KATHMANDU: The Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) has said that its serious attention was drawn to the incident in which the Parliament Secretariat barred journalists from news collection in the House of Representatives.
Issuing a statement Tuesday, FNJ protested the incident.
Security personnel barred journalists from entering the room designated for journalists at the House of Representatives on Tuesday, saying they had received “order from above” to restrict journalists’ entry.
A statement issued by FNJ Secretary General Roshan Puri said the ban on journalists, carrying out their constitutional duty to inform the public on issues of public importance, was reprehensible and a violation of press freedom. It also called on authorities’ concerned not to repeat such incidents, and urged to create an environment for unrestricted press freedom.
Similarly, the Society of Parliamentary Affairs Journalists also stated that the act of banning collection of news, a transparent process of informing the public, infringed upon the values of democracy and freedom of press.
A statement issued by the society’s Secretary Jay Singh Mahara said, “It is unfortunate that the Parliament Secretariat has repeatedly restricted the news gathering at parliament instead of facilitating it. Parliament is the supreme body of democracy and everything that happens there should be transparently reported to the people.”
The society also drew attention of the officials of the Parliament Secretariat in this regard.
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