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Kathmandu Thursday June 21, 2001 Ashadh 07, 2058.
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DPM vindicates Public
Safety Regulations, 2001
Post Report
KATHMANDU, June 20 - Deputy Prime Minister
(DPM) Ram Chandra Poudel today said that the recently enforced Public Safety Regulations
defines and limits the authority of Chief District Officers and does not give them
unlimited power to impose restriction on people.
Poudel told the Nepali Congress (NC) Central
Working Committee (CWC) that the CDOs have been given vague authorities by the Public
Safety Act which had to be defined, that prompted the government to issue the regulations.
Under the clause 14 of the Act that was
amended in 1990 and 1991, it was required to draft and enforce regulations and it was
urgently required to get regulations that was compatible with the present Constitution and
laws of the land.
He denied allegations that the regulations
was similar to the situation during autocratic Panchayati days when the authorities used
the Act to control, imprison and prosecute pro-democracy activists.
"The DPM has assured us that he would
personally clarify on these questions in the next few days," NC spokesman Narhari
Acharya told reporters after the meet.
When asked by members on why the notice was
published on the Gazette on June 4, just days after the massacre at the Royal Palace
plunging the nation into a situation of uncertainty, Poudel said it was just a
coincidence.
The decision had already been made on May 21
to publish the regulations, and since it could not be published on the following Monday
for technical reasons, it was published on the next available one.
The government had issued Public Safety
Regulations, 2001 in the Gazette notification using Clause 14 of the Public Safety Act,
2046 BS.
This Regulations empowers the CDOs or
officials on their behalf to order individual or a group under solitary confinement or
limit their movement to a certain areas if officials are "convinced" that the
suspected people are about to harm the country’s sovereignty, integrity or infringe
law and order.
Opposition parties have opposed this move
saying that the government was displaying "anti-people dictatorial streak " by
bringing out the Regulations.
Today’s emergency CWC meeting was called
to discuss the high-level probe into the June 1 Royal Palace massacre and thank the
members of the committee — Chief Justice Keshav Prasad Upadhyay and House Speaker
Taranath Ranabhat — for their task.
The meet also asked the government to move
policies, process and laws to ensure that the incidents like that does not occur again.
NC central member Bijaya Gachchedar said
there would be more meetings to discuss the upcoming parliamentary session.
The opposition parties which stalled House
proceedings during the last winter session, have indicated that they would continue to
press for PM’s resignation and with the new development, the situation promises to be
even uglier.
Meanwhile, the Communist Party of Nepal
(Marxist-Leninist) today issued a press statement condemning the Regulations. The party
has accused the government of trying to suppress the opposition voice against the norms of
the Constitution.
Besides, the ML, other organizations like
leftist students’ unions, human rights and other organizations too have condemned the
Regulations.
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