KATHMANDU: CPN-UML Chair KP Sharma Oli has described the current government led by Balendra Shah as a repressive, oppressive, anti-people and authoritarian regime. He also claimed that such a government would soon come to an end.
Speaking after receiving a memorandum from the Federation of Nepali Journalists and the task force dedicated to the preservation of print media on Sunday afternoon, Oli said he had personally been committed to the struggle for equality and freedom for the past six decades. He said he remained on the front line of the fight for people’s rights and freedoms.
Oli said those in power should understand those who stand for freedom, arguing that rulers who take pleasure in the difficulties faced by others cannot remain in power. He said such rulers would eventually face opposition from the people and be defeated.
The task force drew Oli’s attention to the difficulties faced by the media sector due to cuts in public welfare advertisements, the market downturn and government neglect. In response, Oli said democracy and press freedom are complementary to each other.
He said attacks on the media were attempts to weaken democracy as a whole and argued that such regressive measures would not last long. Criticising the current government, he said it appeared less like a government conducting raids and more like a government that was “raiding the press,” making things difficult for the media.
Oli said his party and he personally had been fighting for freedom of expression for decades and expressed the UML’s full support for protecting the print media.
He also said print media remained historically and factually important as a form of documentation and that its significance would not diminish even in the digital age.
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