KPOST EDITORIAL Royal censorship King Gyanendra's government formed after the February 1 putsch topped the list of the countries repressing the press freedom in 2005. In terms of cases of censorship, the royal government superceded Pakistani, Chinese, Cuban and North Korean regimes. These regimes, which are considered the enemies of the free press, were almost similar to the royal regime when it came to honoring press freedom. In a roundup release, the Reporters Sans Frontiers (RSF) --- the global media watchdog --- recorded 1006 cases of censorship last year compared to 622 in 2004. Since King Gyanendra declared the state of emergency on February First to impose his diktat on the people, the media became the prime target of his move. The intention behind the royal move was obviously to demonstrate the strength of the king's government. Several incidents leading to detention of many journalists, seizure of FM equipment at midnight by the armed personnel and the raiding of media houses explained that the king's government could go to any length to repress the press freedom. In recent months, the handpicked Home Minister Kamal Thapa and Vice-Chairman Tulsi Giri, among other royal hawks, have gone overboard claiming that the country enjoys press freedom and democracy. The mockery of what Giri and Thapa are saying lies in the recently introduced media ordinance. Former minister of information and communication Tanka Dhakal introduced the Media Ordinance with a motive to further stifle the press freedom. The closure of weeklies published from remote districts were another instance of how the regime is curbing the press freedom. The RSF also noted that Nepal figured among the 15 "enemies of the Internet". Though the number of journalists detained in 2005 has decreased, incidents of harassment continue to surface in media. Begum Khaledia Zia's government in Bangladesh, backed by the Muslim fundamental parties, followed suit to beat other communist and dictatorial regimes in terms of suppressing press freedom. In Nepal and Bangladesh, the physical attacks and threats to journalists' lives have significantly increased. Such threats and attacks have certainly discouraged active journalists from reporting in-depth stories related to state atrocities meted out on the innocent civilians, especially children and women. The internal war certainly ignites terror and atrocity but such wars in no way propel the regime to curb the press freedom. In this regard, the international community must condemn the state atrocities and ensure that the state respects the press freedom and thereby restores people's rights. No individual can act as a savior of democracy when his deeds are against the people's wishes. Posted on: 2006-01-05 21:58:13 http://www.kantipuronline.com/kolnews.php?&nid=61804