Nepal radio closure ruled illegal

By Charles Haviland
BBC correspondent, Kathmandu

FM radio reaches more Nepalis than any other media

Nepal's Supreme Court has overturned a government order to close a radio production company serving community stations around the country.

The court said the letter ordering the closure was illegal.

The radio production company, Communication Corner, makes and sells programmes for more than a dozen stations around the country.

FM radio reaches more Nepalis than any other medium and is estimated to hit some 70% of the total population.

'Victory'

Last month, Communication Corner received a brief letter from the ministry of information telling it to close down after complaints that it was being run illegally.

The company expressed surprise as it had already, in line with new rules following February's royal takeover, dropped all political coverage and stuck to social issues.

The Supreme Court now says the closure letter did not meet legal criteria and orders the authorities to let the organisation continue working.

The legal system in Nepal does retain independence - since King Gyanendra seized power in February the Supreme Court has challenged many of the royal authorities' actions.

Communication Corner's director, Gopal Guragain, told the BBC it was a victory for the rule of law.

But he said the authorities were attempting to bring a corruption case against the company - a move he said was baseless.

Resistance

Journalists are confronting the wider ban on FM news production in varied ways.

In Nepal's second city, Biratnagar, they have begun reading 15-minute news bulletins over loudspeakers - a move others around the country are set to copy in a 17-day protest programme.

Last week, FM stations across Nepal simultaneously read out articles of the constitution relating to press freedom and also went off air for two minutes.

But the sector is struggling. Two stations serving remote areas have reportedly closed down as the government has not permitted them to buy new back-up transmitters.