Nepal Republic Media has issued a press release stating that Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba threatened its director, Shova Gyawali.
According to the press release, Foreign Minister Rana phoned and threatened Director Gyawali over the news published in Nagarik and Republica dailies regarding the issuance of an arrest warrant for journalist Dil Bhusan Pathak.
Nepal Republic Media has expressed deep regret over this threat.
"Foreign Minister Rana’s statements were completely against press freedom and freedom of expression and filled with threats to intimidate the independent press," Nepal Republic Media said in its press release issued on Friday.
The press release further mentions that Minister Rana called Director Gyawali on Thursday at 1:53 p.m. via her personal assistant Kamal Rawal’s WhatsApp and issued threats to suppress the media and its operators.
Gyawali, who is also the president of the Federation of Woman Entrepreneurs' Associations of Nepal (FWEAN), was on her way to her office in Bishalnagar when Foreign Minister Rana spoke to her for about four minutes on the phone. During the conversation, Rana used threatening language, according to Nepal Republic Media.
"News was published in Nagarik and Republica about the arrest warrant issued by the Kathmandu District Court based on a complaint filed by Jaybir Deuba, son of Foreign Minister Rana and former prime minister and Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, alleging that journalist Pathak had dragged them in a news report related to Hilton Hotel’s shares. Additionally, Republica had published an editorial titled 'Press Council Nepal, FNJ Must Act to Restore Media-Judiciary Trust.' It’s clear that Minister Rana’s outrage was directed at these news materials," the press release stated.
Foreign Minister Rana continued her aggressive attack even as Director Gyawali politely said that she had not yet read the news materials and the editorial and would share her opinion after reading them, the press release said. Foreign Minister Rana also claimed that action had been initiated against journalist Pathak through the Cyber Bureau of Nepal Police as his YouTube channel was not registered with the Press Council Nepal, it added.
"Rana’s statements were entirely against press freedom and freedom of expression and amounted to threats aimed at intimidating the independent press," the press release noted.
Nepal Republic Media said that the aggressive remarks made by a foreign minister against an emerging woman entrepreneur not only had a severe emotional impact but also undermined trust in the government’s commitment to press freedom and freedom of expression.
"Nepal Republic Media believes that the exercise of press and freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution must be entirely factual. We demand an impartial investigation into Minister Rana’s behavior to ensure such incidents do not recur in the future. Furthermore, we call for an end to the arrogance displayed by state authorities against press freedom and freedom of expression," the press release stated.
