Nepal has not had an easy recent history. The war between the Maoist Communist Party and government forces lasted ten years, from 1996 until 2006, when Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and Maoist leader Prachanda signed a deal allowing the Maoists to take part in the Nepalese government. Though the war has ended, violence and intimidation against journalists has continued.

In the month of June, 16 Nepalese journalists and media organisations were attacked, 21 were threatened, and one journalist, Hridayaraj Gautam, was abducted. July was not much better: there were five incidents of violence during the first week alone.

On 3 July Krishna Dhungana, a correspondent for daily newspaper Naya Patrika was threatened by a source in a courtroom. On the same day Bibhusanraj Shakaya, a photojournalist, was attacked by cab drivers outside a petrol station for taking a photograph of a fight between drivers, the police and two editors of weekly publication Samyantra.

On 4 July, Ramhari Pandey of Naya Patrika was attacked by a group of unidentified people who beat him and looted his mobile phone and wallet; and Roshan Karki, a correspondent of Nepal One Television was threatened over the telephone following his reporting on the smuggling of red sandalwood.

On 5 July, Bhojraj Bassnet and Ambika Bhandari were attacked and threatened by two police officers, apparently because of their coverage of police personnel accepting bribes.

The Federation of Nepalese Journalists, which represents 5,000 members throughout the country, has condemned the attacks, saying ‘no one can force the journalists to write news as per their interest’.

Is there any hope of this freedom becoming a reality for Nepal’s reporters? Index asked journalist and blogger Dinesh Wagle how he sees the situation.

Index on Censorship: Has Nepal changed after the signing of the peace agreement in November 2006?

Dinesh Wagle: After the conflict was officially over with the signing of the peace agreement between the Maoist and the government, many of us had thought that the days of killings and torture were gone. Journalists were receiving threats and facing problems from both the Maoists and the royal government when the king took over in Feb 2005.

Even after the peace agreement the intimidation and harassment continued in new form. During the violence that erupted in southern Nepal (the plains) last year, many journalists with origins in the hill regions working in that area were physically attacked, and many were forced to leave.

IoC: Do you think violent attacks against journalists will continue in Nepal?

DW: I think [violent attacks against journalists] will continue in the years to come. Why? Well, no one is satisfied with an independent report and they will try to express their anger verbally before cooling down and sending a letter to the editor. I think those should be considered as professional hazards. Especially in a society like ours, where media culture is at a primitive stage. Here people do go to radio stations if a father scolds his son!

IoC: Do the attacks on journalists promote a generally negative feeling among the media community? Is there hope for the future of journalism in Nepal?

DW: On the positive side, our media is expanding rapidly and it’s becoming a professional and reliable career. Two television stations, news channels, have started their service – one’s going live in an inauguration program some 500 metres away from where I am at the moment. Many people are sceptical about their success as they don’t see a viable market for additional TV stations that’s already crowded by, hmm, five stations!

But then the job of worrying about the returns belongs to the investors, and as long as they are confident, we the journalists have nothing to complain about. The more media outlets, the more opportunities for reporters. The more competition among media houses, the better payment and facilities for us.

My point is: It’s far better for journalists today. But it could be even better if the Maoists behaved in a more democratic manner. May be they are still learning the democratic process – they were Maoist rebels until recently. So there is reason to be hopeful.