Maoist union continues to disrupt newspaper distribution
By Leah McBride Mensching, Wednesday 25 July 2007 at 22:09 :: Press Freedom & Laws :: #316 :: rss
A radical trade union reportedly affiliated with Nepal's Maoist party has continued to disrupt newspaper distribution for the seventh day in a row Wednesday morning.
Delivery boys belonging to the union tried to forcibly stop printers loading newspapers onto trucks for delivery, and when trucks were able to leave under police escort, workers threw stones and threatened the drivers. The newspapers being disrupted are the English language daily The Himalayan Times and its sister paper The Annapurna Post.
The union, called All Nepal Communication, Printing and Publication Workers Union, is believed to be linked to the Maoist party. Union members say they want to be employed directly by the newspapers instead of by distribution companies that handle deliveries. Critics say Maoists are planning to put their unions in a position to easily disrupt the distribution of influential newspapers.
“They are kind of playing games, you know. And it also ... gives me a clear indication of what I can expect when they actually win the elections and be the elected government,” said Ram Pradan, editor of The Himalayan Times. “I think they will be tougher.”
Maoist Minister of Information, Krishna Bahadur Mahara, denies his party is linked to the newspaper delivery union, and told VOA News the dispute is not over press freedom, but rather is an issue between workers and management.
The current dispute indicates the tensions between Nepalese society and the Maoists, since the former rebels joined an interim government earlier this year and ended a 10-year civil war.
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