Kathmandu,November 29,2005

The brain behind the controversialCode of Conduct for NGOs introduced recently by the government was none other than the Ministry of Defence (MoD), it was revealed today. The MoD had sent a letter to the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare (MWCSW) on March 19 this year directing it to ‘control’ and ‘manage properly’ the non-government organisations operating in the country. The letter (reference No 2651), signed by the ministry’s under-secretary Sudhir Kumar Shah, cited various reasons given by the Security Management Sub-Committee of the MoD to take such a step. It further said the decision was taken in a meeting of the Sub-Committee held on March 17, 2005. The letter was also sent to the Operations Department of the Royal Nepalese Army and the Department of the Chief of General Staffs of the MoD. A defence lawyer, Tikaram Bhattarai, today produced the letter before a full bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justices Sharada Shrestha, Hari Jung Sijapati and Top Bahadur Magar, who have been examining the constitutionality of the conduct code. Bhattarai claimed that the MoD wanted to gag the nongovernment organisations and thus ordered the introduction of the code. He also sought the MoD’s clarification on the issue. The Supreme Court today started a hearing on whether to continue the short-term stay order issued last week on the case. During the hearing, lawyers Gopal Siwakoti Chintan and Niru Shresha argued that the conduct code was issued against the spirit of the 1990 Constitution. Former Law Minister Subhas Nembang questioned the intention of the letter as it was issued by a ministry that has nothing to do with the functioning of the NGOs. “This shows that the state is run by a non-civilian administration,” he told journalists after the hearing.

NTB accused of inefficiency

Kathmandu,November 29, 2005

Travel and tours entrepreneurs have strongly criticised Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) saying that it has failed to work as per the expectations of tourism sector. Basanta Raj Mishra, president of Nepal Association of Tour Operators (NATO) expressed displeasure with the way the NTB is working at present. “NTB was established in a bid to boost tourism through effective marketing strategies but it has deviated itself from its goal,” he said yesterday. Mishra suggested to develop NATO as a professional institution with a clear vision that can carry out genuine marketing efforts to promote Nepali tour-ism. “NTB should be totally autonomous and proactive,” he said adding that it should develop corporate culture and needs to shift its marketing strategy from event-based to consumer-based.