More than 300 media practitioners from 40 countries will be in Kathmandu this week for the <a href="https://globalvoicesonline.org/">Global Voices</a> Summit 2024 for two days of deliberations on challenges and opportunities in the new digital media space. &nbsp; This is the <a href="https://globalvoices.org/about/annual-summits/">ninth Summit</a> of Global Voices on 6-7 December in which journalists, translators, activists, technologists, policymakers and development experts discuss issues related to free expression and language diversity.&nbsp; <a href="https://globalvoices.org/">Global Voices</a> was founded 20 years ago as an international multilingual community of editors and journalists, translators and human rights activists to use the Internet to tell stories that build understanding across borders.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241203091216_01c2f2ccaae529abfced7db24a88364cd22a85321ea3e10736088883f8693eba.png" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20241203091216_01c2f2ccaae529abfced7db24a88364cd22a85321ea3e10736088883f8693eba" data-rendition-name="original" width="1415" height="666" loading="lazy" alt="Global Voices conference in Kathmandu"> </figure>  Its content is translated and shared in the media across the world in 52 languages, including Nepali. Participants will also examine threats to media freedom in authoritarian regimes, including those with elected autocrats, and also discuss political activism and climate justice. “Throughout the two days we will examine threats like transnational repression and digital authoritarianism, explore open knowledge initiatives in a fragmenting internet,” says <a href="https://summit2024.globalvoices.org/author/georgia-popplewell/">Georgia Popplewell</a>, a journalist from Trinidad and Tobago who is Managing Director of Global Voices. Since 2006, <a href="https://globalvoicesonline.org/about/annual-summits/">Global Voices Summits</a> have brought together innovative digital activists and citizen media networks from around the world. Past Summits were held in London, New Delhi, Budapest, Santiago de Chile, Nairobi, Cebu City, and Colombo. Nepali Times has partnered with Global Voices for the Kathmandu Summit.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241206101236_a3407dcc4408d6ba76d2b6e44c2cb52d0b16951249d4cc910ceb38a058a992ed.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20241206101236_a3407dcc4408d6ba76d2b6e44c2cb52d0b16951249d4cc910ceb38a058a992ed" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="738" loading="lazy" alt="global voices in Kathmandu"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241203091216_c4c4b0abd65c038466da9956432b8aecb1cd833fc565a45926a4ddf269902577.png" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20241203091216_c4c4b0abd65c038466da9956432b8aecb1cd833fc565a45926a4ddf269902577" data-rendition-name="original" width="1251" height="775" loading="lazy" alt="Global Voices conference in Kathmandu"> </figure>  “For each Summit, we seek a location that is of strategic importance for citizen media, and consider the country’s press freedom record and ease of access for visitors of different nationalities,” Popplewell added. “Nepal is home to a dynamic and diverse media landscape, which has managed to grow in the context of a fraught transition to democracy. &nbsp;The rest of the world has much to learn from the opportunities and challenges that Nepal's many online communities have experienced.” The packed <a href="https://gv2024.sched.com/list/simple/">Summit agenda</a> will kick off on Thursday with a plenary panel on The Past, Present and Future of Digital Conversations in Nepal with Ujjwal Acharya of Journalism Academy and Nepali Times publisher Kunda Dixit. Other conversations will be on topics like blogging, digital connectivity, AI and deep fakes, state control of internet content and multilingual media.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241203091220_8d059c15a1bdc534c666cb8944c3944d05f5424a14c3fae00ccfc6e1dc94bfd4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20241203091220_8d059c15a1bdc534c666cb8944c3944d05f5424a14c3fae00ccfc6e1dc94bfd4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="754" loading="lazy" alt="Global Voices conference in Kathmandu"> </figure>  News stories from Nepal are regularly translated across the languages of Global Voices, and the service also carries <a href="https://globalvoices.org/-/world/south-asia/nepal/">off-beat stories from Nepal</a>. Recent ones include why <a href="https://globalvoices.org/2024/12/01/the-journey-of-the-esperanto-movement-in-nepal-over-the-past-eight-decades/">Esperanto is so popular in Nepal</a>, the <a href="https://globalvoices.org/2024/11/25/in-a-nepali-village-residents-struggle-to-reconcile-traditional-artisanship-with-modernization/">vanishing craft of bamboo baskets</a>, and <a href="https://globalvoices.org/2024/11/18/scores-of-nepalis-tricked-into-joining-the-russian-army/">Nepalis tricked into joining the Russian Army</a>. Summit sessions will be available online and highlights posted on <a href="https://twitter.com/globalvoices">X</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/globalvoicesonline/">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/globalvoicesonline?fref=ts">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://mstdn.social/@globalvoices/">Mastodon</a>.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241203091216_3a8d608d4536081c1db5ce2832c6f51efa7f72b3390ccfea43c000a45c6e9471.png" data-media-id="editor_18" data-image-id="20241203091216_3a8d608d4536081c1db5ce2832c6f51efa7f72b3390ccfea43c000a45c6e9471" data-rendition-name="original" width="800" height="600" loading="lazy" alt="Global Voices conference in Kathmandu"> </figure>

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Global Voices Summit in Kathmandu

Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. When the other pillars of democracy fail to act as check and balance, the press has to step in to hold power to account. 
Which is why authoritarian and elected autocrats around the world who have co-opted the judiciary, legislature and executive are now targeting the media. Journalists are <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/in-a-surveillance-state">surveilled</a>, threatened and even murdered for doing their job. 
The ill-gotten wealth of demagogues is mostly derived from licensing the exploitation of natural resources. Often, it is only <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/investing-in-investigative-journalism">investigative journalists</a> who stand in the way of greed and ambition.
UNESCO’s theme for World Press Freedom Day this year is ‘Press for the Planet’. Climate breakdown, mining, or illegal logging are no longer just ‘environmental’ features — they are stories of political crime.
Nepal is one of the most <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-should-be-open-for-south-asia">open societies in Asia</a> at present. But it was not always like this. Nepal has had its dark periods: 1960-90, 2005, 2016. Even at present, it is not smooth sailing for the mass media here. 
Successive governments in the eight years since the new Constitution have tried to squeeze the press. People posting on Facebook have been arrested, YouTubers taken to court, and last year the government banned TikTok.
<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/rattled-by-criticism-nepal-bans-tiktok">Censorship in instalments</a> is a way to test the waters to see if the backlash from freedom activists can be handled before imposing stricter restrictions. 
Local reporters, who do not have the protection enjoyed by more high-profile journalists in the capital, are threatened and gagged from reporting on activities that harm nature and livelihoods. 
Rabi Lamichhane has been under a cloud ever since he was Home Minister last year. A former tv anchor, Lamichhane is open about his contempt for the mainstream press, which he calls the ‘Dirty Dozen’.
Soon after becoming minister this time, he directed local officials to monitor news and social media posts in all 77 districts to keep track of content critical of the government.
He was forced to withdraw this daft idea after a backlash, but is now employing other channels to hit at Big Media mainly through portals, police and the investigation bureau he commands. The man obviously has much to hide, and is blaming the messenger.
Mayors Balen Shah in Kathmandu and Harka Sampang in Dharan who were propelled to office by social media propagation of their populist personas have shown thin skins, and a disdain for journalists critical of their methods. 
The draft Media Council Bill will allow a government secretary to select its chair and members. The Council is supposed to ‘advise’ the government in formulating media policies and code of conduct, much like a fox guarding the chicken coop.
Journalism in Nepal is already in crisis because of the collapse of the business model of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-new-news-age">legacy media</a>. Just when we need an independent press to safeguard freedoms, it is more exposed to corporate and political pressure. There is a steady erosion of democracy in South Asia with varying degrees of censorship. Nepal has flourished as a place for the meeting of the minds, where nationals of neighbouring countries come for free and open discussion. But that space could close if journalists here do not fully defend our constitutionally-guaranteed freedom of expression.
Some of our neighbours have decided that democracy and a free press keep them economically backward, and have adopted the East Asian authoritarian model. We in Nepal have tried strongman rule before, and it failed quite spectacularly. 
Media has an agenda-setting role in a democracy. It amplifies the public voice so people are empowered to demand action from elected officials against wrongdoing. Lack of accountability lies at the root of everyday problems like underdevelopment, lack of jobs, air pollution, or environmental degradation.
The current wildfire emergency in this country is a result of decades of official neglect, political apathy and fatalism. 
Journalists reporting on the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/climate-crisis-drought-food-deficit-migration">climate crisis</a>, natural resource exploitation or biodiversity loss have shown great courage and sacrifice to get the truth out. Many have been killed. Others have been threatened and silenced. Climate deniers troll science journalists. 
Here in Nepal,<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/a-nation-built-on-sand"> illegal sand mining</a>, quarrying and logging have destroyed ecosystems. The climate emergency is now magnifying the impact of such wanton destruction on Nepal’s economy. 
Disasters like <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-valley-suffers-quadruple-disaster">Melamchi</a> and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/sikkim-flood-is-warning-to-nepal">Sikkim</a> could hit cascade projects along the Marsyangdi, Sun Kosi and Arun rivers. Journalists cannot just wait for disasters to strike any more, they must warn of them.
This week, even as smoke from wildfires blanketed the country, the Tarai is reeling under a heat wave. Jhapa was 43°C with 40% humidity, that is very near the lethal wet bulb temperature. 
What media chooses not to report, what to report on and how much prominence is given to it determines whether action is taken in time to mitigate danger. 
These ‘environmental’ stories are political stories: 
<ul><li>The government banned plastic bags three times but had to lift it because of lobbying by powerful pellet importers.</li><li>Air pollution can be reduced by incentivising electric transport, but there are vested interests in the fossil lobby.</li><li>Nijgad is not an airport project, it is a logging concession controlled by political cronies. </li></ul>
The job of a free press is not just to name and shame crooks, but also to restore the people’s faith in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/populism-vs-pluralism">democracy and pluralism</a>. It is the democratic system with freedom of speech and fair elections to reward performance that makes this system work. 
We may have no expectations from our tried, tested and failed politicians, but let us not blame the system that they have abused.

