AS IF THEY ARE TELLING SOMETHING NEW HERE..HMM.. TRYING TO POTRAY THAT THEY ARE THE ONLY NEUTRAL JOURNALIST!!!! sell more copies??? Weeklies act like blind men with elephant BY BIKASH SANGRAULA & BISHNU BUDHATHOKI KATHMANDU, April 19 - The Election Commission's request to the government to defer the Constituent Assembly (CA) poll has triggered a variety of conspiracy theories in the vernacular weeklies. What looks like a simple problem of logistics has hastened a blame game played out particularly in the weeklies, which spares no party or power center. Predictably, the stories and editorials reflect the arguments of political parties or power centers the weeklies are aligned with. A survey conducted by the Post confirmed just that. Almost all weeklies aligned with leftist parties - Chhalphal, Dristi, Sanghu, Janadesh and Jana Ekata - have blamed Prime Minister and Nepali Congress (NC) President Girija Prasad Koirala for inability to hold the election on schedule. In its Sunday's edition, Chhalphal, a CPN-UML mouthpiece, termed Koirala the main "culprit" for not creating conducive atmosphere for free and fair elections. "NC President Koirala has been involved in hatching a ploy to defer polls under the direction of foreigners," Chhalphal reported. Likewise, Sanghu opined that either PM Koirala should own responsibility and tender his resignation, or the Interim Parliament should mete out "moral punishment" to Koirala by lodging a no confidence motion against him. Meanwhile, Janadesh, a Maoist mouthpiece, claimed that Koirala took the decision on not holding the election on June 20 without consulting with the Maoists or other partners in the alliance. "So the Nepali Congress is solely responsible for delaying the election, coming as it did under the sway of conspiracy hatched by the US and India." However, Deshantar and Bikalpa, affiliated to the NC, claimed that CPN-UML and CPN (M) were responsible for creating an environment not conducive to polls. In its Sunday edition, Deshantar said the nation failed to ensure an atmosphere for credible elections due to irresponsible statements coming from the CPN-UML leadership and the arms-inspired arrogance of the Maoists. Not surprisingly, both Deshantar and Bikalpa have blamed Speaker Subas Nembang, who represents the CPN-UML, for not playing a proactive role in formulating and endorsing laws required for timely elections. Finally, not to leave them out, a few pro-palace weeklies - People's Review, Ruprekha, Gorkha Express, Punarjagaran, Saptahik Janasatta, Jana Bhawana and Yugasambad - did not miss the opportunity to blame the entire eight-party alliance for delaying the polls. What can a reader possibly make of all these conflicting reports? "Weeklies will get us nowhere," said Prof Krishna Khanal, a political commentator. "They voice the sectoral views of political parties. Weeklies have a role only when there is sharp political polarization, as they allow readers to understand the viewpoints of the different poles. In a normal, functioning democracy, no one turns to weeklies." Similarly, Prof Abhi Subedi said that weeklies are misguided and sensationalist. "The main problem was that our politicians were not realistic," he said. They set an unrealistic target. When the Election Commission decided to say exactly that, a market was created for rumors and conspiracy theories, he added. Posted on: 2007-04-18 22:46:05 (Server Time)