From The Nepali Press Flouting the law Editorial in Kantipur, 27 October
FROM
ISSUE #270 (28 OCT 2005 - 03 NOV 2005)
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The government showed direct contempt of the judicial system by refusing to delay a week for the media case awaiting consideration at the Supreme Court. Instead, it went ahead and threatened to close Kantipur FM . It refused to listen to what the station's officials had to say, adding that if they could not come up with a valid reason why they shouldn't be closed within 24 hours, their permission to transmit would be taken away. This proves the government's bad intentions when it comes to independent Nepali media. It also shows that the government, which is responsible for regulating and also abiding by national law, is ignoring the constitutional rights of the people and making a mockery of our justice system. The Supreme Court had already issued an interim order about FM news broadcasts. It reasoned that if it allowed the banning of news broadcasts via FM it would \'irreparably violate the right of the people to be informed'. In addition, the court asked the government to wait to issue any charges until the case was finalised. Ignoring this order, the government issued the new ordinance. The government has often lied and held the public's personal independence and human rights in contempt. In the FM news case, it has put itself above the Supreme Court and national law. The government often talks about the rule of law but ignores the constitution, law and the justice system. This habit of disregarding the law promotes anarchy. Today, the responsibility of preventing our society from reaching that point lies with our judicial system, particularly the Supreme Court, which has been assigned guardianship of the constitution. In today's situation, it will be up to the Court to decide if it can stop this government-led anarchy.
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