Sonia Awale

Press under Pressure

Namaste, journalists, climate experts and friends of the planet! The third edition of the Himal Media Mela is going to be held on 3rd May 2024, Friday, at Yala Maya Kendra, Patan Dhoka, Lalitpur. This year, the theme is 'Journalism for the Planet', in keeping with UNESCO's theme for World Press Freedom Day 2024 - 'A press for the planet: journalism in the face of the environmental crisis'.&nbsp; We are excited to announce that we are offering workshops and knowledge sharing sessions that are interactive and for smaller groups this time. Sub-events will be held two at a time so please carefully comb through <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeveKsuPezOER4EK1Zz8mOjHyoRD1ACpFsThtksUz4b1WB2YQ/viewform?pli=1">this form</a> and let us know which ones you will be attending, so that we can save you a seat. Do have a look at the sessions and select your preferences here: <a href="https://t.co/xI5VbMAP3n" target="_blank">https://shorturl.at/pS239</a> This one-day conference will packed with events from 9AM until 6PM, with lunch provided and breaks in between. But do stay on for the closing reception (drinks, snacks and networking) after 6 PM. Seats are limited, so we will take your filling this form as your confirmation, along with your payment (see details below): Entry Ticket: Rs. 500 Payment to be made in advance via eSewa to: Samrat Tamrakar 9841359603 Thank you for your interest and participation! Looking forward to seeing you for another successful Media Mela where we share valuable insights with each other and grow together. Best, Team Himalmedia  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240429100448_2250035690fc50a6d31f29de73759209122976dc2bd82fc63ad88a3e68be5b1e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20240429100448_2250035690fc50a6d31f29de73759209122976dc2bd82fc63ad88a3e68be5b1e" data-rendition-name="original" width="680" height="680" loading="lazy" alt="Himal Media Mela 2024 registration"> </figure>

Himal Media Mela 2024 registration

This northern Thai city had a carnival atmosphere last week as 280 international digital media people descended on its university ground for the <a href="https://www.splicemedia.com/beta-2023" target="_blank">Splice Beta 2023</a> festival. Funders of startups, those starting new media ventures, content creators, journalists, editors, and entrepreneurs gathered to share experiences about how to survive and thrive in the new media landscape. This year’s special focus was on users, figuring out their special needs and how new media can be financially sustainable by providing them the information they need.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231114061140_6d599ad4d1e5d3b1976483dd10451b2ff68485ae90e0e9cd5b75756e873c527f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20231114061140_6d599ad4d1e5d3b1976483dd10451b2ff68485ae90e0e9cd5b75756e873c527f" data-rendition-name="original" width="1333" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Splice Beta 2023 NT"> <figcaption>Philip Smith of Journalism Growth Lab at his session on measuring impact of startups.</figcaption> </figure>  “The elephant in the room is the user,” explained <a href="https://www.instagram.com/alansoon73/?img_index=1" target="_blank">Alan Soon</a> of &nbsp;<a href="https://www.splicemedia.com/" target="_blank">Splice</a> Media. “The work of media startups and creators is meaningless if it isn’t valuable for the user of that information.” He added: “The future of media is not news-centred, ad-driven and content-based. It is user-centred, demand-driven and interest-based.” In his session on defining success of a media startup, Philip Smith of Journalism Growth Lab underlined the importance of measuring genuine impact. “Many startups fail because they are putting information out there that nobody wants,” he said, admitting that in countries where media freedoms are curtailed, reach may be difficult to quantify.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231114061140_a270dfcde9f5ea117ccfb601fd6c6157a60efb50a7dc133ef6faa0284ae39735.png" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20231114061140_a270dfcde9f5ea117ccfb601fd6c6157a60efb50a7dc133ef6faa0284ae39735" data-rendition-name="original" width="1382" height="744" loading="lazy" alt="Splice Beta 2023 NT"> <figcaption>Roman Gautam and Neha Rajbhandari of Himal Southasian explain the 35-year-old magazine's newsletter and membership program.</figcaption> </figure>  “Ultimately, whatever you do has to work well as a business and the viability of the venture has to be clear from the very start,” Smith told a packed audience. &nbsp; The two-day festival at Chiang Mai University’s Faculty of Mass Communications had workshops, training and coaching classes on podcasting, fundraising for startups, newsletters and membership programs, AI, and combatting disinformation. &nbsp; Some 150 media companies from 57 countries attended the festival, with many of them using the event for networking and knowledge sharing. &nbsp;&nbsp; “We are not talking about the future of journalism, the future is already here,” said Splice co-founder <a href="https://www.instagram.com/rishadismyname/?img_index=1">Rishad Patel</a>. “Journalism isn’t in trouble, the traditional ad-driven mass media model is.” &nbsp; The Philippine digital news portal Rappler won the $32,000 AI in Journalism Challenge at the Splice Beta Journalism Festival. The competition had shortlisted 12 newsrooms from all over the world in August out of 113 applicants which wanted to use AI tools more productively to turn their stories into user-friendly formats.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231114061140_d03d6563c902a4352f4c770c44b249a9e2cb69ccc454a0ebfb6fc5aba88786c8.png" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20231114061140_d03d6563c902a4352f4c770c44b249a9e2cb69ccc454a0ebfb6fc5aba88786c8" data-rendition-name="original" width="1066" height="926" loading="lazy" alt="Splice Beta 2023 NT"> </figure>  Rappler, which was founded by Nobel Prize-winning Philippine journalist Maria Ressa, was deemed by a panel of judges to have developed the most creative use of AI to turn its investigative stories into visual content more appealing to its young users. Rappler’s AI product is known by its acronym TLDR (Too Long, Didn’t read) and transforms its text-based news stories into interactive infographics, charts, photos and video capsules optimised for social media posts. At a demonstration last week at Splice Beta in Chiang Mai, Rappler came ahead of other online newsrooms like Brazil’s Agencia Publica, The Conversation from Indonesia, Zamaneh Media based in The Netherlands, and Cuestion Publica of Colombia. Zamaneh Media is an independent newsroom based in Amsterdam which is part of the Network of Exiled Media Outlets (NEMO) that was also a participant at the Chiang Mai festival last week and includes the Burmese media.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231114061140_e07bf835fec4456941ff04ad27b6cb8c9db09fa07d01d551787217012a115259.png" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20231114061140_e07bf835fec4456941ff04ad27b6cb8c9db09fa07d01d551787217012a115259" data-rendition-name="original" width="1196" height="1150" loading="lazy" alt="Splice Beta 2023 NT"> </figure>  “This is an important event for the media operating in exile to empower each other with knowledge-sharing so that we &nbsp;can inform the world about the countries they are from,” said Sudeshna Chanda of Zamaneh.&nbsp; The Splice Beta festival coincided with news from Kathmandu last week that the popular Nepali online media outlets Setopati had decided to adopt a premium subscription model for its content due to falling revenue from advertising. On Monday, Nepal’s governing coalition cabinet<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/rattled-by-criticism-nepal-bans-tiktok"> decided to ban the wildly popular Tiktok platform</a>, saying it was inciting social disharmony. &nbsp;&nbsp; Nepali participants at the festival included journalists from Himalmedia, Herne Katha and Himal Southasian.

