AUGUST 25, 2005
Posted September 2, 2005
Kantipur Publications
Legal Action
Information and Communication Minister Tanka Dhakal confirmed that the government had initiated legal action against Kantipur Publications following the publication of an allegedly “objectionable” cartoon.
Dhakal said “The government action has begun. You will know the details once we reach a conclusion on what should be done,” Kantipur reported. The minister also called a cartoon that ran on the front pages of the leading daily Kantipur and its sister English-language publication the Kathmandu Post “objectionable and stinking.” The political cartoon depicted the constitutional monarchy as a dead animal.
The editors of Kantipur and the Kathmandu Post, and the director of Kantipur Publications, which owns both publications, were summoned to a meeting with the Kathmandu chief district officer on August 22. Soon after the meeting the editors learned from sources that police were preparing to arrest them.