Vijaya Chalise

Recently, while we were celebrating the 105th birth anniversary of the Gorkhapatra, the oldest newspaper of the country, the world was planning to celebrate the 400th anniversary of newspapers in July this year. When Gutenberg Museum in Mainz, Germany, produced the copy of Relation, the first printed newspaper of 1605, published by John Carlos, the history of printed newspapers has been pushed back to another four years. Scholars had put the date at 1609 as the year of the first preserved edition of Anteverp, a printed newspaper in the world. Carlos earned his living at the turn of the 17th century by producing handwritten newsletters targeting rich subscribers. In 1604 he bought a printing press and, in the summer of 1605, printed his first copy of newspaper. The Paris-based World Association of Newspapers (WAN), which represents 18,000 newspapers, among others, accepted this evidence.

Timothy Balding, the WAN director general, says that today more than a billion people in the world read a daily newspaper in print everyday— a figure, not incidentally, that has risen nearly by five per cent in the last five years.

Definitely, the newspaper industry of the world is enjoying good health despite never ending challenges from the electronic and other new media of the 21st century. However, actually the real threat is being felt not from new media technology, but from the attitude of governments and some of the militant groups and their attacks on the media. The new media technology has also provided new possibilities and opportunities, but the tendency to control the press through fair means or foul and to attack it to silence its voice are only undermining the values and norms of the fourth estate, which is essential for any democratic society.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), in its report in March this year, said 56 journalists around the world were killed in 2004, which proved the deadliest 12 months for reporters in decades. Of the 56, 36 were targeted for murder, said the report. Nepal is no exception. The provisions of the state of emergency activated by more than one government and the deadly acts of insurgents have seriously hindered the press from fulfilling their role and responsibilities of informing the public in a free and independent manner. Many journalists have lost their lives; many have faced mental and physical harassment. The Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) records show that about half a dozen journalists are still in detention and an unspecified number of newspapers and weeklies have been closed down due to various pressures. All working journalists and media persons across the country have been facing serious professional crisis. It is the duty of the state to provide a conducive environment to the press as per constitutional guarantees. Otherwise, the press cannot play an effective role in the achievement of peace and multiparty democracy, to which the government has made a public commitment.

Dr. Anne-Christine Habbard of International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) says that since the 9/11 terrorist attack on Pentagon and the Twin Towers many countries have jumped on the ‘war against terror’ as a golden opportunity to suppress dissident voices at home. Despite the enactment and the enforcement of anti-terrorist legislation, the term “terrorists” has usually been very loosely defined. The trends of adoption of draconian laws, selective application of the law, insidious subversion of human rights, massive self and other kinds of censorship, carrot and stick approach, the economic and job insecurity of journalists, multiplication of administrative obstacles, etc. are being increasingly seen after the declaration of war against terrorism. Obviously, some measures are essential to control terrorist activities; however, in many countries such measures are seen mainly to be used to suppress the voice of the press and the opposition. Nepal is not above such criticism.

King Gyanendra, in his proclamation to the nation on February 1, says, “An independent press serves as the medium for raising the level of democratic consciousness. It plays a crucial role in the promotion of national interests. We believe that the press will make effective contributions in ensuring that democratic norms and values inspire our way of life as well as governance.” However, the press was not in a position to discharge its fundamental duties during the emergency. The Nepali press seemed to be co-operating with the government during the three months of the emergency. But unfortunately, even after the lifting of the emergency, the various directives and notices issued by the government have not been withdrawn yet. This has obstructed the free functioning of the press as envisaged by the Constitution. The government should give serious attention to this. Otherwise, the commitments made in the Royal Proclamation will be hard achieve regarding free press, constitutional monarchy and multiparty democracy.

Chalise is executive editor, Gorkhapatra