Offices of Kantipur Media Group (KMG), Nepal's largest private media organisation, were set ablaze by rioters (Photo: RSF)
At least a dozen news outlets and three major media organisations came under attack during the riots that engulfed Kathmandu and several other regions of Nepal on September 9, leaving the media sector facing widespread devastation.
In a press statement, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), an international non-governmental organisation, says that in Kathmandu’s Thapathali neighbourhood, the offices of Kantipur Media Group (KMG), the country’s largest private media organisation, were set ablaze by rioters.
The statement adds that meanwhile, the complex housing Public Service Broadcasting Nepal (PSBN), which operates state-owned Radio Nepal and Nepal Television, was vandalised within the Singha Durbar premises, the official seat of the Nepalese government.
According to the statement, the violence against the media followed a bloody crackdown a day earlier, when mass protests led by young Nepalese citizens were dispersed by security forces. At least 19 protesters were killed during the clashes. The demonstrators had taken to the streets to denounce government corruption and to oppose the suspension of 26 social media platforms, which authorities claimed had failed to comply with new registration directives.
Moreover, journalists covering the events were also directly targeted. Reporters from Kantipur TV, Naya Patrika and Nepalpress, as well as a freelance journalist, sustained injuries after being struck by rubber bullets fired by the police. Media rights groups have condemned the attacks, warning of a grave threat to freedom of expression and press independence in Nepal.