Govt. scraps TADO

The government has scraped the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Control and Punishment) Ordinance (TADO) with effect from Monday.

The meting of the council of ministers held Monday morning at the prime minister's residence at Baluwatar took the decision, a minister told Nepalnews. The government has also withdrawn the charges imposed on Maoist activists under the ordinance.

The TADO allowed security forces to detain persons accused of terrorism for a year without taking them to court. The ordinance had permitted such detention for 90 days when it was first promulgated in 2002.

The cabinet also took decision to form a Media Council under the chairmanship of the member of the National Assembly and senior advocate Radheshyam Adhikari. Members of the council will include president of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ), coordinator of Save the Independent Radio Movement (SIRM), and presidents of Nepal Press Union, Press Chautari Nepal and Sancharika Samuha. The director general of the Information Department is member secretary of the council. The council will hand over its first report after two months.

The government also decided to appoint Kul Chanda Wagle, former president of Nepal Press Union, as the advisor at the Ministry of Information and Communication.Similarly, the cabinet meeting finalized regulations regarding functioning of the council of ministers, radio reports said. It is expected to be tabled at today's session of the parliament, after which the parliament will be in recess