Nepal once again made the dishonour rolls of the Committee to Project Journalists (CPJ). This year we were singled out as a case of "the most spectacular abuse of press freedom" under the guise of protecting national security. CPJ this week said "hundreds" of Nepali journalists were unlawfully detained and 16 were formally incarcerated in 2002.

Nepal's human rights situation is as bleak on other frontiers too. The United States Human Rights Report 2002 highlights our poor track record. It accuses both the government security forces and the Maoists of rights violations. The report concluded that the Maoists were no less heinous or ruthless than national security forces in killing and torturing people. The use of unwarranted lethal force, torture as punishment or to extract confessions, arbitrary arrests and extra judicial killings that took place was condemned by the report.