Nepal-1 TV Journalists' protest linked with 'nationality': Minister

Kathmandu, Sep 1 (UNI) Nepal's Minister for Information and Communication Krishna Bahadur Mahara has said the protests staged by Nepal-1 TV network journalists is not only linked with their professional rights but also ''nationality''.

''The protests by the journalists and staffers of the Indian television channel to apply pressure on its management to implement an agreement the two sides reached last year is being closely watched by the government,'' Nepalnews today quoted Mr Mahara as saying.

Nepal-1 Television journalists have been protesting demanding the implementation of the agreement signed with its management last year.

Mr Mahara, who is also the government spokesman, said Nepal has already taken steps to ascertain the legal status of the television channel which is aired from New Delhi, along the rights of 'working journalists".

''The prime concern is to bring Nepal-1 TV into the legal sphere of the country first, and once that is done, other things would be dealt with accordingly,'' he said.

Mr Mahara said since Nepal-1 is an Indian television channel, he would talk with Indian ambassador Shiva Shankar Mukherjee on the matter.

The Minister said if Nepal-1 management refuses to comply with the government's request to abide by Nepal's legal framework then it would be compelled to ban the television in the country.

Before holding a meeting with Minister Mahara, the Nepal-1 journalists had staged a sit-in in front of the ministry.

Expressing solidarity to the protest of the journalists, cable televisions across Nepal have already stopped relaying Nepal-1 TV since yesterday, the news portal said.

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