Kathmandu, May 23

Twenty-one editors of media outlets today issued a joint press statement urging the government to withdraw Nepal Media Council Bill.

The government had registered the bill in the upper house of the Parliament on May 10.

Expressing solidarity with the protest being launched by the Federation of Nepali Journalists against the Media Council Bill, editors also urged the government to iron out differences through consultation with stakeholders.  They said that the bill was against democratic norms and values and spirit of the constitution. “We are of the view that this bill curtails full press freedom guaranteed by the constitution,” the statement read.

Editors added that they were committed to protecting the press freedom guaranteed by the constitution.

The editors who jointly released their press statement include Akhilesh Upadhyay, Anup Kaphle, Ameet Dhakal, Arun Baral, Kosmos Biswakarma, Kiran Nepal, Kunda Dixit, Krishna Jwala Devkota, Gunaraj Luitel, Dilbhushan Pathak, Narayan Wagle, Purna Basnet, Prakash Rimal, Prateek Pradhan, Prashant Aryal, Yubaraj Ghimire, Rajednra Dahal, Shiva Gaunle, Sudheer Sharma, Subhash Ghimire and Hari Bahadur Thapa.

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