KATHMANDU: The year 2079 BS remained an additionally challenging year for the Nepali press, the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) evaluates.

In its best wishes message on the occasion of the Nepali New Year 2080 BS today, the umbrella organization of the Nepali journalists assessed that though relatively fewer cases of labor issues in 2079 BS, no substantive efforts were made to address the issue in a sustainable way. “People’s elected bodies were apathetic towards formulating laws demanded by the Constitution.”

According to FNJ, in the past year, it recorded 51 incidences of violation of freedom of the Press and the freedom of opinion and expression as against 74 incidences in the previous year.

The cases concerning the rights of working journalists such as hiring to work without an appointment letter, non-payment for work, deprival of perks and facilities ensured by the Working Journalists Act, and forced job loss were repeated in the year as in the past, the FNJ said in the message. “The FNJ continues its movement and legal battle against the labor exploitation of working journalists, but the government failed to act seriously for finding a long-term solution to the issue.”

In the period of five years, just one act relating to Mass Communications was drafted and the FNJ continued to warn the three-level governments that any action concerning the mass communications sector must ensure the rights to the free Press and the freedom of expression ensured by the Constitution, the message further reads.

The FNJ says it sees the need of sitting for intense dialogues with the political parties who seem not liberal to the Press so as to make them develop and cultivate the democratic culture within the self.

“The FNJ is dedicated to playing a leading role to find permanent solutions to the issues of working journalists, for physical and job security of journalists, formulation of the Press-friendly laws, a guarantee of the constitutional rights of the citizens and sustainability of media. It hopes for wider public support and cooperation for the same,” the message concludes.
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