Naya Nepal Naya Blog

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has expressed concern over the measure taken by Indian customs authorities to delay a 1,000 metric tonnes newsprint shipment bound for Nepal.

It said it joins its affiliates - the All-India Newspaper Employees' Federation and the National Union of Journalists (India) - in expressing concern over the incident.

"We urge the Indian authorities to clear the air in this matter and allow unimpeded passage for this commodity," IFJ Asia-Pacific Director Jacqueline Park said.

"We are alarmed by reports that the Kantipur group, which publishes the largest circulated dailies in both English and Nepali, may have to suspend operations if the shipment is further delayed," Park said. "We see it as very important that the media in Nepal should be allowed to function in an environment free of internal and external pressures, given the delicate political transition under way in the country".

The newsprint, which was imported by the Kantipur group, Nepal's largest print media organisation, has been held up in India's Kolkata port since May 27, reportedly for customs inspection.

Sources in India's Ministry of External Affairs have been quoted in the media saying that they have been unhappy with certain aspects of the Kantipur group's editorial stance. Top officials from the Indian embassy in Nepal have, however, denied that this has had any bearing on the customs authorities' decision.

The customs inspection in Kolkata is, in the words of the Indian embassy in Nepal, a "routine administrative measure" that transit consignments are occasionally put through.

Under a trade-and-transit treaty between the two countries, sealed consignments bound for landlocked Nepal can pass through Indian territory unimpeded by customs formalities, unless there are grounds to suspect contraband traffic.