Global broadcasters ask Nepal to un-muzzle community radios By Sudeshna Sarkar, Indo-Asian News Service Kathmandu, Feb 11 (IANS) Voicing serious concern over the ban on private radio channels in Nepal following the Feb 1 royal takeover, a global organisation of broadcasters has urged the new government to remove the ban on community radios to broadcast news and current affairs programmes. The appeal was made by the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters. In a separate move, the community and FM stations in the kingdom have jointly appealed to the government to let them resume their programmes. After Nepal's King Gyanendra dismissed the Sher Bahadur Deuba government Feb 1, assumed power and imposed a state of emergency, the new government clamped down on private radio channels in the name of ensuring security in the country. The FM stations were told to broadcast only entertainment programmes. The Nepalese media fears a large number of radio journalists will lose their jobs even if the radio stations do not actually close. The radio helps people in Nepal's remote mountainous regions stay in touch with the rest of the country and the world through its programmes. Besides the state-run radio Nepal, there are two kinds of private radio stations: the commercial ones with their popular dose of news and entertainment as well as the community radio stations that address core development goals like reducing poverty. http://www.eians.com/stories/2005/02/11/11ask.shtml