APFA concerns

Press Statement

Date: January 29, 2009: Association of Press Freedom Activists (APFA) Bhutan is concerned by the increasing number of incidences in Bhutan hindering operation of free press even after the formation of a ‘democratic’ government.

Within a month of fining Bhutan Broadcasting Service Corporation (BBSC) on allegations of televising a discussion on taxi fare, Bhutan InfoCom and Media Authority (BICMA) has interrogated the journalists from Kuensel newspapers.

Kuensel journalists were summoned by the regulatory body for interrogation on charges of writing against the government interference into BBSC. The Kuensel had published an opinion piece entitled ‘The Right to Expression’ protesting the government intention of controlling the media.

BICMA officials during interrogation accused Kuensel journalists of nursing a personal agenda against it, of willfully distorting the truth as BICMA saw it, of trying to pull it down. It then sent warning letters to the media- defending its authority in which it claimed, “The penalty on the BBS was imposed as the form and manner of the panel discussion in question breached the Code of Ethics for Journalists.”

The act is intimidation upon press freedom and it clearly shows the government body is in mission to silence the media against the mandate it is given to promote free press. The authority still operates in style that used to be under absolute regime.

“The ability of media and journalists to work without fear of intimidation is a reliable indicator of a democracy’s health. That is why BICMA’s enforcement of fine on the Bhutan Broadcasting Service (BBS) was worrisome. BICMA infringed on the right to expression and free press. That is why Kuensel wrote about the issue,” Kuensel reporter Kencho Wangdi said.

As a government regulatory body, BICMA cannot prescribe bounds for press, ethics for journalists and guidelines for content generation for the media or instruct journalists how a panel discussion ought to be held.

I. P. Adhikari
President
Association of Press Freedom Activists (APFA) Bhutan
Email: editor@apfanews.com
URL: www.apfanews.com

Journalist Shantiram Acharya arrested, sentenced to seven and a half years in prison

Country/Topic: Bhutan
Date: 27 January 2009
Source: Center for Human Rights and Democratic Studies (CEHURDES)
Person(s): Shantiram Acharya
Target(s): journalist(s)
Type(s) of violation(s): arrested , imprisoned
Urgency: Flash
(CEHURDES/IFEX) - The Center for Human Rights and Democratic Studies (CEHURDES) condemns the imprisonment of Shantiram Acharya, a young Bhutani journalist, by the Bhutanese authorities.

According to the Association of Press Freedom Activists (APFA) Bhutan, an exiled Bhutanese media group based in Kathmandu, Acharya, a Bhutanese of Nepali origin who was living in the refugee camps in eastern Nepal, was arrested in 2007 when he visited Bhutan to meet his relatives. Acharya was kept in secret detention for almost two months and tortured by police to extract a confession, APFA said. Bhutanese police have claimed that he was arrested for taking photographs of an outpost of the Royal Bhutan Army. According to APFA, Acharya was convicted because he could not hire an attorney to defend him since Bhutan does not have any independent attorneys. Moreover, he had no money since he appeared in court without the knowledge of his family members.

BBC World Service recently quoted an unnamed Bhutanese official confirming that Acharya, 20, has been sentenced to seven and a half years in prison "for involving in terrorist activities" by the Royal Government of Bhutan.

Acharya used to work for the "Bhutan Reporter," a monthly newspaper published by a group of Bhutanese refugees living in Nepal. He has been sentenced by Bhutan's high court for alleged involvement in subversive activities against the Druk regime, including participating in military training in Nepal conducted by the Communist Party of Bhutan (Marxist Leninist Maoist), an armed underground organisation that is banned in Bhutan and believed to be operating from Nepal and India to end Bhutan's hereditary monarchy.

The verdict was issued despite the fact that the Communist Party of Bhutan (Marxist Leninist Maoist) has made a public statement saying that Acharya has never been a member of the party, nor has he had any links with the organisation.

According to APFA, Acharya was on a personal visit to Bhutan but was expected to report on the prison-like situation within the country in which the majority of the people live. CEHURDES believes that Acharya has been targeted and arrested because of his profession and that the Bhutan government's harsh judgment against him is part of the Druk regime's ongoing efforts to suppress freedom of expression within the country. At a time when the Bhutanese authorities are known for lavishly hosting foreign media and reporters who are willing to buy their story of Shangri-la and Gross National Happiness, the imprisonment of Acharya makes it obvious, that the regime wants to discourage other Bhutanese journalists, now living in exile in Nepal and elsewhere, from venturing into their country of birth to gather firsthand knowledge of the situation on the ground.

The South Asia Human Rights Index 2008, published by the New Delhi-based Asian Center for Human Rights (ACHR), expressly says there is no political freedom in the Himalayan kingdom and Bhutan essentially remains a repressive regime. "Bhutan does not have an independent judiciary. . . Even bureaucrats were appointed as judges of the Apex Court," the Center said. (For details, see Click Here )

Against this backdrop, CEHURDES strongly condemns the imprisonment of Acharya without a free legal trial and without recourse to independent legal counsel. International rights groups say Bhutan does not have an independent judiciary and recent elections for the legislature were a farce, with the king enjoying absolute control over all branches of the state.

CEHURDES calls upon the Royal Government of Bhutan to open the case for review and let the 20-year-old hire an independent attorney. The organisation also demands that the jailed journalist's whereabouts be made public.

Some 100,000 Bhutanese of Nepali origin have been languishing in UN-maintained refugee camps in eastern Nepal for nearly two decades since they were allegedly evicted from Bhutan by the Drukpa authorities. They have been launching a peaceful movement and have been lobbying with the international community to pressure Bhutan to take its bona fide citizens back home. CEHURDES also calls upon the Bhutan government to respect the fundamental rights of its citizens and allow freedom of movement and assembly to its citizens, as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
Source: IFEX