Chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) – Maoist – has emphasized on the need to reconsider media mindset to suit to the people’s aspirations of vast changes in the country. He was addressing the inaugural ceremony organized by Radio Mirmire 89.4 MHz on 6 April in Kathmandu. He urged Nepal’s media professionals to motivate themselves against the existing status-quoism and engage in empowering people with progressive agenda-setting.
After having commenced the official broadcasting of Radio Mirmire 89.4 MHz, Chairman Prachanda not only highly appreciated the encouraging role of the mass media during people’s democratic movement against autocracy but also complained that some big media houses were engaged in war-provoking propaganda. He did not name which big media they were. However, he further said, “The mass media can play a historical role in establishing a new national unity during this peaceful period.
” Regarding press freedom, Prachanda reiterated his usual remarks that the mass media must be under people’s control, not under state control. He said that his party CPN (Maoist) was in favor of liberating the mass media from state control so as to bring them under public ownership.
Chairman Prachanda further stated that superpowers were frightened with the Maoists’ adjacency to power because this “would influence not only South Asian politics but also global political trends.” Prachanda was of the view that superpowers were exercising to prevent Nepal’s Maoists from gong to power. He requested the Nepali media to evaluate their own mindset to suit to the changed circumstances of the country.
At the inaugural ceremony, Managing Director of Radio Mirmire 89.4 MHz Bishnu Sapkota categorically said that Nepal lacked genuine press freedom. “There is no press freedom in Nepal. Nepal’s press freedom is in the hands of a few media owners,” he said. According to Sapkota, Nepal’s media have not generally been able to disseminate information on new agenda in a people-oriented manner. He claimed that Radio Mirmire 89.4 MHz would be quite different in the sense that it would really broadcast the voice of the voiceless, representing the suffering masses.
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