The future of journalism is already here

Kevin Casas-Zamora, PhD, is the Secretary General of <a href="https://www.idea.int/">International IDEA</a>, the Stockholm-based intergovernmental organisation supporting democracy worldwide. He used to be Costa Rica’s Second Vice President and Minister of National Planning and National Coordinator of the United Nations Development Program’s Human Development Report. Nepali Times caught up with Casas-Zamora during his visit to Kathmandu this week. Excerpts: Nepali Times: In your recent op-ed for The New York Times, you wrote about democracy in Latin America and anti-corruption populism. You noted that the collapse of party systems would lead to an emergence of outsiders who would accelerate the erosion of democracy. How similar is this scenario to other parts of the world, like Nepal? Casas-Zamora: It would be very presumptuous of me to start babbling about Nepali politics, but we are seeing a global trend towards the dissolution of the mechanisms that society had created to aggregate social preferences, social demands, like political parties. Latin America might be a particularly acute example, but it is certainly not unique. The World Values Survey covering 80 countries showed the people’s trust in political parties was in the single digits. This is particularly damaging, because one of the big problems that democracy has globally is that democratic communities are being torn apart. Polarisation is on the rise pretty much everywhere. Disinformation on social media is one of the key centrifugal forces. Inequality is another, and it weakens democratic communities. When political parties are weakened and party systems become fragmented, it becomes very difficult to govern, to build majorities, to implement any kind of agenda. In the end, what do you reap out of that is dissatisfaction. We are seeing a growing gap between growing social expectations, growing social demands and the inability of democratic institutions to respond to those demands. It is in that gap that monsters are growing. And it is in that gap that populism finds fertile ground. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/multimedia/journalism-is-the-frontline-of-democracy">"Journalism is the frontline of democracy"</a> When IDEA was established in 1995, there was euphoria about democracy, the Soviet Union had just collapsed, and many thought it was the end of history. Things did not turn out that way. Is there a design defect in the democratic project itself that allows this algorithm-driven populism to gain foothold? It is an interesting question, and I don’t think so is the answer. The normative case for democracy continues to be very strong. It is the only system that treats people according to their human dignity and respects their agency. That’s not a small thing. But beyond the purely normative argument, there is a very practical one, which is that democracy resolves in an elegant way, something authoritarian systems have great problems resolving: the issue of succession. Democratic systems also have the ability to self-correct. This is really the essence. And this is where the real value of democracy in practice lies. The pandemic proved very telling in that respect. Three years ago a lot of people blamed the faulty performance of democracy and the messiness. And sure enough there were democracies that performed very poorly, others that did better. But there was this sense that well, democracies are not up to the task, when it comes to a very acute crisis. They’re not efficient enough to respond to the problem, whereas in China, they are very efficient and they do what needs to be done. Well it turns out the performance of democracies with regards to the pandemic is looking much better than it did three years ago. And the performance of China with regard to the pandemic is not looking nearly as good. That’s down to the ability of democracies to self-correct. If you live in a democracy, and you don’t like the policies that are being enacted in four or five years, you’re going to have a chance to throw the rascals out. You may or may not succeed, but you have that chance. Living under an authoritarian system is like playing the roulette. You might be very lucky, and end up with Lee Kuan Yew and you do great. But you might not be so lucky and end up with Idi Amin. Still, we need to rethink democracy for a new time. If you take the basic design of democratic institutions, the emergence of political parties about 100 years ago, it hasn’t changed much for the past two centuries. You have this dissonance between the speed and the scale of social change over the past century, and the relative lack of institutional innovation in democracy over the same period. It is time to rethink representative institutions. One concrete example could be citizens assemblies, selected randomly that are given the task and the information to study an important problem for society and then they are expected to make recommendations, which are then taken up by the political system. They've used it for abortion in Ireland, in France for environmental issues, and that is the kind of innovation that needs to happen. It’s a time for institutional innovation and for political reform. And if we do that, if we take those serious issues seriously, a democracy has a strong case to make for itself. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/populism-vs-pluralism">Populism vs pluralism</a> How does IDEA’s membership model work? What if a democratic member country goes rogue and elects a despot? It’s an issue that we’re grappling with. Backsliding was not a thing back in 1995, the assumption was that the good times would last forever. That is perhaps the biggest mistake that was made: the notion that this was a linear process. Well, there’s no such a thing in human affairs as a linear process other than ageing. Even in the best of circumstances it is a case of two steps forward one step back, which may also be the case for Nepal. That’s the way most democratic transitions work. Where the performance of our own member states is less than adequate in terms of adherence to democratic values that we put in place, we establish a process of dialogue with the country in question. IDEA offers some support to the country. But ultimately, it’s up to the country to put that action plan in place. We are having that discussion at the moment and it’s a complicated one, because to be very honest, and this is something that I’ve seen at just about any intergovernmental organisation, member states are loath to pass judgment on other member states. But we have to face up to the fact that democratic practices can really break down in some of our member states in gradual ways, or in abrupt ways. Our statutes have a clause that allows for a country to be suspended. It has never been used but what we are trying to put in place a due process so that this doesn’t come out of nowhere, but then there are certain steps that are followed before we get there. And hopefully, we’ll never get there.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230511120516_7f285d81d83e28712661031f739209b5f73d4e2a63620a50f68e0401fa68453d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20230511120516_7f285d81d83e28712661031f739209b5f73d4e2a63620a50f68e0401fa68453d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="667" loading="lazy" alt="Kevin Casas-Zamora"></figure>  In many democratic Asian countries, there is disillusionment with poor governance and lack of delivery. We look enviously at China or Singapore and the Asian tiger economies. Even in Nepal there are many who say we have tried it for 30 years and democracy is not delivering. Evidence tends to show that in the long run, democracies perform better. Of course, you may say that in the long run, we’re all dead. Most authoritarian systems are not like China or Singapore, the average is much lower. But while you can accept the proposition that on average democracies do better than autocracies when it comes to economic performance and development, China and Singapore are a big distortion. At the same time, we have to admit that in vast swaths of the world the pressure for development forces governments to adopt certain practices of democracy that are less than liberal. There is a lot of lecturing going around. When I travel I sense an increasing impatience when Western countries talk about democracy. A lot of folks in places like India, South Africa, in parts of Latin America roll their eyes. And this has become very evident in the context of the war in Ukraine. The West is baffled that much of the rest of the world is not seeing the war in Ukraine as part of this huge struggle against authoritarianism. Well no: that’s not the way it’s perceived. So, a little more sensitivity to the pressures for development that countries find themselves under is called for. We owe it to ourselves to have a truly global conversation about what democracy means in different places. We might not be talking about the same thing. So a little more humility, and more sensitivity is called for. A truly global and respectful conversation about the meaning of democracy can agree on certain, common denominators as the core tenets of democracy. But beyond that, there’s a lot of flexibility. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/asia-s-new-cold-war">Asia's new Cold War</a> Where does the media fit into this? The Erdogans, Orbáns, Dutertes, Bukeles of the world are united by a desire to weaken any kind of check on executive power. And that means weakening the independent judiciary, press freedom, the ability of civil society to self-organise and demand things, and to hold people in power to account. They are weakening autonomous electoral authorities. And this thing comes in different sequences in different places, but the result is always the same. Some governments start out going after the press before they go after the judiciary, some do it the other way round. But in the end, the result is the same. The press is one of the scapegoats. I remember when I was an active politician, you lived in fear of the press, and that is the way it should be. That is the single most important check on your power. There is a reason why wannabe-autocrats go after the press, or buy them off. The more sophisticated among them buy the media off, others go after journalists. According to our measurements, one of the aspects of democracy that is most acutely under siege is freedom of the press. Out of 18 Latin American countries over the past decade, press freedom has decreased in 15 of them. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-death-of-democracy">The death of democracy</a>, Aditya Adhikari

“Democracy gives you a chance to throw rascals out”

Us journalists have always believed that informing the public is our job and it is the editors who decide what the public needs to know.&nbsp;
In the past, the modes for sharing information were limited: when something happened, a reporter would go interview witnesses or experts, write up the story, and news agencies distributed the news. This monopoly over selection, production and dissemination convinced media owners that they owned and controlled content, and defined its price.&nbsp;
The media business is about mass producing news and getting revenue from subscriptions and advertisements to pay for it. It was any other product and media companies believed the public should pay for news because it cost them to cover it.&nbsp;
Till recently, we were forced to consume whatever the mainstream media dished out. Gatekeepers at radio, tv and newspapers gave the audience what they thought they wanted, not what they needed. &nbsp;
This left the media ill-prepared for the Internet era when competition became stiff and audiences had the freedom over format and a global reach.&nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/investigation-introspection-and-investment-in-media">Investigation, introspection, and investment in media</a>
While in a hurry to adopt the next shiny thing, publishers gave away for free what they previously sold. Readers anywhere could access the product, which was regularly updated and more conveniently available on their monitors, free of charge.
Audience habits had changed, but the Nepali media and its business model did not. The new online portals that emerged in the 2000s and 2010s followed the footsteps of legacy publishers, and they are now the legacy media — depending on advertising.&nbsp;
Most users in Nepal are not paying for online news, many are not even going to new sites, but to YouTube and TikTok entertainment. Publishers rarely know how many are willing to pay or can be persuaded to pay.
While surviving on 100% paywalls, membership or subscriptions is still a far-fetched dream in Nepal, reader revenue can help increase accountability among publishers and, in turn, trust from the audience.
Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/media-melee-in-the-age-of-ai">Media mêlée in the age of AI</a>, Kunda Dixit
Much of the digital boom in Nepali media happened alongside Facebook. Which is why many mainstream publishers did not think about establishing themselves as a destination, a homepage to come home to. They relied instead on traffic that Facebook, Twitter and other platforms brought in.
These same platforms allow people to communicate directly and have proven to be good at helping them to share information. They can now easily find what they need without relying on journalists.
But there is much Facebook users need to know beyond what they share among friends. That is where journalism comes in — to report and investigate, add context and explain, to fact check and debunk assumptions.
Recently social media platforms have been weaponised to deface media itself. This week, Twitter in Nepal has been abuzz with a leaked audio clip of a conversation between a noted tv anchor and an interviewee, in which the latter asks when the interview will be aired. The journalist is heard explaining that while the program is ready, the station was still waiting for sponsors.&nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/journalism-is-all-about-storytelling-and-money">Journalism is all about storytelling (and money)</a>
Most comments on the thread attack the anchor, saying this is one more proof that the media is for sale and how news is not aired unless there is money involved. There were some journalists and others who defended the anchor, saying that is how tv functions anyway. But the damage was done.&nbsp;
Public trust in the media is wavering. A 2022 survey by Sharecast Initiative showed that &nbsp;for 76% of Nepalis, friends, family and neighbours were the primary source for local news and information: for national and international news it was 50%. Both were followed by Facebook, radio, YouTube and tv.
Media literacy in Nepal is low. Audiences confuse mainstream media for social media, opinion, or unfiltered content for news, and YouTubers for professional journalists. But pushing the accountability towards the audience is not the answer when the question is what can journalists do to change this.
Just when its role in safeguarding democracy and press freedom has become more important than ever before, journalism struggles to survive and retain its relevance. This ends up undermining the independent check-and-balance role of the fourth estate in defending democracy.
All this may look discouraging, but the internet, like all technologies, has always been a double edged sword. The only way out now is to compete with the entertainment-filled social channels and information pages masking as news sites, by focusing both on the content and the medium.
More than ever before, the medium is the message.
Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/the-new-news-age">The new news age</a>, Sonia Awale

