The Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) is holding its 22nd general convention on Saturday and Sunday (May 3-4). Some 100 candidates are contesting for 27 central posts — including five for president and five for general secretary. During the Panchayat period, journalists — often the activists who did little real journalism but who were close to the then rulers — always controlled the FNJ, as they got themselves elected through a system that was anything but free, open and fair. Then came the multiparty era in 1990, and the journalists close to the political parties have come to dominate the organisation. Sometimes, more than one person with affiliation to the same political party has

stood for election to the same post, particularly to the most powerful posts such as president and general secretary. Often, the ‘official’ candidate has won the day, but, at times, the ‘rebel’ candidate has got through. Sometimes, there has been some kind of mutual adjustment between Left and non-Left. This time, too, journalists affiliated to the Nepali Congress, the CPN-UML, and also, for the first time, to the CPN-Maoist, or to their sister organisations, have entered the fray.

One slogan that runs through almost all candidates is promotion of professional journalism. Perhaps, none of them means much by this. One would expect Journalists to ply their trade independent of political parties and their missions; party organs are there for pushing party line consistently. Particularly in journalism, where independence, objectivity and impartiality are vital, party association has proved to be a serious liability. This has sometimes hindered the FNJ office-bearers from taking courageous stands on issues of vital concern to press freedom and to the professional interests of journalists. The work and actions of journalists and their representatives should rise above the narrow interests of any political party, and their stands should be based on the merits of the case. Transforming the FNJ thus will constitute a major test for the incoming team.

But in a country where professional bodies, civil servants, and entrepreneurs have been more or less polarised along party-political lines, this change is not easy to bring about. But a beginning can be made, as winning a central post is not just getting individual recognition and exposure and opportunities for tours abroad. Problems and threats facing journalism and journalists need to be identified, with matching efforts to address or remove them at the earliest. This requires a consensual approach. Another area urgently needing reform is the system of choosing delegates to vote in the election. Why can’t all the journalists be allowed to vote in the central election, if other bodies such as the Nepal Bar Association can, all the more so at a time when important political parties have put forward their agendas for direct election of the country’s president or prime minister? The FNJ should become a truly professional umbrella organisation of all the journalists’ hearts rather than one widely viewed as having party-political associations. It will need to do a lot towards that end.