The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has condemned the incidents in which unidentified vehicles were suspiciously parked outside the offices of various media organizations.
In a statement issued by General Secretary Bipin Acharya, the party urged the country's security agencies to conduct a prompt investigation into the incidents and uncover the truth.
"The Rastriya Swatantra Party condemns these and any other actions intended to intimidate the press sector," the statement said. "We call on the Government of Nepal, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the security agencies concerned to immediately conduct an impartial and fact-based investigation into these incidents, ensure the physical and psychological safety of all media organizations, and identify and take legal action against whoever is involved in these suspicious activities."
The statement said that such suspicious and mysterious activities, intended to exert psychological pressure or attack the environment in which the mass media – established as the fourth pillar of the state – and media personnel work fearlessly, are a blatant violation of democratic values and principles.
"As a democratic, responsible political party that believes in the rule of law, the RSP has always stood firmly in support of full press freedom, citizens' fundamental right to be informed, and independent journalism," the statement said. "We wish to clarify that undesirable activities of any tendency that seek to create an atmosphere of fear in media houses and restrict the role of the fourth estate by violating the freedom of information and communication under any pretext are not acceptable to the Rastriya Swatantra Party at all."
The RSP also appealed to media organizations to continue performing their professional duty of fact-based journalism without yielding to any pressure or intimidation. Furthermore, the statement reaffirmed the party’s commitment to always stand for the security of media personnel and media houses, as well as for full press freedom.
