Nepal tightens noose on media

In an announcement on Sunday, the government once again banned FM radio stations from broadcasting news, stating that anyone translating, publishing or importing banned news items would face a fine of up to 500,000 Nepali rupees.

The new ordinance prohibits the media from criticising not only the King but his relatives as well.

Opposition Nepali Congress (Democratic) party spokesman Minendra Rijal said the fresh media curbs announced by the Government the same day as the poll dates were fixed revealed the hollowness of the proposed elections.

"The Government says it is holding elections to give freedom back to the people, but on the other hand, it has moved to further clip the wings of the press," he said.

Meanwhile, Nepal's royal government set a date Sunday for municipal elections, a tentative step toward restoring democracy in the Himalayan kingdom whose king seized absolute power earlier this year.

The Elections Commission said the vote would be held Feb. 8, 2006, despite opposition threats to boycott the poll and an escalating communist insurgency.

The announcement Sunday comes at a time when most of the major political parties have been organising street protests against King Gyanendra's power grab.

The parties have already pledged to boycott any elections held under the king's rule. The Maoist rebels were also likely to oppose the move.

"We are not going to take part in the elections conducted by the autocratic regime and we have already decided to boycott it," said Madhav Kumar Nepal, general secretary of Communist Party of Nepal.