Himalayan News Service

Pokhara/Bara, July 6:

Demanding press freedom, journalists staged protests in different parts of the country today, reports said.

Pokhara-based journalists, rights activists, representatives of NGOs, leaders and cadres of political parties staged sit-ins outside the Western Regional Administration Office, Gandaki Zonal Administration Office, and District Administration Office today.

The sit-ins were organised by the Kaski unit of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ).

Immediately after the offices opened, the journalists organised the sit-ins at the Sahid Chowk, where the three offices are situated.

Earlier, the protesters had shouted slogans against the government move to gag the press.

Addressing a corner meeting organised after the sit-ins, the acting district president of the FNJ, Raj Bahadur Gurung, said the government would face opposition unless it stopped gagging the press.

The district president of Nepal Human Rights Organisation, Khagraj Acharya, said their movement will continue unless press freedom is restored.

Journalists also took out a protest rally in Kalaiya, the district headquarters of Bara, a report said.

After passing through the main thoroughfares of the town, the rallyists staged a sit-in outside the District Administration Office, Bara, for 15 minutes.

While journalists, demanding press freedom, sang duet songs at the Bhairahwa bazaar, hundreds of locals, including journalists, lawyers, students, and women, danced to their tunes, a report from Bhairahawa said. Traffic was blocked at the Bhairahwa bazaar for 15 minutes.

Addressing gathering of journalists, the president of FNJ Rupandehi unit, TR Ghimire, said the agitation will continue unless press freedom is restored.

A report from Nawalparasi said journalists, seeking press freedom, staged a rally in

Kawasoti today.