Already battling on several fronts, the government of Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa is now also coming under bitter attack from the media.

Political tabloids aligned to the parties have always been critical, but now members of Nepal's private media have also joined in, not just to give wide coverage of the protests and write stinging anti-government editorials, but also to march in the streets.

This has set off a debate within the media itself about whether it compromises journalistic objectivity. The Federation of Nepali Journalists have called for a boycott beginning this Sunday of programs attended by the prime minister and his cabinet unless its five-point demand (which includes the resignation of powerful Information Minister Kamal Thapa) is met. For many, this is being too overtly partisan.

Stunned by the media backlash, the government has been backtracking somewhat, saying the manhandling and arrest of journalists last week could have been a case of "mistaken identity". In a statement on Monday, the prime minister said: "It wasn't deliberate or pre-planned, sometimes it is difficult to say who is a journalist and who is a protester."

Indeed, the lines get blurred when journalists are on the streets to defy the government's anti-demo order in the capital. Last Friday, 70 journalists were rounded up and detained for a few hours.

"The arrests confirmed that the freedom of press is in real danger," says Kantipur's editor Narayan Wagle, who was arrested the following day at a media support rally. "We journalists must unite to support democracy."

FNJ chief Bishnu Nishturi agrees: "We are marching in support of democratic values that include a free press."
But there are some doubts about whether it is ethical for journalists to actually join the demonstrations they are covering. In a country where some papers are mouthpieces for political parties, this comes as no surprise. But should the mainstream press do it too? An FNJ member who did not want to be named told us: "Not all our members are professional, and some openly identify themselves as party cadre."

The involvement of the journalist unions was a big boost to the agitating parties. The demos have been headline news for three weeks, but now many mainstream media are also supporting the agitation in their editorials. Journalist-turned-politician Raghu Panta of the UML sees no reason why journalists shouldn't be at the barricades. "If there is no democracy, there will be no free press. Journalists have the right to protest, they are citizens too."

One of Nepal's senior-most journalists and last year's Magsaysay-winner, Bharat Koirala thinks the line should be drawn somewhere: "If journalists are on the streets siding with political parties, that will be wrong. In fact it will compromise their credibility and ultimately hurt the profession. Our fight for freedom should be with the pen."