Monopoly on information

The Himal Media Mela 2023 sponsored by Ncell continued on Thursday with its fourth panel, ‘Investing in Investigative Journalism’, followed by a session on Media Introspection, which is also the theme for the two-day conference. In the session moderated by Rabiraj Baral of Media Kurakani, investigative reporters and editors examined what it takes for a journalist to be an investigative reporter, as well as the need for Nepal’s newsrooms, to facilitate investigative reporting.&nbsp; Kiran Nepal, editor for the Center of Investigative Journalism, said that investigative reporting must move beyond CIJ into all of Nepal’s newsrooms.&nbsp; “The reason that investigative reporting is at the center of journalism at present is due its impact in creating credibility and trust in media,” said Nepal, who was previously the editor of Himal. “As such, all reporting must be investigative.” Panelist Devendra Bhattarai of Kantipur in 2021 wrote an investigative story for the CIJ about Bhutanese refugees forcibly evicted by Bhutan in 1990-92, and arrested by the Bhutanese authorities. Bhattarai was previously based in Kantipur’s Qatar Bureau, and has also written extensively about the issues of Nepalis living abroad in the Gulf.&nbsp; But even as he considers his earlier stories to be investigative as well, Bhattarai explained that he only began doing investigative journalism after being a journalist for almost two decades.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/journalism-is-all-about-storytelling-and-money">Journalism is all about storytelling (and money)</a>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230504160556_5511dd4d1aaf1a8604f9320a69555f52918b057d605e8a7d076003a7793c5a43.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20230504160556_5511dd4d1aaf1a8604f9320a69555f52918b057d605e8a7d076003a7793c5a43" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="Himal Media Mela Day 2- Second half"> </figure>  In March, Kantipur published Bhattarai's investigative report uncovering racketeers defrauding 875 Nepalis of millions under the pretext of sending them to the US &nbsp;as Bhutanese refugees with falsified documents from the Home Ministry. Since then, Nepal Police has arrested individuals involved in the racket, including a current secretary at the Vice President’s office on Wednesday. “Everything I learned about investigative journalism has been through my own study and on the ground experiences,” Bhattarai notes. “Through my years as an investigative reporter, I have learned to read my own stories twice, pay attention to detail, and fact-check rigorously.” Deepa Dahal of Ukaalo, who previously worked in radio for a significant amount of time in Surkhet before reporting for the independent online news platform, and has during her career reported on health, science, education, politics and the environment.&nbsp; “As reporters, we are players of an editorial team, and as it stands, it is not enough for a journalist to want to become an investigative reporter,” said Dahal. “All the skill and the passion to be involved in investigative journalism will not matter as long as newsrooms do not have an interest.” Kiran Nepal agreed that journalists need to be patient and curious, the newsroom environment must be open to investigative stories, and newsroom—especially well-established ones— &nbsp;should be willing to allocate resources into investigative reporting.&nbsp; “Journalism is a challenging and often dangerous profession, investigative journalism even more so.” continued Dahal, adding that existing biases and prejudices surrounding women in the workplace make investigative journalism more challenging for women. &nbsp;“Those who want to get into this aspect of reporting must be prepared to spend any amount of time and play the long game to complete the story.” Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/voice-of-the-entire-nation">Voice of the entire nation</a>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230504150544_a039322bf4659c474bfa76d05eb23336c9b03623956804176eb31f6cc0126853.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20230504150544_a039322bf4659c474bfa76d05eb23336c9b03623956804176eb31f6cc0126853" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="Himal Media Mela 2023 day 2"> <figcaption>Kanak Mani Dixit, co-publisher of Himalmedia, Umesh Shrestha of Center for Media Research - Nepal, Babita Basnet of Ghatana ra Bichar, and Rajendra Dahal, editor of Sikshak magazine during the panel on media introspection.</figcaption> </figure>  Meanwhile, moderator Kanak Mani Dixit, co-publisher of Himalmedia, opened the panel on media introspection to discussion by noting how trolling enhanced by algorithms has become a tool that individuals on social networking platforms, political leaders, and other figures. Dixit identified the need for the media to reflect on the capability, study, worldview, ideology, and independence of the newsrooms.&nbsp; The panelists also discussed how media in Nepal have an agreement not to criticise one another.&nbsp; “If we do not reflect on our own practices, there will be questions as to who is supposed to &nbsp;hold the media to account,” said Dixit. Umesh Shrestha of Center for Media Research - Nepal, however, spoke about the difficulty for media professionals to question their practices because of a risk of attacks &nbsp;attacked by the members of the media itself.&nbsp; “The one important thing to ask ourselves – introspect – is why is trust in media so low,” added Dahal. &nbsp;“A major reason why mainstream media is losing trust of readers and audience is because they don't fact-check and have aided in spreading misinformation.” Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-should-be-open-for-south-asia">Nepal should be open for South Asia</a>, Sonia Awale  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230504160556_e1a3b8cc77d898a14f84ffea1eeb2ffa8a28ec996563762bbec650116d0aa94b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20230504160556_e1a3b8cc77d898a14f84ffea1eeb2ffa8a28ec996563762bbec650116d0aa94b" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="Himal Media Mela Day 2- Second half"> </figure>  Babita Basnet of Ghatana ra Bichar added that it is difficult to those in media to question themselves, seeing that they &nbsp;are so used to&nbsp; Rajendra Dahal, editor of Sikshak magazine, said that contrary to what reporters are taught, it is not possible to be objective, but it is important to be factual and truthful. “Fact checkers have been doing some amazing work,” Dahal added. Dahal also pointed out the lack of proper education and instruction to facilitate and teach aspiring journalists. Basnet spoke about the challenges faced by women in media, drawing from personal experiences and citing recent research by her team that showed 88% of women in media experiencing online harassment by colleagues, from reporters associated with other media houses, as well as from news sources.&nbsp; “Nepal’s newsrooms need to address the challenges faced by women expeditiously,” said&nbsp; Speaking to the combined experiences of the panelists, Dixit added, “It is also important to the current generation of journalists to know about the history of journalism in Nepal, and how journalists have contributed to making Nepal one of the Nepal having one of the best environments for press freedom in Southasia.” Added Dahal: "It is important that we look to the past so that the media might have a better future.” Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/media-melee-in-the-age-of-ai">Media mêlée in the age of AI</a>, Kunda Dixit  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230504150544_ea2e84d8ec9c9fe9018f95035cd828c7281f467c15ee42e1b3254fbd52e6ec22.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20230504150544_ea2e84d8ec9c9fe9018f95035cd828c7281f467c15ee42e1b3254fbd52e6ec22" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="Himal Media Mela day 2"> <figcaption>Rishad Patel co-founder of Splice Media.</figcaption> </figure>  At the end of the day, Rishad Patel, co-founder and business consultant at Splice Media in Singapore, gave a presentation on how to build a viable media business. Patel spoke to the need for media conferences, commenting that journalism in 2023 was not limited to news, but also meant bringing together a crowd of talented and expert minds to share ideas and thoughts. He noted that the media is immensely powerful, not because of its connections with businesses and advertisers, but because it helps people make informed decisions. “The business strategy for media is not simply grants or looking towards multimedia,” said Patel “It is about asking where [the media] is, where it wants to go, and how to get there.” Patel likened content to a product and the audience to a market, saying that the media must test with the market about the kind of content they prefer and seek feedback. The key, Patel explained, is to talk to people and listen to what they have to say. “Media should be obsessed with a product-market fit,” he said. “The future of media is user-centred, demand-driven and interest-based.” Patel said that media must be focused on building something that is valuable enough to pay for, and not try to force-fit old media concepts into new, digital formats. Said Patel: “The media business is not broken, it has actually transformed for the better. Technology itself is not the disruptor. There &nbsp;is no one audience, and that gives [the media] an opportunity to be hyper-specific, and move forward.” Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/the-new-news-age">The new news age</a>, Sonia Awale

Investigation, introspection, and investment in media

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111414110/63723c3e9c7e80680e0c960ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="746" height="560"/><figcaption>Photo: MIN RATNA BAJRACHARYA</figcaption></figure>The United Nations has singled out 42 countries (out of 193 member states) for condemnation– virtually blacklisting them– for retaliating against human rights activists and journalists.If you cooperate with the United Nations and complain about human rights abuses in your home country, chances are you will find yourself either jailed, persecuted, tortured or under government surveillance.The 42 countries include some of the world’s worst authoritarian regimes with a notoriety for extensive human rights abuses.Highlighting a number of “disturbing trends” over the past year, the annual report by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres details how people — mainly victims of human rights violations, human rights defenders and journalists – suffered reprisals and intimidation by States and non-State actors.This included people being detained, targeted by restrictive legislation and surveilled both online and offline. People who tried to cooperate with the UN, or were perceived as doing so, were also affected.In a third of the countries named in the report, individuals and groups, including civil society organisations (CSOs), either refrained from cooperating or only agreed to report their cases anonymously out of fear of reprisals.“Despite positive developments, including pledges and shared commitments by Member States against reprisals, this report shows the extent to which people are pursued and persecuted for raising human rights concerns with the UN,” says Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ilze Brands Kehris. “And we know that, shocking though this number is, many cases of reprisals are not even reported.”The 42 States referred to in the report (which covers the period from 1 May 2021 to 30 April 2022) include Afghanistan, Andorra, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Brazil, Burundi, Cameroon, China, Cuba, Cyprus, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Israel, Kazakhstan, Laos People’s Democratic Republic, Libya, Maldives, Mali, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Philippines, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, State of Palestine, Thailand, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Viet Nam, and Yemen.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111414110/63723c419c7e80680e0c960bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"><figcaption>Photos: NEPALI TIMES ARCHIVE</figcaption></figure>Simon Adams, President and CEO of the Center for Victims of Torture, the largest international organisation that treats survivors and advocates for an end to torture worldwide, saysthe UN is an impartial humanitarian organisation dedicated to the advancement of humanity.“When some states or armed groups perceive civil society activists or journalists speaking to the United Nations as constituting a threat to their interests, they are violating the ‘faith in fundamental human rights’ that the UN Charter proudly encapsulates,” he adds."We the people where ever we may be in the world, have a right to speak directly to UN representatives without some malevolent authority leaning over our shoulders, tapping our phone, or threatening us with detention or disappearance.”Human rights defenders in the countries mentioned in the UN Secretary-General’s report not only deserve our respect and solidarity, they need protection, declared Adams.When Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last week congratulated Ales Bialiatski and the organisations Memorial and the Centre for Civil Liberties on being awarded the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize, he said this year’s recognition shines a spotlight on the power of civil society in advance of peace.“Civil society groups (CSOs) are the oxygen of democracy, and catalysts for peace, social progress and economic growth. They help keep governments accountable and carry the voices of the vulnerable into the halls of power”.Yet today, civic space is narrowing across the world, the Secretary-General warns.“Human rights defenders, women’s rights advocates, environmental activists, journalists and others face arbitrary arrest, harsh prison sentences, smear campaigns, crippling fines and violent attacks,” he declared.“As we congratulate this year’s winners, let us pledge to defend the brave defenders of universal values of peace, hope and dignity,” Guterres said.Meanwhile, responding to a decision by the UN Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC), to establish an independent monitoring mechanism on the human rights situation in Russia, Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, said her organization welcomes the decision to finally bring Russia’s human rights record under scrutiny.Under Vladimir Putin’s leadership, she pointed out, “the country has seen its political opposition crushed, grassroots NGOs and activists outlawed, independent media shuttered, and civil society as a whole scorched to the ground”.“Russia’s unlawful aggression in Ukraine could not be a clearer demonstration of Vladimir Putin’s longstanding disregard for life and human rights.”Callamard said the establishment of this important mechanism will be a long overdue lifeline to civil society in Russia, independent media and many others standing up to repression.“We call on all states to support the swift establishment of this monitoring and reporting mandate, and to fully support victims of human rights and humanitarian law violations committed by the national authorities”.“We call on the Russian authorities to heed the clear message that the Human Rights Council sends with the establishment of this mechanism, and to fundamentally change course to cease its violations at home and abroad,” she declared.Providing an update on the military regime in Myanmar, UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters October 6, that according to UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation), at least 170 journalists have been arrested since the military takeover in Myanmar in February last year.Nearly 70 journalists, including 12 women, remain under detention. UNESCO has also recorded over 200 incidents of media repression, including killings, arrests, detention, criminal cases, imprisonments, and raids of editorial offices.Forty-four journalists, which include seven women, have been sentenced for criminal offences by local courts, he said. Also, media workers report that they experience digital surveillance of mobile phones and social media platforms. UNESCO remains committed to protecting and defending their press freedom.Meanwhile, the UN report said the surveillance of individuals and groups who cooperate with the UN continued to be reported in all regions with growing evidence of online surveillance and cyberattacks. The massive digital shift accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic also increased challenges relating to cyber-security, privacy, and access to online spaces.Another concerning global trend is the use and impact of restrictive legislation that prevents and punishes cooperation with the UN, resulting in some cases of people being sentenced to long prison terms or placed under house arrest. There were recurring and similar allegations of intimidation reported in a number of countries, which could indicate a pattern.Another global trend is self-censorship, choosing not to cooperate with the UN or doing so anonymously amid concerns for their safety. Increased surveillance and monitoring, as well as the fear of criminal liability, have created what the report terms a “chilling effect” of silence, stopping people from cooperating further with the UN and deterring others from doing so, according to the report.As in previous years, the report shows that intimidation and reprisals disproportionally affect certain populations and groups, including representatives of indigenous peoples, minorities or those who work on environment and climate change issues, as well as people who may suffer discrimination based on age, sexual orientation and gender.“The risks affecting women victims, as well as women human rights defenders and peace builders, who share testimony and cooperate with the UN remain daunting. We will continue to work to ensure that all can safely engage with the UN,” Brands Kehris stressed, as she presented the report to the Human Rights Council in Geneva.The report, entitled ‘Cooperation with the United Nations, its representatives and mechanisms in the field of human rights’ (A/HRC/51/47), including extensive annexes detailing cases country by country, can be accessed online.<a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/thematic-reports/ahrc5147-cooperation-united-nations-its-representatives-and-mechanisms" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/thematic-reports/ahrc5147-cooperation-united-nations-its-representatives-and-mechanisms</a>By arrangement with <a href="https://www.ipsnews.net/2022/10/un-censures-42-nations-retaliating-human-rights-activists-journalists/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Inter Press Service</a>.

