Maoists vandalise press of Nepal's largest selling newspaper

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Trade union workers affiliated to Nepal's former Maoist guerrilla movement vandalised and damaged the press belonging to Nepal's largest circulating newspaper, disrupting circulation for the second time since Friday, newspaper said Monday.

The attack on the printing press at Kantipur Publications by members of the Maoist affiliated All Nepal came after a day of tensions at the newspaper office in the capital Kathmandu.

"The Maoist trade union members damaged the console of the printer control of the press," Kantipur Television reported. "It will take at least three days to get the press running and start publishing newspapers again," the television quoted an employee as saying.

As a result of the damage, the media house's hugely popular newspapers Kantipur and the English-language daily The Kathmandu Post failed to hit the stands for the second time in less than a week.

The newspapers, which are published simultaneously from two other places in southern and eastern Nepal, did come out, officials at the newspapers said.

On Sunday night, tensions came to a boil when the Maoist trade union members tried burn newspapers and tyres inside the newspapers' office premises.

"As they attempted to start a fire and burn tyres in the premises compound, journalists stopped them, to prevent the parked vehicles and motorcycles catching fire," the newspapers' website said. "There was a scuffle between journalists and union workers."

Police arrested at least four people involved in the arson attempt.

Meanwhile, a group of editors representing Nepal's major newspapers and television stations condemned the incident, describing it as a blatant attempt to restrict the workings of the free press.

"We haven't seen such a serious attack on press freedom even during the direct censorship of media after the king's coup in February 2005," the group said. The Maoist trade union is demanding among other things a raise in salary and benefits and permanent status for lower level workers whom it says are being exploited.

However, Kantipur Publications says it had reached agreement with the union earlier this month but the Maoists refused to sign the agreement and put forward more demands.

The Maoist action is the latest in a series of moves against major newspapers in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu.

Earlier this year, two broadsheet dailies - Himalayan Times and Nepal Samacharpatra - were forced to shut down for several days after the Maoists prevented the newspapers from being printed.

Maoist-aligned trade unions have mushroomed in many industries and publication houses in Nepal since the Maoists joined the mainstream following the signing a peace accord with the government in November last year. dpa kr jh