Kathmandu, August 3, 2005

Buddhi Raj Bajracharya, minister for culture, tourism and civil aviation, while addressing the SAARC tourism ministers’ meeting held at Colombo, Sri Lanka, said that single visa system for SAARC countries will be beneficial in promoting the tourism industry in the region. The meeting is organised jointly by the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) and the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Sri Lanka (FCCISL) to promote tourism within the SAARC region. Tourism ministers and senior officials of the seven countries are taking part in the meeting. Bajracharya on the occasion said, “Organisation of joint familiarisation trips of tour operators, media and other concerned sectors specially from long-haul markets would certainly add an impetus to our collective endeavour. If we are determined to implement the SAARC visa regime, SAARC currency and other procedural formalities in inspiring the movement of people from within and outside the region, we could head in the direction we desired.” He urged the seven member bloc for a collective participation in major tourism fairs and exhibitions in order to back up the competitive advantages that the region inherits. Anura Bandaranaike, Sri Lankan minister for tourism, industries and investment promotion, said that the purpose of the meeting was to continue efforts towards the development of tourism industry in South Asia.

CJ appointment ‘unconstitutional’

Kathmandu, August 3, 2005

Legal experts including former Justice of the Supreme Court, Krishna Jung Rayamajhi, today labelled the appointment of Chief Justice Dilip Kumar Paudel under Article 127 of the Constitution as unconstitutional. The experts’ reaction came after the CJ Paudel himself claimed that neither his appointment was extra-onstitutional nor was it an amendment of the Constitution. “It is absolutely against the spirit of the Constitution to appoint a CJ by invoking Article 127,” said former judge Rayamajhi. “It was an unconstitutional assignment to the retired CJ Hari Prasad Sharma to chair the meeting of the Constitutional Council. Properly, it was the purview of an elected PM,” he said. Rayamajhi was speaking at a programme on “Invocation of Article 127: Theory and Practice” organised by the Professional Skill Promotion Committee of Appellate Court Bar Association, Patan. He added that the invocation of Article 127 while sacking Sher Bahdur Deuba, appointing prime ministers and formation of the RCCC was unconstitutional. Law Minister of the interim government that drafted the 1990 Constitution, Nilambar Acharya, said that it was a fraud against the Constitution to invoke Article 127 while appointing a CJ.