UN censures censors

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131140/637237d69c7e80680e0c7351jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="746" height="560"/><figcaption>Photo: MIN RATNA BAJRACHARYA</figcaption></figure>The freedom of press is like a rubber band, you have to stretch it to make it work. Likewise, media independence can only be protected by its maximum application.That is why we have to make a distinction between day-to-day reporting and investigative journalism. In-depth coverage requires patience, difficult and dangerous work, time and resources.Attending a press conference or transcribing a media release alone will not protect press freedom. It is also difficult to justify standing up for the independence of media if it is partisan, or succumbs to clickbait.An investigative journalist’s job is to expose wrongdoing. After that, the other institutions in a democracy are supposed to take over: law enforcement, the court system, elected leaders.In Nepal and across the world, even in countries with long traditions of pluralism, tolerance and rule of law, democracy today is in retreat. When all three pillars of democracy (legislature, judiciary and the executive) are tottering, it is up to the fourth estate to prop up the superstructure of  state.It does this by being impartial and fair, and shining a torch in the darkness where those in power hide secrets that are in the public’s interest. Freedom of press is not just the freedom of a journalist, we in the media are just custodians of the citizens’ right to information.The best test that investigative journalism is impactful is when it speaks truth to power, and it rattles those that weird it. Presidents have been forced to resign after exposés by investigative journalists in the United States and the Philippines.In the past 25 years, the Centre of Investigative Journalism-Nepal (CIJ-N) may not have ousted a prime minister here, but it has constantly rocked the boat, exposed wrongdoing and injustice, and afflicted the comfortable.It is not easy doing investigative journalism in Nepal. The country may not be small, but it has a small elite in which the centres of power, businesses and media owners overlap. Everyone knows everyone else, and they often scratch each other's backs. This is why the art of media questioning is not as developed in Nepal.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131140/637237d99c7e80680e0c7352jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1333"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Already suffering from shrinking readership due to the proliferation of social networking platforms, the legacy media was hit by the Covid pandemic. Lately, the rise in fuel and food prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has further undermined the media’s advertising and sales revenue.The collapse of the media’s business model has coincided with the crisis of democracy in our neighbouring countries and around the world — at a time when investigative journalism is needed more than ever to widen the media’s independence.Nepal’s broadsheets do not compete with each other, but with Facebook. Television channels should not be thinking in terms of TRP anymore because their actual revenue rival is TikTok.The world’s biggest and oldest democracies treat the rule of law as sacrosanct, but by manipulating the internet with troll armies and bot factories, demagogues are getting themselves elected. Fanning populism, ultra-nationalism, racism and hate speech make an explosive potion to mobilise citizens disenchanted with traditional politics.Trump may have been defeated, but Trumpism is alive and well. In the Philippines, history has come a full circle with Bong Bong Marcos getting himself elected by weaponising the social web.About India, the less said the better. It is a lesson for us in Nepal not to take our freedoms for granted. One of the last remaining independent television channels, NDTV, was bought by a Modi crony and the world’s third-richest man, Gautam Adani.The legacy press must become much more savvy in using internet platforms, and if necessary, even borrow some of the tricks of the trade. The mainstream media must be in the business of immediately correcting falsehoods, rumours and ‘alternative facts’.Newsrooms must have the digital visual skills so that investigative stories are not just told, but shown. Journalism has a new role and responsibility: to analyse, interpret and explain raw, live information on the net, and to offer solutions at a time of spreading cynicism and despair worldwide.The old media is not dead yet, and we need it more than ever to tame a wild new media that is reaching adolescence.Kunda Dixit is publisher of Nepali Times. Excerpt from a keynote presentation at the 25th Anniversary function of the Centre for Investigative Journalism Nepal on 2 September 2022.

Kunda Dixit

Investing in investigative journalism

<figure><img width="640" height="340" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114121112/6372236e9c7e80680e0c034fjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: GUNARAJ LUITEL</figcaption></figure>If this was the Oscars, my award would be for Best Supporting Role category. Because that is actually what my journalism career has been mostly about -- supporting others in the media profession through mentorship and on-the-job training. In fact, the joke back home is that the Nepali Times is a classroom, not a newsroom.  At the paper, my focus has always been not just to teach how to do journalism, but also why. This is especially important at this time in history when the mass media in Nepal and elsewhere is in a financially fragile state. This makes it more vulnerable to pressure from corporate interests, the state and the metaverse. <figure><img width="640" height="498" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114121116/637223709c7e80680e0c0350jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Photo: NIRMAL GHOSH</figcaption></figure><figure><img width="640" height="480" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114121116/637223749c7e80680e0c0351jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Photo: STEVE HERMAN</figcaption></figure>These days, tyrants ruling totalitarian states are not the only threats to journalism. The threat is more from populist despots who get themselves elected by coopting the institutions of democracy, and then proceed to dismantle and undermine those very institutions to stay on in power. At this time when there is a new multipolar Cold War, we have to remember that it is morally more important to defend democracy and press freedom than pursue narrow geostrategic interests — even when those violations are happening among your allies. An enemy of an enemy is not necessarily your friend.You know, I feel like a bit of an imposter being recognised today. The real heroes in the media are those brave colleagues around the world who have paid with their lives, who are in detention, are being tortured, those spending sleepless nights because of the threats to their families, and those trolled and harassed by cyber lynch mobs.https://youtu.be/zkMZK2ej-ZMVideo: GUNARAJ LUITELIt is an honour to represent all of them. At times in the past when our office was vandalised and we were physically assaulted,  the thing that kept our hopes up was that darkness is always followed by a new morning.  And during those long months in exile, the person I missed the most back home was my dog. I kept my hopes up by reminding myself that I would see him again one day, and I did. He taught me how not to be a lapdog, but to be a watchdog.  Aloha and Mahalo.

