KATHMANDU: Intellectuals from different walks of life on Sunday argued that the pre-broadcast censorship imposed by state-run Nepal Television over one of its programmes was yet another attack by the Maoist-led government over freedom of press and human rights.

Speaking at an interaction organised here on Sunday, former president of the Federation of Nepali Journalists Tara Nath Dahal said the NTV's move reminded the people of the media scenario during the Panchayat regime some 25 years ago. "The state is guided by the wrong intention of troubling the people. The recent attack on free press is yet another example of the government's intention," he argued.

Ramesh Bista, treasurer of the FNJ, said the government was targeting the media. "We are intensifying our fourth-phase of protest against the government's attacks on free media," he added. Dinesh Tripathi, a representative of the Nepal Bar Association, expressed the lawyers' solidarity with the mediapersons' fight to safeguard human rights and press freedom. "The Nepal Election Monitoring Alliance should lodge writ petition at the Supreme Court," Tripathi said, adding that there is massive violation of human rights in Nepal.

Pradip Gyawali, general secretary of the Freedom Forum, said they were demanding written answer from the NTV for not permitting the broadcast of its fortnightly programme Nagarik Bahas. "We will lodge a writ petition at the Supreme Court, as it is the violation of rights guaranteed by the interim constitution," he added. He said the management of Nepal Television did not agree to broadcast the programme saying that the programme did not include any Maoist leader. "We cannot include only the Maoist supporters in our programme," Gyawali clarified.

The fortnightly programme was scheduled to broadcast the interviews of journalist Yuvaraj Ghimire and Nepali Congress spokesperson Arjun Narsingh KC on the implications of the government's recent move to seek clarification from Chief of Army Staff Rookmangud Katawal.