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KATHMANDU : Nepal's government has ordered the closure of a radio programme production centre in the latest crackdown on the media since the king assumed absolute power almost four months ago, the centre said.
"The Ministry of Information and Communications sent a letter to us Friday (telling) us to shut down our centre," said Gopal Guragain, managing director of the Communication Corner which operates with a team of 12 journalists.
The ministry said the centre, which provides programming to 14 of the 50 private FM radio stations across the country, was operating illegally, Guragain said.
King Gyanendra ordered a halt to all radio bulletins, the main business of the Communication Corner, when he dismissed the government and seized power on February 1.
Since then the centre has been producing programming dealing with social issues such as health, community development and religion, according to Guragain, who insisted he would defy the closure order issued by the government, appointed by the king.
"We have done nothing wrong. We have not done anything illegal. We have been working as per the government's directives," he said.
"We will not obey the government's 'close down' order and we will challenge (it) in the supreme court. Unlike the government, we believe in the rule of law. The (order) has made it clear that rule of law has ended in the country.
"We will go to the supreme court on Monday and I am talking to my lawyers now," Guragain said.
It is the first time the government has ordered the closure of a unit of the Nepalese media since the re-establishment of democracy in the country in 1990.
The Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) criticised the government's order against the Communication Corner.
"The order is a well-planned attack against the media. This is a crackdown on the Nepalese media by the government," FNJ secretary Balaram Baniya said. "It is an illegal and undemocratic move."
He said journalists would on Sunday stage a protest in the capital Kathmandu against the closure order. They were expected to be joined by hundreds of radio journalists who have lost their jobs since the ban on FM radio stations broadcasting news bulletins came into effect.
The FNJ said this month that at least six journalists remained in detention following the royal coup and noted that several newspapers had been shut down by the authorities or had closed due to financial problems.
It said more than 2,000 reporters had lost their jobs since the royal crackdown.
The king repeated in a televised address late Friday that the royal takeover had been necessary to end an increasingly bloody Maoist revolt. The Maoist rebels have been fighting to overthrow the monarchy in Nepal since 1996 in a conflict that has claimed more than 11,000 lives. - AFP/de
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