KATHMANDU: Seven major parliamentary parties in Nepal have called for a 24 hour countrywide shutdown on Friday to protest a fresh move by King Gyanendra's government to close down the biggest private radio station in the country.
The seven parties, who formed a coalition to unitedly oppose the monarch's power grab in February, have also asked members of civil society to join them in a human chain around the office of Kantipur FM station on Thursday to prevent a possible effort by the government to close it down.
The agitating parties include the Nepali Congress, the country's oldest and largest, Nepali Congress of deposed and jailed prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and the four left parties.
The Central Mass Movement Coordination Committee of the coalition, formed after the royal coup to spearhead a public movement against it, held an emergency meeting on Wednesday evening after the government dealt a fresh blow to Kantipur FM.
The ministry of information and communication sent a letter to the broadcaster on Wednesday, giving it 24 hours to explain why it had not stopped airing news programmes or face the withdrawal of its licence.
The broadcaster, owned by Kantipur, the largest media house in the kingdom, fell foul of the royalist government after February for its opposition to it and defiance of a controversial media ordinance imposed by Gyanendra this month that imposes stringent curbs on the media.
Armed policemen raided Kantipur FM at midnight earlier this month, seizing its broadcasting equipment and preventing its programmes from being aired outside Kathmandu valley.
The US government issued a statement from Washington, condemning the raid and expressing doubts about the fairness of the civic polls to be held on Feb 8 next year in view of the absence of a free media.
The new media decree bans FM stations from broadcasting news, from airing programmes simultaneously from more than two places and any criticism of the king and the royal family.
However, Kantipur FM has challenged the decree in court, saying it violates the freedom of expression guaranteed by Nepal's constitution.
The shutdown called by the opposition comes after a long absence of such disruptions and a lull in violence following a three month unilateral ceasefire called by the Maoist insurgents from Sep 3.
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The seven parties, who formed a coalition to unitedly oppose the monarch's power grab in February, have also asked members of civil society to join them in a human chain around the office of Kantipur FM station on Thursday to prevent a possible effort by the government to close it down.
The agitating parties include the Nepali Congress, the country's oldest and largest, Nepali Congress of deposed and jailed prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and the four left parties.
The Central Mass Movement Coordination Committee of the coalition, formed after the royal coup to spearhead a public movement against it, held an emergency meeting on Wednesday evening after the government dealt a fresh blow to Kantipur FM.
The ministry of information and communication sent a letter to the broadcaster on Wednesday, giving it 24 hours to explain why it had not stopped airing news programmes or face the withdrawal of its licence.
The broadcaster, owned by Kantipur, the largest media house in the kingdom, fell foul of the royalist government after February for its opposition to it and defiance of a controversial media ordinance imposed by Gyanendra this month that imposes stringent curbs on the media.
Armed policemen raided Kantipur FM at midnight earlier this month, seizing its broadcasting equipment and preventing its programmes from being aired outside Kathmandu valley.
The US government issued a statement from Washington, condemning the raid and expressing doubts about the fairness of the civic polls to be held on Feb 8 next year in view of the absence of a free media.
The new media decree bans FM stations from broadcasting news, from airing programmes simultaneously from more than two places and any criticism of the king and the royal family.
However, Kantipur FM has challenged the decree in court, saying it violates the freedom of expression guaranteed by Nepal's constitution.
The shutdown called by the opposition comes after a long absence of such disruptions and a lull in violence following a three month unilateral ceasefire called by the Maoist insurgents from Sep 3.
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