Kathmandu, November 3:

The Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) today decided to launch a series of protests at various levels after the government failed to find the whereabouts of journalist Birendra Shah, who was abducted by Maoists nearly a month ago.

The FNJ will demonstrate tomorrow in the capital and all district headquarters demanding Shah’s whereabouts. The FNJ will stage a sit-in at Singha Durbar at 1.00 pm. The district chapters will decide the kind of protests on their own.

The central committee meeting of the Federation also condemned the government and Maoists’ indifference towards finding the whearabouts of Shah.

“We are forced to take to the streets. We will set further protests after the government reaction to our first-phase protests,” said Mahendra Bista, the general secretary of theFNJ.

Shah was abducted by Maoist activists on October 5 from Bara district. Four separate reports, including that of a parliamentary committee, have indicted Maoists for the abduction.