Friday, October 21, 2005

NBA express their solidarity to Kantipur FM

Kathmandu Oct 21-Police continue to gherao the office of private sector Kantipur FM at Pulchowk, Lalitpur Thursday evening as officials from the Ministry of Information and Communications (MoIC) is pressurizing the FM management to stop its eastern regional transmission with immediate effect.

According to latest reports, a three member team visited the station of Kantipur FM, being run by the Kantipur Publication—a leading private sector media group in the country—at around 3:00 p. m. Friday. They first said they were there to inspect the FM transmissions. Later, they said they had orders to cut off the uplinking facility of the FM to its Bhedetar transmitting station in eastern Nepal. The team comprised an administration staff and two technical staff. They said it was `illegal’ to air transmission of the FM to other parts of the country as per the new media ordinance introduced early this month.

Meanwhile, Nepal Bar Association, office-bearers of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ), general secretary of CPN (UML) Madhav Kumar Nepal and members of civil society have reached the office of Kantipur F. M. to express their solidarity.

Talking to Kantipur TV, general secretary of Nepal Bar Association Madhav Baskota said it was the ‘naked aggression on media by the government.’ He said the government’s action violated the principle of natural justice at a time when the issue of news broadcast over FM stations was sub-judice.

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