IFJ and its affiliates, the All-India Newspaper Employees’ Federation and the National Union of Journalists (India) – have expressed concern over the reported measure by Indian customs authorities to delay a 1000-tonne newsprint shipment bound for Nepal.
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.
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.
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.
IFJ Asia-Pacific Director Jacqueline 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”.
