Contact:
In Atlanta: Deborah Hakes, +1 404-420-5124
In Kathmandu: Sarah Levit-Shore, +977 1 444-5055/1446
Kathmandu….The Carter Center expresses serious concern about the growing incidence of threats and attacks on media personnel in Nepal. The Center strongly believes that a free and vibrant press is indispensable for the sustainability of a functioning democracy.
"The continuous threats and attacks on journalists undermines the free flow of information at a time when the country most needs to sustain a tolerant climate of public debate to accommodate the great diversity of political opinion that exists in Nepal," said Dr. David Pottie, associate director of the Democracy Program at The Carter Center.
The Center urges the government to immediately arrest and prosecute those responsible and to guarantee security to the media and to the public.
"Any delay in the investigation and prosecution of the attackers will encourage the culture of impunity and erode citizen confidence in the police and court systems," said Pottie.
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Working to build peace in Nepal since 2003, the Carter Center deployed an international election observation mission to observe the 2008 constituent assembly elections. The Center has remained in-country to monitor the constitutional-drafting and peace process, with a focus on the local level.
"Waging Peace, Fighting Disease, Building Hope."
A not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization, The Carter Center has helped to improve life for people in more than 70 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity; preventing diseases; improving mental health care; and teaching farmers in developing nations to increase crop production. The Carter Center was founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, in partnership with Emory University, to advance peace and health worldwide. Please visit www.cartercenter.org to learn more about The Carter Center.
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