The Federation of Nepalese Journalists said in the statement hand-delivered to news agencies that Tuesday's sacking of the government and its replacement by a cabinet of loyalists "has destroyed all the remaining structures of democracy."

Landline and mobile phone links and the Internet remained cut for a third day, a move seen as aimed at stifling dissent following the imposition of emergency rule which suspended free speech, assembly and other rights.

Gyanendra has said he dismissed the government of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba for failing to hold elections or to bring peace to the Himalayan nation, racked by an increasingly deadly Maoist revolt.

The journalists' statement came as state-run Nepali-language daily Gorkhapatra warned in a front-page notice that any "writing or opposition to the royal proclamation ... has been prohibited for six months."