Kathmandu, August 29

Federation of Nepali Journalists will hold talks with lawmakers of the ruling and opposition parties to inform them about their dissatisfaction with provisions of the penal code, that FNJ says will curtail press freedom and unnecessarily victimise journalists.

Chairman of FNJ Govinda Acharya said some of the lawmakers, including the concerned panel members, had sought to know what provisions of the penal code journalists wanted to amend so that they could raise those issues in the panel and the Parliament. Acharya said Minister of Communications and Information Technology Gokul Baskota told him that the government was ready to amend provisions of the penal code to address the concerns of journalists and media houses.

Acting chairman of Press Council Kishor Shrestha said his office was on a wait-and-watch mode as government authorities had given positive assurances about addressing the concerns of journalists and media houses. “If the government does not address our concerns, we will be compelled to resort to protest. I hope the government does not antagonise the press,” he added.

Minister Baskota told THT that the penal code was basically to govern social behaviour and not to control the press which is governed by a separate law. “If a media outlet writes false news, it will tarnish its image and lose its readership,” he said and added that if any amendment to the penal code amendment bill was registered in the Parliament, the government would take it positively. “The government is flexible about addressing media professionals’ concerns. The government is not in favour of controlling the press,” he added

FNJ has demanded that lawmakers amend or revise ‘anti-press provisions’ in the Civil Code Act and Criminal Code Act without any delay. It observed that some provisions related to offence against the state, public peace, defamation and right to privacy were meant to tighten the noose and curtail freedom of expression and press freedom.

FNJ has said the two codes have considered even the functions related to publication and broadcast through media a criminal offence.

Journalists’ umbrella body has also said it is highly objectionable to criminalise defamation, individual privacy and publication.