Nepal editors say Maoists targeting media freedom

KATHMANDU, Aug 16 (Reuters) A group of leading editors in Nepal have accused Maoists, who are now part of the interim government, of attacking press freedom through a ''sinister pattern of intimidation and threats''.

Ten editors of leading newspapers, magazines and a television station said that Maoist unions, demanding better conditions for workers, had even entered newspaper offices to physically threaten journalists.

Their statement, issued late yesterday, comes days after a Maoist-affiliated labour union obstructed the publication and distribution of the Himalayan Times and the Annapurna Post, leading dailies published in the capital Kathmandu.

''We didn't have such a serious attack on press freedom even during the direct censorship of media after the king's coup in Feb 2005,'' the statement said.

Nepal's King Gyanendra sacked the government in 2005, jailed politicians and gagged the media saying he was acting to crush an anti-monarchy Maoist insurgency.

But weeks of street protests organised by mainstream political parties and supported by the Maoists forced him to end his absolute rule and restore democracy last year.

In November, the Maoists signed a peace deal with the new government and joined a multi-party cabinet ending their decade-long civil war which killed more than 13,000 people.

''We ask that the Maoist leadership ... honour its stated commitment to protect press freedom and not to incite attacks on the media,'' the editors said.

The Maoist labour groups, which have also disrupted the production of other newspapers and a radio station in recent weeks, say they want better pay and service conditions for their workers in the media.

Shalikram Jamakattel, chief of a Maoist labour group, called for better rights for workers and promised the intimidation would end without disturbing the media.

Reuters RJ RS1330