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Nepal's leader vows to bring journalist's murderers to justice
Bloomberg - January 16, 2009
Michael Heath – Nepal's Prime Minister Puspa Kamal Dahal vowed to catch the people responsible for hacking to death a female journalist this week and denied members of his Maoist party were responsible for the murder.
Dahal told a team from the Federation of Nepalese Journalists yesterday that he was "shocked and speechless" when he heard about the killing of 26-year-old Uma Singh.
"As far as I have understood, Maoist cadres are not involved," Dahal said, pledging they would be punished if he turned out to be wrong, according to comments posted on the federation's Web site.
Singh's murder came a month after Maoist activists stormed the headquarters of a Kathmandu publishing house, assaulting journalists and vandalizing offices in response to critical articles.
In October, the Terai Times newspaper was raided after it published an article suggesting the Young Communist League, the youth wing of the Maoists, was providing protection to prostitutes, according to the United Nations.
Dahal blamed the publishing house attack on "agents" who infiltrated the party to try to discredit it, Nepalnews.com reported at the time. He ordered a probe of that incident.
The Maoists waged a decade-long insurgency in Nepal until a 2006 peace accord and went on to win most seats in general elections last April. Dahal's new government is battling food shortages and a power crisis that has left people without electricity for as much as 16 hours a day.
Scandinavia visit canceled
The prime minister, who also goes by the nom de guerre Prachanda, canceled a planned visit to Finland and Norway to deal with the crises at home. "I didn't feel it is the time to go on a long foreign trip at a time when the country is facing so many problems," Nepalnews.com cited him as saying.
Nepal's Cabinet agreed last month to look into building new power plants to cope with the electricity shortfall in the Himalayan nation, Nepalnews.com reported at the time. Water levels in mountain rivers have dropped, reducing the capacity of the nation's hydroelectric plants, it said.
Singh's murder prompted nationwide protests by journalists demanding a proper investigation into the killing and better security for reporters, Nepalnews.com reported.
Cabinet yesterday declared Singh a "journalist martyr" and pledged 1 million rupees ($12,800) in compensation to her family, according to the report.
Singh, a reporter on women's issues for Radio Today FM in southern Nepal, was attacked in her home on Jan. 11 by men wielding traditional curved knives, known as khukhuris.
Nepal is among the world's 50 least-developed nations, according to the UN, and about a third of its 26.4 million people live below the poverty line.
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