Journalism of courage and impact

One smoggy winter morning in February 2019, Ekta regretted coming to her sculpture class. It was the first day of her period, and the 19-year-old wished she was home, curled up in bed with a hot water bag to soothe her cramps.
Her class was at Kalapremi Ceramic Studio, a dark room on the ground floor of a house in Maharajganj, and Ekta’s teacher was the artist Gopal Das Shrestha ‘Kalapremi’, a noted sculptor.
Two other students were already there, using all their muscle strength to knead the sculpting clay. Ekta, now 24, recalls how Kalapremi asked her if she was feeling all right. She avoided him, as she did not want everyone to know she was menstruating.
Kalapremi repeatedly asked Ekta what was wrong. She finally muttered that she was having her period, after which he grabbed her hand and led her to a partitioned corner of the studio and sat her on a chair. Before she could stop him, he slid his hand under her dress, and started massaging her abdomen.
“I was horrified,” Ekta recalls. “I told him to stop, but he didn’t listen, asking me not to be shy, saying he knew how to relieve my pain. He stopped only after I protested furiously.”&nbsp;
The art tutor then said, “You’re like my daughter. I’m doing it out of love to make you feel better, but you’re so stubborn.”&nbsp;
“Instead of saying sorry he acted like I was the one having crazy thoughts,” remembers Ekta, adding that from April 2016 to August 2020 beginning the time she was 16, the artist sexually abused and harassed her on several occasions. &nbsp;
Now, Ekta and the artist’s other former students are finally sharing their experiences and some are pressing legal charges against him, hoping that others do not have to endure what they did.&nbsp;
Award-winning artist and teacher Gopal Das Shrestha ‘Kalapremi’ (the name means ‘Art Lover’) is known for his ceramic art, sculpture, and contemporary pottery. He was <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/the-house-of-kalapremi">profiled in Nepali Times after a collaborative exhibition</a>, ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ at the Siddhartha Art Gallery three years ago.&nbsp;
His pieces, titled Gaalis, featured sculpted female figures with the heads of dogs, sheep, and donkeys (pictured) to depict derogatory terms for women. Some critics said the collection was a satire on feminists.
Kalapremi started his artistic and teaching career in 1983 and over the years taught at Bhanubhakta School, Kathmandu University School of Arts, Lalitkala Campus and at his private Kalapremi Ceramic Studio. He has also lectured at Jeonju University in South Korea and recently at Tabor Academy in the United States.
Seven of Kalapremi’s former students were interviewed for this story. Five female students said he touched them inappropriately in his studio or at Kathmandu University. Two male students said they witnessed him abuse and harass the women. In all cases, the students struggled to recognise the abuse when it occurred, and the lack of reporting systems left them to cope on their own for years.&nbsp;
Earlier this year, students shared a social media post hinting at Kalapremi’s history of abusive behaviour following which more students of the artist reached out sharing similar experiences. Some students spoke of abuse that happened as long as 20 years ago.
Kalapremi, 60, has denied the allegations. He told Nepali Times: “Some years ago, there was a movement encouraging people to hug and kiss. I used to do it purely out of friendship and love. But after seeing posts on social media last year calling out my behaviour, I realised my actions may have hurt some people. I understand now that I should have been more mindful.”
He added: “I am also an auxiliary health worker, so I know the exact points to massage to relieve menstrual pain. It’s not just menstruation, I take anyone who is ill to the hospital.”
Sexual abuse is much more rampant than reported given how difficult it is to prove it in court. The law defines sexual abuse as occuring when someone touches another’s private parts, coerces them into touching theirs, uses vulgar language, shows degrading images, or behaves indecently towards them without consent.&nbsp;
Ekta and her fellow students are consulting lawyer Suneeta Regmi Pokhrel, who says they know that even if the court decides in their favour, it is difficult to survive after speaking up, and influential men defend themselves saying they are being framed.&nbsp;
“They are in a lot of pain and weep when recalling how he abused them,” Regmi Pokhrel told us. “They are angry and have filed a case against him, but they are also terrified. They know he is a powerful man and they have seen how our society treats women who speak up against abusers. Unless people speak up, perpetrators will be emboldened.”
Art and academia in Nepal simply reflect the power imbalances in society where people with intersecting identities experience worse forms of abuse. Theatre actors Raj Kumar Pudasaini, Rajan Khatiwada, and Sunil Pokhrel were called out during the #MeToo movement in the Nepali theatre scene in 2019. Even after the allegations Pokhrel went on to receive national awards, while others continued to work without repercussions.
“If you speak up against abusers, you gradually get sidelined from projects,” explained a theatre artist who wished anonymity fearing professional setbacks. “The theatre scene in Nepal is quite small, you just have to make peace with the perpetrators and work with them if you want to sustain yourself.”&nbsp;
In academia there is a history of faculty members sexually harassing students and getting away with it. After Tribhuvan University (TU) lecturer Krishna Bhattachan was accused of harassing women students, the university said it would follow Nepal’s sexual harassment law and set up a reporting mechanism. But nothing happened to the professor, who had already retired. Instead, he counter-accused the students of 'attacking the indigenous people’s movement with baseless allegations' as <a href="https://kathmandupost.com/letters/2019/01/29/bhattachan-responds">he told the Kathmandu Post in 2019</a>. He continues to be featured as a prominent speaker including at TU.
Other faculty members previously accused of sexual harassment include Jagadish Murti Koirala from TU, Bishnu Prasad Acharya from Ratna Rajya Campus, and Bodha Raj Tripathee from Lalitpur Madhyamik Vidhyalaya. A woman staff member from TU also filed a sexual abuse complaint against Dambar Chemjong from TU.
Prominent figures like <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-rise-and-fall-of-nims-purja">mountaineer Nims Purja</a> have been <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/31/sports/mountaineering-sexual-harassment-abuse-nims-purja.html">accused of sexual assault</a>, and cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane, actor <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/celebrity-rape-case-spotlights-nepal-laws">Paul Shah</a>, and former speaker of Parliament <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/mahara-arrested">Krishna Bahadur Mahara</a> have been accused of rape, but society-at-large has let off the alleged perpetrators amdist a larger debate about justice for survivors and punishment of perpetrators.&nbsp;
‘Gaushala-26’ is the court name given to the 18-year-old who accused Sandeep Lamichhane, former captain of Nepal’s national cricket team and skipper of Biratnagar Kings in the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/here-comes-the-nepal-premier-league">ongoing Nepal Premier League</a>, of rape. She left the country citing society questioning her character affecting her mental health while Lamichhane got an outpouring of support. In May, the Patan High Court overturned a prior verdict that found Lamichhane guilty of rape and had sentenced him to eight years in prison. During the 23-month legal battle to pursue justice, Gaushala-26 faced threats of gang rape and acid attacks.&nbsp;
Exhausted by the struggle, Gaushala-26 sought to “move to a new world” where she could live free without hiding her identity.
Actress Samragyee Rajya Laxmi Shah in an Instagram video now deleted detailed the harassment she faced from a filmmaker during a movie shoot. She did not name any name but veteran actor Bhuwan KC filed a defamation case against Rana, but the court ruled that the charge lacked sufficient evidence.&nbsp;
Former Kathmandu mayor <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/theytoo">Keshav Sthapit also mocked the #MeToo movement</a>, calling accusations against him by journalists Rashmila Prajapati and Ujjwala Maharjan “a rape of men’s rights”.
Serial Abuse
Back at the Kalapremi Ceramics studio, another former student, 24-year-old Rajiv, says he felt the need to speak out after seeing his female classmates being abused.&nbsp;
“He frequently kissed them on their cheeks,” he told Nepali Times. “Whenever they walked into the studio he flailed his arms like a child asking for a hug. They awkwardly hugged him from the side, but he pulled them closer, held their chin, and kissed their cheeks.”&nbsp;
Rajiv says he also saw Kalapremi pull the women’s bra straps, touch their breasts, and slap their buttocks. The young students would freeze, not knowing how to react, and if they protested, he would say it was “normal in art”. Rajiv, 19 at the time like his classmates, remembers thinking perhaps the well-respected artist was right after all.
Another student, Luna, who took lessons at Kalapremi’s studio from 2020 to 2022 did try to confront the tutor after he made an obscene proposal to her. She recalls: “One day when the other students had left the studio and it was just the two of us, he told me that God had given him special artistic talent and he could transfer those powers to me. But to do that both of us will have to be naked, inside a dark room, and have sex.”
Luna, who was 18 then, was livid and told him she did not want any of his powers, but she says he laughed at her as if he was joking. She did not tell her family about the incident because she thought no one would believe her.&nbsp;
“They were all in awe of this famous artist and felt I should be grateful that to be learning sculpting from him,” she says. “I was scared to be alone with him in case he talked about sex again. My coping mechanism was to be rude so he wouldn’t try to come close to me.”
Seeing how some classmates were standing up to Kalapremi, Ekta too tried to push back against his advances, but she said he found ways to coerce her. Since Ekta, Rajiv, and Luna could not afford Kalapremi’s Rs30,000 monthly fee for lessons, he had offered them all a stipend to assist him in the studio.
“He had spondylosis and took me to his therapy sessions to learn massage techniques, then he often made me and other students massage him,” says Ekta. Whenever she refused, he would feign pain to make her feel sorry for him. “He would insist that I put my hands under his shirt so that I could massage him better,” she adds.
The art tutor often tried to “seduce sympathy” from Ekta by sharing how he had never been loved as a child and was “sexually frustrated” as an adult.&nbsp;
“At 7PM, he would pour himself Signature whiskey and immediately go off again about how he was sex-starved. I didn’t know how to respond. It took me time to realise alcohol was just an excuse to talk about sex,” Ekta says.
If convicted, Kalapremi could face financial penalty and/or a prison sentence of up to three years according to Section 224 of National Penal (Code) Act 2017.&nbsp;
Data suggests that victims of child sexual abuse on average take nearly 24 years to tell someone about their trauma, and some may never disclose it at all.&nbsp;
“In our culture, children are rarely taught about boundaries. They often react, show anger when adults pinch their cheeks. But adults insist they did it out of love, and force the children to accept it,” says Sita Lama, a psychotherapist at Manka Kura. “And even when someone touches them inappropriately they struggle to identify and verbalise it.”
When perpetrators claim to be “acting out of love”, Lama says survivors are likely to perceive it as something safe, rather than recognising it as abuse.&nbsp;
“It may take years for them to realise they were abused,” she explains. "And even when they become aware, the power imbalance with the abuser and the associated shame often prevents survivors from speaking up."
Other former students from the School of Art at Kathmandu University have also come forward years later, saying Kalapremi sexually abused them. As young adults, they felt his behaviour was off but were uncertain if it was inappropriate, illegal, or they did not know how to respond. After having understood that it was indeed abuse, they say they are speaking out now to protect others.&nbsp;
Amina Singh, a visiting faculty member at Kathmandu University, says there is no clause against sexual abuse in contracts of teachers, and there is no formal grievance handling mechanism for the students.&nbsp;
“So the only way students can to deal with sexual abuse is approach someone they trust,” she says.
Eight other former art students of Lalit Kala Campus and Srijana College of Fine Arts of Tribhuvan University and other private art studios in Kathmandu say they were also sexually abused by their art teachers. Three faculty members interviewed from these institutions said they saw the abuse, but felt it was futile to report it given how powerful the teachers were.
In the absence of a formal system, some longtime women artists warned each other about “problematic” artists. They shared &nbsp;a “heads-up” to be more cautious when collaborating with them, and avoided responding to their calls and texts after work hours.
To ensure art institutions are safe for all, galleries, museums, artist studios, and smaller art spaces need to develop policies on sexual harassment. This would include a code of conduct or studio policies that hold the leadership accountable and outline the principles of professional ethics.&nbsp;
Students and employees should inquire about accountability mechanisms for raising concerns, both formally and informally, advocates say.
Three years after Ekta left the ceramics studio, she learnt that Kalapremi had harassed many other women. Still trying to get a footing in the art industry, she attended a workshop in Kathmandu where women artists discussed ways to stay safe in the art sector.&nbsp;
Since it was a close-knit group Ekta opened up about how she felt violated and realised she was not alone, he had been abusing underprivileged students for years, and this was common knowledge among artists in Nepal.
Ekta says that even after she quit, Kalapremi continued sending her text messages like ‘I am thinking of you’, ‘Why have you stopped speaking with me’, or ‘I am waiting for your call’.&nbsp;
But what really forced her to act was when Ekta found out that he was sending similar texts to her younger sister.&nbsp;
“I’ve had enough,” she told us. “He abused me all these years but I won’t let him abuse my sister.” &nbsp;
Ekta, Rajiv and Luna are not the real names of the students.&nbsp;

