Human rights activists, legal practitioners and journalists made common cause to express their outrage at Maoist violence with a street demonstration on Wednesday in Kathmandu (see picture). The silent procession protested the killing of journalist Dekendra Raj Thapa in Dailekh and the Maoists' threat to kill 10 other journalists in the midwest.

Thapa was killed earlier this month by rebels who accused him of "spying" against them. The rebels have threatened to exterminate 10 other journalists because of news they say is critical of them.

The Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) has deplored Thapa's murder and decided to organise a series of protest programs all over the country to oppose what it says is a systematic attack on the freedom of press. The federation has demanded that the Maoist leadership make a public apology for Thapa's death and commit themselves to not repeating such acts. FNJ warned of a boycott of Maoist press statements, articles, and opinion pieces if they do not apologise and make public commitments to press freedom. The federation has also sent a strongly-worded open letter to Maoist chief Prachanda, asking him about the Maoists' opinion of press freedom.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) issued a statement and Amnesty International wrote an open letter to Prachanda condemning the killing and expressing alarm at the increasing Maoist violence against journalists. The International Federation of Journalists called for international action against the Maoists for the killing and for threatening to kill journalists.

The journalists from the midwest who have been threatened by the Maoists include Harihar Singh Rathour in Dailekh and Bed Prakash Timilsina, who have been reporting on the insurgency from Achham for Kantipur and Kathmandu Post. In a strong front-page editorial on Thursday, Kathmandu Post said: "If the Maoists are mulling the elimination of the Fourth Estate, let them be warned that such an evil ambition could well be the beginning of their own end."