Himal Southasian responds to allegations made in the Nepal Parliament
Himal Southasian has seen reports of allegations made by leaders of UCPN(Maoist) and Nepali Congress in the Nepal Parliament concerning the funding of Himal Southasian and the so-called 'misuse' of those funds. No shred of evidence has been produced in support of these claims and we strongly object to the use of spurious and wild allegations to try and muzzle an independent media organisation and its freedom of expression.
We would like to point out that the agreement with the Norwegian Embassy that has been 'produced' by Maoist leaders in the Parliament is actually a publicly published document (http://www.norway.org.np/
We are a non-profit run by a trust and our use of donor funding is undertaken in a completely transparent manner with full annual audits, reports to our donors and also to the regulatory body, the Social Welfare Council. All projects and funding have been approved by the SWC.
In so far as the use of the funds is concerned, Himal Southasian is a media organisation and its work is available in the public domain on our website and in our printed issues. The contents of both speak for themselves and will demonstrate that all our work has been done in the cause of public service journalism and in pursuit of furthering development and cooperation in the Southasian region. We would welcome further scrutiny of our content.
Editors
Kathmandu
April 18