The CPN-M has made this a dark time for press freedom by restricting the publication of Kantipur's two dailies, Kantipur and the Kathmandu Post. A senior leader of the party, standing outside the main gate of Kantipur publications, vowed to stop both dailies and Kantipur television forever, and even went so far as to threaten the publishers and journalists with bodily harm. The Kathmandu printing press was vandalised indiscriminately, while Maoist cadre entered the Bharatpur press to stop publication. Likewise, the press at Biratnagar was cordoned off with promises never to let anything print again.
The few copies that managed to get published were quickly captured from the market, burned straight off the back of vehicles, and on Tuesday, Kantipur's central office at Tinkune was blockaded. The Maoists have used all their power to close down Kantipur Publications, and have already threatened grave consequences should any copies be printed. For any political party to do so is a grave insult to human rights and the very idea of freedom of speech. The Maoists have made clear their subversive nature, and their desire to restrict freedom whenever it suits them.