Kathmandu, Oct 20-Legal experts said the controversial media ordinance, promulgated just before Dashain, is against the norms of constitution so it cannot function to curtail the people’s right to information.
“The ordinance was prepared in haste by those people who know the least about the Constitution and the press,” said advocate Bhimarjun Acharya at a programme held by the Media Forum today to discuss the ordinance.“The ordinance allows any FM station to broadcast news till the NTV keeps airing news as it has treated both as one. The government cannot punish one leaving another safe,” he said.Acharya said that the ordinance is an amendment to four existing laws – Radio Act 2014, Rastriya Samachar Samiti Defamation Act 2019, Printing and Publication Act 2048, Press Council Act 2048, National Broadcasting Act 2049 and Defamation Act 2016.“Ordinances can be valid only if they are brought after proving their necessity for immediate purpose, not under someone’s desire,” he said.According to him, the ordinances should be brought as exception but they are treatedas rules, and they should not oppose the constitution from any angle.
“Any law or ordinance that is not just or fair cannot oblige the citizens to respect it in democracy,” he said.
“Acquiring licence to more than three media, transmitting, cancellation of press pass,informative versus news programmes, foreign news, news on royal family and inclusion of terrorism are some vital issues that curb the fundamentals of press freedom,” he said.
Advocate Shambhu Thapa, the chairman of Nepal Bar Association, said that all professionals will support the journalist’s fight against the ordinance as it is directly related with the civic right to expression.
Advocate Tikaram Bhattarai said that the present government has no right to introduce any ordinance as it lacks support from existing or dissolved House of Representatives. Shiva Gaule, the acting chairman of FNJ, said the government has to prove what problems it had to face by the previous provision of punishment, before increasing the fine.
Mainwhile ,The government on Wednesday has warned that action will be taken against those disobeying the `Ordinance amending some Nepal Acts relating to communications, 2005.’
The Ministry of Information and Communications (MoIC) said it has notified all the Frequency Modulation (FM) broadcasting institutions not to transmit or broadcast news-based programmes as provided for in the said ordinance.
The new ordinance bars FM radio stations from airing news-based programmes and allows them to broadcast ‘informative programmes’ only. The latest amendment in the National Broadcasting Ordinance 2049 B. S. has described the ‘informative programmes’ as those programmes prepared with the objective of providing information or raising public awareness on topics related to health, education, sports, population, weather or road transport.
Briefing media on the new ordinance on Tuesday, spokesman at the MoIC, Ratna Raj Pandey, had said the provision relating to broadcasting of news over FM stations will not be enforced until the apex court delivers final judgment on the issue.
The government notice, however, did not say what type of action will the media institutions have to face ‘’for violating the new law.’’
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