E-Kantipur

KATHMANDU, JAN 28 - Right to Information (RTI) activists have rejected the government's new classified information directive. They said it was a politically motivated attempt to hide information of public interest to cover up corruption and criminal cases.

The directive has restricted an individual, the media or any organisation from gaining any information on big development projects, parliamentary decisions and major decisions of the government, categorising it from 1 to 30 years, though the RTI Act 2007 restricts supply of only five category of information related to national sovereignty, security and judiciary.

The activists said they will challenge the decision both in the courts and the streets, condemning it as "unnecessary control over people's rights to information taken with ill intention."

Article 27 of the RTI Act authorises the chief secretary to introduce the information classification in a bid to implement the Act in a more systematic way. The chief secretary and secretary of the respective ministry, an expert and RTI activists must be included in the information classification committee. However, the committee led by chief secretary Madhav Ghimire had appointed former secretary of the Ministry of Law and Justice, Mohan Banjade, as an expert of all the sectors while preparing the directive.

Federation of Nepali Journalist (FNJ) chairperson Shiva Gaule said the FNJ has communicated with the Prime Minister regarding the directive that restricts an individual or the press from seeking 140 types of information.

"The PM has assured he would talk to the RTI activists and media representatives in a couple of days. We will be forced to take the case to court and the streets if our pleas are unheard," Gaule said.

The directive needs to be scrapped as its implementation will automatically leave the RTI Act and the National Information Commission (NIC) formed in 2007 defunct, said Chief Information Commissioner Binaya Kumar Kasaju.

Former Registrar of the Supreme Court Ram Krishna Timilsina and chairperson of the Freedom Forum Tara Nath Dahal also condemned the classification.

Senior Advocate Tika Ram Bhattarai termed it a "polite version of a royal ordinance."

"It will encourage corruption and crime," he said.

 

Posted on: 2012-01-28 04:00

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