THT 10 YEARS AGO: SC stays action against FM

Kathmandu, October 27, 2005

The Supreme Court today issued a stay order against the move of the government to cancel the licence of the Kantipur FM hours after admitting a petition today. The apex court ordered the government authorities, including the Prime Minister’s Office and Cabinet, the Ministries of Home Affairs and Information and Communications, not to implement the letter issued by the Ministry of Information and Communications yesterday to cancel the FM station’s licence, giving a 24-hour ultimatum to furnish explanation why it was airing news even after the government order not to do so. A special bench comprising Chief Justice Dilip Kumar Paudel and Justices Sharada Shrestha and Top Bahadur Magar issued the order following the hearing. “No action should be taken against the Kantipur FM till the outcome of a hearing slated for October 30,” the order states. This is the first time that the SC has issued a stay order on the very day it admitted a case against the government. The bench ordered that short term interlocutory stay order would remain effective till October 30 when it will decide whether or not to issue full-fledged stay order on the Kantipur FM case and the implementation of recently promulgated Media Ordinance. The apex court has already called the government to attend in the hearing on October 30 whether or not to issue stay order on the case.

NC carte blanche to Koirala on crisis resolution

Kathmandu, October 27, 2005

The central working committee (CWC) of the Nepali Congress (NC) today gave party president Girija Prasad Koirala the responsibility of forming a “conflict analysis and suggestion committee” that would submit to the party central committee its findings on ways out of the current stalemate. The party also urged Koirala to form a “Jana Andolan Samiti” to organise, manage and monitor the ongoing movement. The meeting also formed a committee with party policy and programme chief Arjun Narsingh KC as coordinator to advise the central committee on the issue of State restructuring and inclusive democracy that was ratified by the party’s 11th general convention. Today’s CWC meeting also decided to send different teams to the districts to trigger and energise the ongoing mass movement. Expressing solidarity with the “free press movement”, the party also condemned the “attack” on Kantipur FM as a blatant attempt to curb the freedom of the press. “The party has taken the attack on media as an attack on thepeople,” party spokesperson Krishna Sitaula told reporters after the meeting. He urged all sections of the society to make tomorrow’s Valley bandh a “grand success”. Earlier, Koirala urged his partymen to work towards establishing “full democracy” in the country.