Kathmandu, August 17:

Communication gap between the workers and the management resulted in recent disturbances in the Gorkhapatra daily, the HBC FM, The Himalayan Times and Annapurna Post, media house owners said today.

Participating in an interaction organised by the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ), Director of Asia Pacific Communication Associates (APCA) Nepal, Ravin Lama, opined that journalists’ political orientation should not be taken as a ground for their sacking from the job and that their jobs should be secure.

Kailash Shiroiya, first vice-president of Media Society and managing director of the Kantipur Publication assured those present that his organisation would implement the Working Journalists Act 2007. Journalists should not be treated on the basis of their political beliefs, chairman of Nepal TV Rishi Raj Baral said.

The participants expressed sadness over the disruption of publication and distribution of THT and AP for five days and over the disruption of airing of HBC FM for the last 10 days due to strike by pro-Maoist trade unions.

FNJ president Bishnu Nisthuri urged all to resolve the problem through dialogue and said media should be allowed to remain free from politics and all forms of discrimination. “FNJ has worked a lot to have the Working Journalists Act passed and it strongly believes that no one will oppose its implementation,” he said.

Chairman of the Maoist trade union and MP Salikram Jamakattel claimed that the movements in the media houses were initiated by the workers themselves and had nothing to do with the party.