Dekendra Raj Thapa

CPJ’s Impunity Index spotlights countries
where journalists are slain and killers go free

New York, March 23, 2009 -- The already murderous conditions for the press in Sri Lanka and Pakistan deteriorated further in the past year, the Committee to Protect Journalists has found in its newly updated Impunity Index, a list of countries where journalists are killed regularly and governments fail to solve the crimes. Colombia, historically one of the world’s deadliest nations for the press, improved as the rate of murders declined and prosecutors won important recent convictions.

Nepal made a historic shift in 2008 from a monarchy to a coalition-ruled democratic republic under the leadership of a former Maoist guerrilla. Journalists’ uncertainty about the ex-rebel leader’s newfound legitimacy was apparent as they struggled to find a way to refer to him in print. Most hedged their bets and used his given name, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, which identified him as a Brahmin at the top of the Hindu caste system, alongside his ethnically neutral but aggressive-sounding nom de guerre, Prachanda, or “fierce one.”

New York, September 19, 2005— The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the arrest today of a reporter with Kantipur publications in the mid-western district of Dailekh from which 15 independent journalists fled after being harassed by the military for their reporting of Nepal's civil war. Authorities detained Harihar Singh Rathour, correspondent for the Kathmandu Post and Kantipur, without charge, media sources told CPJ. He has not been allowed visits.

New York, July 11, 2005—Maoist rebels on Saturday released Som Sharma, a reporter in eastern Nepal’s Ilam district who was abducted from his home nearly two months ago. Maoist leaders also called off the house arrest of Ilam-based reporter Umesh Gurung, calling their actions against him a “mistake,” according to local news reports

Sharma, a reporter for the weekly Aankha, had been in Maoist custody since May 13. Sharma’s release followed negotiations on his behalf by the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ), who sent a delegation to meet with local Maoist leaders. FNJ central committee member Purna Basnet told The Associated Press that Sharma was targeted in response to his critical reporting on Maoist activities in the area.

Nepal After the Coup

Kathmandu, Nepal, April 12, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on the government of Nepal to end the harassment and imprisonment of journalists and to repeal restrictions imposed on private media in the wake of King Gyanendra's February 1 emergency proclamation.

During a press conference in Kathmandu at the end of a weeklong fact-finding mission, CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper urged the immediate release of all imprisoned journalists and an immediate halt to a series of actions taken under the emergency order that have stifled or silenced independent reporting by print and broadcast media.

Overview
by Abi Wright

Threats to press freedom spiked throughout Asia in 2004, even as the news media claimed significant accomplishments. Across the region, 2004 was an election year, with citizens casting ballots in nations such as Afghanistan, whose landmark vote was peaceful and orderly, and India, where more than 370 million went to the polls. Informing voters and guarding against abuses, the press was credited with playing key roles in these and other elections.

Nepal

Amid an explosive civil conflict between Maoist rebels and government forces, the safety of the Nepalese press hung on the fragile prospects for peace. Estimates of the death toll since the collapse of a six-month cease-fire in August 2003 vary, but local journalists say heavy fighting in 2004 killed several thousand people. According to the BBC, 10,000 have been killed since the insurgency began eight years ago.

New York, August 18, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is alarmed by the increasing violence against journalists by Maoist rebels, including the murder of radio journalist Dekendra Raj Thapa and the subsequent death threats made against at least nine other rural reporters earlier this week.

Rebels in midwestern Nepal's Dailekh District claimed to have killed Thapa, a journalist for state-run Radio Nepal and head of a local drinking water project, on Monday, August 16. Following his murder, local rebel commanders told Thapa's family that they intend to kill nine other journalists in neighboring districts, according to local news reports.