During August 2-3 Nepal visit of the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, many media, especially private ones were not allowed to enter the programs for reporting, photographing and visualizing. freedom1 Forum shows grave concern over government's discrimination towards the private media. Not allowing media persons in the meeting/programs attended by the foreign dignitary is suppressing media and depriving people of their right to information. It is also against journalists' right to free reporting. Such practice does not suit the democratic culture. So, the FF urges the government to be aware of people's rights to information and journalists' rights should it abides by the democratic norms of free flow of information.
Freedom Forum is a prominent non-governmental organization in Nepal dedicated to institutionalizing democracy, protecting and promoting human rights, press freedom, freedom of expression, right to information, promoting audit accountability, open and accountable budget, public finance reforms, citizen engagement in public finance management and citizen participation in audit. Established in February 2005, the organization emerged in response to the political turmoil following Former King Gyanendra’s coup dated February 1, 2005, which imposed severe restrictions on media and democratic rights. A group of media professionals, legal experts, and academics founded Freedom Forum to safeguard Nepal’s hard-earned democratic freedoms during this repressive period.
