandh,” amid a political stand-off with the Government. According to media reports, the strike was called off last Friday, but Maoist protestors gathered yesterday in Singha Durbar, the administrative hub of the capital.
The UN Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (UNESCO) office in Kathmandu today condemned intimidations and attacks against journalists covering the demonstrations in Singha Durbar.
“These attacks violate the fundamental rights of media professionals,” the agency said in a press release. “But they also attack the right of everyone to receive a diversity of information and ideas.”
Under no circumstances, UNESCO underscored, should journalists’ efforts to contribute to Nepal’s peace process through their reporting be obstructed. The agency said it is particularly concerned about the attacks, as they occurred just days after World Press Freedom Day was celebrated on May 3.
A decade-long civil war in Nepal that claimed some 13,000 lives ended with the signing of a peace accord between the Government and the Maoists in 2006.
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Tags: administrative hub, bandh, bno, demonstrations, freedom day, fundamental rights, intimidation, last friday, maoist, maoists, may day, media professionals, peace accord, peace process, press freedom, protestors, scientific organization, singha, un agency, unesco office