HEADLINE NEWS THE RISING NEPAL (DAILY)

Govt not to infringe on press freedom

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LALITPUR, Dec. 8: Minister for Information and Communications Ramesh Nath Pandey has said that the rumours over the past few days that the government was planning to infringe on press freedom through an ordinance are misleading.

Speaking at a talk programme on the topic 'Media and democracy, challenges of the present' organised by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Minister Pandey said the Nepalese Press had become stronger like the press the world over.

The ordinance on Royal Palace expenditures had been forwarded for the royal seal by the Sher Bahadur Deuba government headed by the Nepali Congress parliamentary party leader on the recommendation of the cabinet, he said. He added the ordinance had not touched upon the powers of the cabinet to formulate the budget nor on parliament's powers to pass it. Both these powers were intact.

The ordinance has not even conceded the power to alter the amount specified for the Royal Palace, Pandey said, adding that it has only made arrangements for using as per need the amount specified by the budget.

Minister Pandey said the government will solicit suggestions by forming a task force of senior media experts within a week to formulate a Working Journalist Act, and expressed commitment to implementing the act as per suggestions made by the task force.

He further said the state and media should forge solidarity to safeguard multi-party press freedom through adherence to a certain discipline and that no policy has been forwarded to infringe press freedom.

FNJ president Taranath Dahal said there are suspicions about press freedom following imposition of the state of emergency, and added that the government should wipe out such suspicion by bringing in an ordinance on the right to information.

He said all the journalists detained should be released unconditionally and a high level probe committee formed to investigate the realities of journalists engaged in wrong activities.

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