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PM pledges to revise information classification

KATHMANDU, JAN 31 -
Following intense pressure from journalists, the government has decided to revise its information classification directive. Prime Minister Baburam Bhattari asked Chief Secretary Madhav Ghimire to send circulars to all the government offices not to adopt the two-month-old directive until it is revised.

In a meeting with the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) on Tuesday, the prime minister agreed to put the directive on hold. He assured media persons that the directive would be revised with suggestions from senior journalists, legal experts, and RTI activists. Experts on various fields would be appointed to categorise information anew.

“Though the PM assured us of revising the directive, we have not withdrawn our protest as we stand by doing away with it,” said FNJ advisor Dharmendra Jha, who attended the meeting.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday issued an interim order against the government’s move to restrict information of public interest. A single bench of Justice Baidya Nath Upadhyay, stating that the government move was an “irreparable loss”, issued the order after a hearing on a writ filed by the Democratic Lawyers’ Association.

The government had issued a new classified information directive, barring an individual, media or an organisation from accessing 140 types of information, including that on big development projects, parliamentary decisions and major decisions of the government.

The SC has summoned both the parties to appear in the court on February 5 to discuss whether or not to continue with the stay order.

The directive denied information to the public for 1 to 30 years, despite the provision in RTI Act 2007 that only five categories of information related to national sovereignty, security and judiciary may be kept secret.

Earlier on Tuesday, journalists demonstrated with black banners symbolising the lack of information to ensure a people’s fundamental right.

Hundreds of journalists demonstrated with a black banner at Babarmahal to press the government to take back its directive that denies access to a hefty amount of information of public interest.

Addressing a corner meet at Babarmahal, FNJ President Shiva Gaunle termed the government action an attempt to mute people’s voice. The media played a crucial role in overthrowing the monarchy by aiding the 2006 people’s movement. But restricting important information was betraying the people, he said.

Expressing solidarity with the FNJ protest, Nepal Bar Association Chairman Prem Bahadur Khadka said implementing the autocratic directive was impossible in a democracy.

Former NBA Chairman Shambhu Thapa urged the FNJ to announce sterner programmes of protest which would bring the government to its knees. “Advocates will be ready to boycott them in courts and the press will black out editorials if necessary. The government must annul the directive,” Thapa said.

The Nepal Press Union demonstrated before the Singha Durbar southern gate demanding that the directive be scrapped.





•    Supreme Court stays fiat

•    Govt offices to be asked not to implement earlier directive

•    Experts to be employed to categorise information to be kept secret

•    Journalists to agree on nothing less than scrapping directive

Posted on: 2012-02-01 07:24

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