Shooting the messenger

The state of emergency imposed on 1 February 2005 when King Gyanendra staged a coup was coming to an end and we wrote that the emergency had outlived its usefulness, was counterproductive to state security and should be lifted to steer the country towards national reconciliation. As we mark the World Press Freedom Day on 3 May this Saturday, we revisit an editorial from 20 years ago this week.

Excerpts of the editorial published on issue #245 29 April – 5 May 2005.

The raison d'etre for February First, as laid out in the royal proclamation, was that the political process had gone astray and it was undermining the counterinsurgency campaign. Fair enough. But although a state of emergency was declared in a separate notice, there was nothing in the royal proclamation that said anything about such a harsh crackdown on the press and politicians.

The state of emergency has deeply polarised Nepalis. The middle ground has been removed. The Maoists seemed to be headed towards ultimate self-destruction anyway, now they have new reason to rally against the monarchy and focus their fight. Intimidation of media has tarnished the credibility of the very institution the state needs to put its views to the people. The role of the bureaucracy and constitutional organs have been emasculated by newly-formed authorities with overlapping functions.

Prolonging the emergency will just bolster the argument of those who believe that it was not really designed to curb Maoism, but to put out pluralism.

For archived material of Nepali Times of the past 20 years, site search: nepalitimes.com