‘Art Lover’ accused of sexual abuse

It was 8:15 in the evening of 25 March 1968 when everyone in the village of Batulechaur near Pokhara heard a deafening sound like thunder as a bright flashing object hurtled down to land in a field.&nbsp; That field belonged to Kul Timilsina, and the next morning he retrieved a sheet of metal about 2m by 1m and carried it home with the help of a few others, thinking it would be useful for his buffalo shed.&nbsp; Before he died at age 83 three years ago, Timilsina had told photo archivist Sunil Ulak that the black metal sheet was not rectangular and had rounded corners. There are a few witnesses still alive who have a clear recollection of the object that fell from the sky that night.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024120707128_75cc85aac56b9cc4a77366471f058d7b3eb6868776811b0923845c2d0a61f014.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2024120707128_75cc85aac56b9cc4a77366471f058d7b3eb6868776811b0923845c2d0a61f014" data-rendition-name="original" width="1170" height="601" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> <figcaption>The field in Batulechaur belonging to Kul Timilsina where fragments of a flying object fell from the sky in 1968.</figcaption> </figure>  One of them is Timilsina’s wife Gyanu, who was 22 at the time. She had been at home, and remembers hearing the big bang and the sky becoming very bright. “We saw the thing in the field in the morning,” she told us. “It looked like a lid, a covering of some sort. The way it was stuck in the ground, it must have fallen from the sky. We thought we could use it to dry clothes on, and took it home.”&nbsp; Another witness is Kul Narayan Paudel. “I was only eight then. We ran to the field to see what had fallen. It was a four-sided metal sheet. The elders took it away, and I don't know what happened to it.” &nbsp; Ram Bahadur Baniya, a teacher at the local school, says he had heard the sheet had been brought to the school, and later handed over to the Zonal Commissioner at the time, Nanda Prasad Malla. “But that is all hearsay,” he says.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024120707128_0bf207a12063fb8155b3c8d9a00a94887b126380c9e0627527c84cf5e1101f54.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2024120707128_0bf207a12063fb8155b3c8d9a00a94887b126380c9e0627527c84cf5e1101f54" data-rendition-name="original" width="1170" height="610" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> <figcaption>Gyanu Timilsina, wife of Kul Timilsina.</figcaption> </figure>  There are two versions of what happened to Kul Timilsina’s metal sheet. One is that an American Peace Corp Volunteer teaching at the nearby Bindyabasini School took it, and another is that it was handed over to the government. Recently declassified Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and US State Department documents from the time say that the US Embassy in Kathmandu tracked down the object two years later and had it shipped back to the US. A telegram from the Department of State and Department of Defense tagged as ‘MOON DUST / Space Fragments’ dated 1 March 1972 stated: ‘1. Restored space fragment will be on board Embassy support flight 115 arriving Kathmandu on or about March 10. Fragment is packed in shipping crate (cargo no. 72-33365) marked in care of DAO.&nbsp; 2. State and Defense representatives examined fragments prior to shipment finding restoration acceptable.’  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071212_929d903ee06d41baa4f6040e981cd7c7d7bd75cc9c37c9b617d307fc8538d2df.png" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20241207071212_929d903ee06d41baa4f6040e981cd7c7d7bd75cc9c37c9b617d307fc8538d2df" data-rendition-name="original" width="856" height="568" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> <figcaption>Declassified CIA documents about the investigation into the object sighted in Pokhara. </figcaption> </figure>  The documents show that the US government, military and intelligence agencies investigated this incident thoroughly when it occurred, and have continued to revisit it ever since, as recently as five years ago. What is even more intriguing is that the object that fell in Pokhara was not the only unidentified space object that fell to earth that year. There were similar sightings of objects falling from the sky in Ladakh, Sikkim and Bhutan between 19 February and 25 March 1968.&nbsp; These mysteries were the subject of a CIA investigation in 1968 titled ‘<a href="https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP81R00560R000100070007-8.pdf">Sighting of Unidentified Flying Objects in Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan</a>’, and the report is part of the recent online declassification of 800,000 top-secret documents from the period.&nbsp; &nbsp;Although unidentified flying objects (UFOs) have a connotation now of being alien craft, it could be pieces of satellite, missile, rocket or even aircraft. The CIA report documents six sightings in 1968 and quotes local sources as describing all of them having similar characteristics: bright blue or red streaks in the sky accompanied by loud sounds like lightning and thunder and objects falling to the ground. Aside from the metallic object that was found in Batlechaur, there were other items also found nearby in Tallakot, Tureypasal, Armalakot and Maidan. Whatever the object was, it seems to have disintegrated even before it hit the ground.&nbsp; The CIA report records the first sighting on 19 February 1968 in various parts of Sikkim and Olangchung Gola and Ghunsa in eastern Nepal. The light was said to be ‘long and thin’ and giving out ‘green and red light’. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071212_c3c825027d966a2aedc846970390eebe063957503c7eacc8e01e0517843f9bbb.png" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20241207071212_c3c825027d966a2aedc846970390eebe063957503c7eacc8e01e0517843f9bbb" data-rendition-name="original" width="892" height="596" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara "> </figure>  Two days later on 21 February, a soundless blue object was seen traveling fast across the sky above Thimphu in Bhutan. Then on 4 March there were multiple daytime sightings or white streaks in the sky at Chang La Pass, Fukche and Koyul in Ladakh. There were more sightings in Ladakh on the very day fragments fell near Pokhara on 25 March 1968.&nbsp; After the sightings in Pokhara, rumours started flying in Kathmandu that these were aliens trying to land on Earth, it could be Russian or Chinese spy planes or satellites, and some even say it as a sign from heaven that the end of the world was near. This was at the height of the Cold War. The Russians and Americans were testing their thermonuclear devices as well as intercontinental ballistic missile delivery systems. The Washington-Beijing rapprochement had not yet happened, and China was making quick progress testing atomic bombs. Within two years after its first atomic test, in 1966 China exploded its first hydrogen bomb at the Lop Nur site in Xinjiang, 3,000km to the north from Nepal. After neary six decades, what is still intriguing is that all the sightings within a few months of each other in 1968 were along the Himalayan arc bordering Tibet: from Bhutan, Sikkim Nepal, to Ladakh. The US military intelligence seems to have concluded that this was not a coincidence and there were frequent research trips to the site in Pokhara by American officials in the months after the incident. With the help of the Royal Nepal Army, the region north of Pokhara was thoroughly searched.&nbsp; A confidential memo dated 25 June 1968 by Jerry C Trippy to a ‘Mr Farley’ mentions that the US Air Force’s Foreign Technology Division had decided that the debris could be important because it may be related to a Chinese missile test or a Soviet ‘Vehicle Venik’ rocket.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071216_feb5425692dc36b20187de4e4fcc2ce9fd12b6d9e1b8724398e50bcdbf9032fe.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20241207071216_feb5425692dc36b20187de4e4fcc2ce9fd12b6d9e1b8724398e50bcdbf9032fe" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> </figure>  On 28 August 1968 the US Embassy in Kathmandu sent a letter to Washington DC saying that the object could be of Soviet origin, possibly from when the rocket carrying the ‘Kosmos 208’ satellite re-entered the atmosphere. But why were the fragments falling to earth several weeks apart, and in the same region? No one knows where the metal sheet that Kul Timilsina recovered is now. It was definitely packed in a crate and taken to the US, and although it is rumoured that it was returned that is not very likely. Archivist Sunil Ulak heard from the Timilsina family that CIA officials had returned to the site five years ago. &nbsp; Interest in UFOs peaked in the US in the 1950s, with the Cold War space race and tests of atomic weapons and delivery rockets. CIA and scientists were being sent to investigate sightings, both publicly and privately. Could the Pokhara fragments as well as the sightings in Ladakh and Bhutan actually be alien craft falling to earth? The renewal in interest in space travel in large part due to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, UFOs and sightings are again subjects of public interest.&nbsp; Even 57 years later, even if there was definitive proof about whether the Batlechaur fragment was from a Chinese missile or a soviet rocket, it has not been made public in documents declassified so far. We may never know.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071216_b6938795f40731e7657fd6dcbb3cf460a326186a15eb11d4f832f602201ff598.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20241207071216_b6938795f40731e7657fd6dcbb3cf460a326186a15eb11d4f832f602201ff598" data-rendition-name="original" width="642" height="320" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> </figure>  Sunil Ulak speculates if the debris actually came from an American aircraft, perhaps on an intel mission upon China. “Which could explain why they were so thorough in collecting the fragments in Pokhara,” he says. But that still does not explain the multiple sightings weeks apart in 1968.&nbsp; Indeed, US military aircraft were at that time flying frequent night-time missions from air force bases in India to supply weapons to Khampa guerrilla camps in Nepal located north of Pokhara in Mustang. It could very well be that the Chinese shot down one such aircraft. The other sightings could have been contrails of US spy planes, or Chinese anti-aircraft missiles.&nbsp; There were quite a few developments regarding UFOs in 2024. In a US congressional hearing in July, former intelligence officer David Grusch claimed that the government had long been involved in a program to investigate and retrieve non-human craft crashes, and then try to reverse engineer them. However Grusch did not show any evidence.&nbsp; The UAP Disclosure Act of 2024 was signed into law by Joe Biden in December 2023. It plans to oversee the public disclosure of UFO information. However, there is a clause in it that prevents disclosure if it would cause threats to military defense, intelligence operations or foreign relations.&nbsp; It is unlikely that the declassified documents about sightings in the Himalayan will cause any real surprise about definite evidence of alien life even if it was found. It seems humanity will continue, at least for now, to wonder about curious lights in the sky and whether there is anybody out there.&nbsp;

