Fresh Curfew in Nepal, Journalists Charged With TreasonAnother curfew was imposed on the Nepalese capital as the authorities arrested three prominent journalists and charged them with "treason" against the monarchy.The nightime curfew, which appeared to be a precautionary measure following a calm day in Kathmandu, also came as the first eyewitness accounts emerged of last week's royal family massacre, describing the gruesome toll exacted in a machine-gun attack by the slain King Birendra's son. The curfew -- the third in three days -- was imposed from 9:00 pm (1515 GMT) until 3:00 pm Thursday. Earlier in the day, Yuvraj Gimre, the editor of the leading Nepali-language Kantipur Daily, was arrested together with the newspaper's managing director and publisher. "All three are in detention and have been charged with treason against the monarchy," the newspaper's news coordinator Ameed Dhakal told AFP. The charges related to an article written by underground rebel leader Baburam Bhattarai and published in the paper's opinion page. The article stated that the rebels, who have been waging a "people's war" against the democratically-elected government since 1996, would never accept King Gyanendra, who was crowned on Monday, as the country's monarch. Prior to the arrests, Minister for Communication, Press and Information Shiva Raj Johi had warned the domestic media against publishing "any propaganda which could be misleading and cause riots." |
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