UFO over Pokhara

When Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) president Rabi Lamichhane was arrested in October on charges of defrauding depositors of cooperatives, the party’s vice president Swarnim Wagle gifted him Fareed Zakaria’s book, Age of Revolutions.
Since then, Lamichhane has been shunted around from Kathmandu to Pokhara to Chitwan and back to Pokhara to attend police investigations and court proceedings. He was being flown to Birganj via Kathmandu on Buddha Air on Monday. There is another pending case in Janakpur.
Human rights groups and civil society have criticised the government for hounding Lamichhane with inhumane treatment that borders on physical torture. The two parties in the coalition, Nepali Congress (NC) and the UML, see Lamichhane’s RSP as a potentially formidable challenge to their power.
Even if the fraud charges against Lamichhane are true, the Nepali public is increasingly looking at the government’s actions through the police and courts as political vendetta.
Despite all the travelling, sometimes by plane and often by road at night, Lamichhane appears to be in high spirits, waving to supporters who often gather if they know he is going to be driven around. A social media video shows him giving high fives to fellow passengers on a recent flight to Pokhara.&nbsp;
In the past weeks, streets in Pokhara have erupted with parallel protests by Lamichhane’s supporters as well as depositors of cooperatives who lost their savings to the scam.&nbsp;
Although family visits are allowed, prison officials in Pokhara told Nepali Times that not many people visit Lamichhane these days. He added, “When he does get visitors, he asks them to bring him books.”
Lamichhane is currently Nepal’s most high-profile public figure in custody, and highlights the stark difference between how influential prisoners are treated compared to ordinary inmates.
There are six prison cells at Kaski District Police Office’s two-story detention centre, three on each floor. And while authorities pack prisoners into already overcrowded cells, Lamichhane has an entire room on the second floor to himself.&nbsp;
He has also been allowed to call his family every few days. Other prisoners are not permitted phone calls except for emergencies.
Meanwhile, Lamichhane’s former business partner Chhabilal Joshi, an ex-Deputy Inspector General of Police with whom he established his Gorkha Media Network, is in custody under the same charges in the prison cell next to him.
Lamichhane is accused of siphoning off depositors' money to the tv network in which he was part-owner and anchor. &nbsp;
Both Lamichhane and Joshi are able to buy food from the police canteen instead of being served the regular meal like other prisoners. Joshi has also given his statement to authorities in Rupandehi and Kathmandu for his alleged role in the scam. Lamichhane is yet to be presented in Kathmandu for questioning.
While he was in custody at the Kathmandu District Police Complex, Joshi expressed his desire to sleep in a police officer’s office, reportedly assuring authorities that he would not run away and he was entitled to certain facilities as a former officer of the law.
“He seemed to be under the impression that he is still a police officer,” says a source at the Kathmandu District Police. “We made it clear to him that as someone accused of a crime, he was not entitled to special treatment.”
Former ministers Balkrishna Khand and Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, and ex-home secretary Tek Narayan Pandey, who were arrested in connection with the fake refugee scam last year, were similarly housed in the offices of law enforcement officials instead of prison cells. Khand has since been released after six months in jail.
While there is no legal provision to keep high-ranking officials in separate detention centres when they are arrested, authorities granting them special facilities is not uncommon. Law enforcement officials say VIP detainees expect preferential treatment while in police custody.
Among those is former Kosi Province minister Lila Ballav Adhikari, who was arrested from Biratnagar on 10 November over his alleged involvement in human trafficking and brought to Kathmandu. Adhikari had flown to Japan without government approval with three individuals on 29 October to attend a cultural conference, but had been sent back to Nepal from Narita.&nbsp;
His three companions were arrested at Kathmandu airport upon their arrival, but Adhikari was able to exit unscathed from the VIP lounge. Adhikari had resigned as the Kosi Province Minister for Internal Affairs and Law when it became public that his companions had been taken into custody, and was himself arrested shortly after. He has since been cleared by the courts.
Throughout his detention, Adhikari was kept separately from other inmates. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Basant Rajouri, head of the Bhadrakali complex, says that while there is no separate detention area for VIPs, some detainees are kept separately depending on the nature of their crime.
However, sources say that arrangements were made for retired judges and others to visit Adhikari frequently worked at the office of a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) during his time in custody.&nbsp;
“He used to constantly pester the authorities to let him sit outside in the sun, and to be able to use the police officer’s shower area,” added an officer.
Adhikari was released on 25 November after the government prosecutor’s office decided not to charge him in a move that was seen to expose the government’s double standards.
Over at Kathmandu’s Dilli Bazar Prison, former Kist Bank CEO Kamal Gyawali emerges from his prison cell into the courtyard of the prison’s ‘Ka (क)’ block every morning with a thick book in his hands, ready to give his daily sermon.
With his long beard, Gyawali, who is serving a prison sentence for banking fraud, looks the part of a religious guru as he implores his rapt listeners to “walk the right path, abandon bad thoughts and turn to scripture and spirituality”.&nbsp;
Afterward, the attendees gather to discuss politics and current affairs. Inmates at his daily sermons at the prison include other high-profile detainees, including former MP Ichchha Raj Tamang, who is in jail for money laundering and cooperatives fraud, former joint secretary Chudamani Sharma, who was convicted of corruption, as well as NC leader Chandra Bahadur Lama and Krishna Bahadur Upreti of the UML both of whom are on trial for embezzling billions of rupees.
Victims of the cooperatives scam that former lawmaker Tamang was involved in have made trips to the prison and requested visits, but he has refused to meet with any of them.
“Tamang often complains that the state has prevented him from returning the money to the victims by locking him up,” says a police officer at the Dili Bazar jail.
“All you hear every day from the VIP prisoners is that they have been framed,” adds the officer. “No one admits that they were involved in misdeeds.”
But while most high-profile prisoners complain about prison conditions, one exception is former provincial lawmaker Deepak Manange, who is serving a sentence at Dilli Bazar Jail for attempted murder.
“He is the happiest prisoner here,” says a warden. “Unlike the others, he doesn’t claim to have been framed, in fact he doesn’t seem to care that he is in prison.”
Manange is detained in the ‘Kha (ख)’ block of the prison complex, which he renovated at his own expense. The block previously housed female prisoners, but Manange used his influence to transfer them elsewhere. He faces no shortage of visitors, who range from political leaders to people from the underworld.
Along with Manange, other well-known prisoners in this block include Nepal Telecom Managing Director Sunil Poudel, and former executive director of the Surakshan Printing Centre Bikal Poudel, who are serving time for corruption.
Former prisoners at Dilli Bazar prison include ex-ministers Khum Bahadur Khadka and Shyam Sundar Gupta, NC leader Ganesh Lama, Maoist MP Balkrishna Dhungel, Nagarik Unmukti Party leader Resham Chaudhary, as well as former IGs Ramesh Chand Thakuri, Om Bikram Rana, and Hem Bahadur Gurung.
Section 54 of Nepal’s Prison Act assigns each prison’s internal administration the
responsibility of governing its prisoners, which means the more favourable the jail management is, the more comfortable it is for prisoners.
Dilli Bazar prison has been the prison of choice for many high-ranking prisoners, especially those convicted of white collar crimes, due to its more accommodating administrators. The prison, which has the capacity to house 700 inmates, is also less crowded than other jails.
Anuj Bhattarai, spokesperson of the Department of Prison Management, says that there is no legal classification in Nepal for felons to be assigned prisons based on the nature of their crimes.
“That Dilli Bazar Jail has a higher number of prisoners convicted of crimes like corruption is most likely a coincidence,” says Bhattarai. “There is no provision for influential people to be able to choose where they will be incarcerated.”&nbsp;
Translated by Shristi Karki from the Nepali original published in himalkhabar.com

What Nepal’s VIP prisoners do in jail

If you were raised in Nepal, you must have picked up its unique set of vocabulary: आन्दोलन, चक्का जाम, बन्द, राँके जुलुस, आफ्नो मान्छे, हाम्रो दल, कर्फु and many more words connoting political protest.
We became familiar with the acrid smell of burning tyres, and eyes smarting from tear gas. And yet, everyone speaks of another revolution in the making. Not by desire, but by suffocation.
We heard speeches about नयाँ नेपाल, but the New Nepal never arrived. The governance system changed, but it did not reflect on people’s lives — except for those close to centres of power. The state is still unreachable and is not bothered about <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/matter-of-life-and-debt">victims of loan sharks</a>, cooperative scams and other injustices.
Politicians continue to speak in sound bites, but fail to deliver. They have mastered the game of pointing fingers towards an external enemy and convincing people that they are never at fault. The political narrative is so disconnected from the actual analysis of the problem that suffocation doesn’t go away after every revolution.
No genuine effort has been made to deliver at all, which is why there is a palpable sense of disillusionment in the air forcing us to seek another revolution, even if Nepal may not be able to afford it.
How has the current system successfully held power, even if the public is deeply frustrated? How is it that for three decades we continue to be led by the same faces, who have time and again, proved to us that they may be great politicians but not national leaders?
<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/improving-internet-governance-in-nepal">My experience at the epicentre of politics</a> has led me to identify three cultures that have enabled political parties to keep a tight hold on power: acceptance, silence and dependency.
We accept things the way they are. We use fatalistic phrases like “नेपालमा यस्तै हो” or “नेपालको कानुन दैब जानुन”. While this resilience enables us to rise back up from devastating calamities, it is also a reason for our compliance with the status quo.
Despite so many ‘revolutions’ that have led to significant reforms, these phrases keep getting reinforced, to the point that the upcoming generations have made it their lingo.&nbsp;
This acceptance is not a symbol of law-abiding citizens, but citizens living in fear of those in power, unable to ask the whys and why-nots.
Innovation suffocates in this culture of acceptance of the status quo. This is manifested in remarks like “but we don’t have any laws for this,” or “we don’t have the capacity to implement this”. An innovator or entrepreneur therefore has to spend that energy to become a political lobbyist, often educating and convincing the bureaucracy.&nbsp;
Remember when locally assembled <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/designed-and-made-in-nepal">Yatri motorbikes</a>, despite having willing customers, had to suffer to secure license numbers because of a lack of regulations? Instead of creating new laws, the government kept chanting the “We will promote Nepal-made goods” mantra, leaving entrepreneurs in a labyrinth of bureaucracy. The weight of acceptance of the law lies heavily on innovators. Fatalism is a tactic used by those in power to generate mass fear in society.
When we accept, we become silent. This is a pervasive phenomenon. We are trained to keep quiet, lest we ruffle feathers, burn bridges, or not get the help we need in future. We know, yet we don’t speak.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/bureaucratic-hurdles-in-researching-nepals-bureaucracy">Bureaucratic hurdles in researching Nepal's bureaucracy</a>, Daniel W Edwards
Here is one example: the 2021 census shows that the number of baby boys born for every 100 baby girls is 112. This is a clear indication of female foeticide because of boy preference in society.
Despite such horrifying realities, there is finger-pointing within the government between the Ministry of Health and Population with the Ministry of Home Affairs. At the citizen level, we know those who are involved in killing girls. Yet, we don’t speak up. The Nepal Medical Council reports state that despite this gender imbalance at birth, there is no indication of any action.
But why would anyone speak against one's own fraternity, no matter how vile the act is?
When we accept and keep quiet, we become dependent on those who yield power. From getting our government procedure completed on time to getting transfers, to accessing any of our legally protected rights as well, we are forced to depend on our networks of चिनेको मान्छे people we know by blood, village, relations, political affiliation.
The culture of dependency has been the established way in Nepal. If you drive a two-wheeler or four-wheeler, and you get into a small accident, you will be asked to sort it yourself, dialing up the most powerful person you know. It becomes a competition of who knows who.
Recently I was told that there were calls from the Ministry of Health and Population and another from the Prime Minister's Office for just one medical position in a private hospital. Each was pushing its own candidate. Guess which candidate got the position.&nbsp;
The dependency of people is not on the laws or the state, it is with people in power, a reliance on the network of somebody who knows somebody, including those not officially in power.
These cultures are deeply ingrained in our heads, and in society. Collectively they form a vicious circle that helps those in power to retain power. This is not the society we want to live in.
Then, what do we do as a collective to break away from this? How do we break away from the cultures of acceptance and silence that have created this dependency? What can we do to ensure that our children do not have to learn the jargon of आन्दोलन before they learn about the state?
These are the cultures political parties need to shed rather than use them to perpetuate their power. This is what <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/an-alternative-to-alternative-politics-in-nepal">alternative politics</a> needs to be about.
Sumana Shrestha is a member of Parliament’s Education, Health and Information Technology parliamentary committee and represents the Rastriya Swatantara Party.

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