The battle over the proposed TRC bills took a new turn on Thursday, with lawmakers and pundits questioning the integrity of one of the major critics of the bill and the role of the donor which has funded his organisation.

Kanak Mani Dixit, editor of Himal South Asia and publisher of Himal Khabarpatrika, is the executive director of South Asia Trust.

The trust, which has been granted Rs 60 million by Royal Norwegian Embassy, has misused the fund to campaign against the ongoing peace process and has misused the funds in his disposal without accountability, said Nepali Congress and Maoist lawmakers. They have demanded that the government investigate the case. "There has been regular anti-peace activities through the Trust fund which should be investigated," Maoist lawmaker Shakti Basnet said in parliament.

The Maoist party has cited a project agreement signed by the Embassy and Dixit. As per the agreement, the expected results of the project are "enhanced critical debate and civil activism on regional issues on Nepal and South Asia."

The Maoist party has long been accusing Dixit of misusing donor funds to launch a campaign against it.

The current episode has also raised a number of other important questions: first, whether the donors can fund a private sector media (or an organisation that channels its funds to that end); second, whether the fund has been used properly, as the trust has mentioned in its project proposal.

"There should be an investigation—first into the source of funding; second whether the Trust is within the purview to use such funds for whatever it pleases to do; and finally, whether the fund has been properly used. Action needs to be taken against the trust if it's found to have breached the law," said NC lawmaker Amresh Singh.

The Press and Publication Act 1991, a law responsible for the regulation of the print media, is silent about the provision of running the newspapers forming a trust.

"There is a document to show that The South Asia Trust receives funding in a transparent manner, although the trust people should come forward to clarify their position on this issue," said senior journalist Dhruba Hari Adhikari. "There are cases of invisible investments in Nepal's media sector. So, it is time for the government and the parliament to enact appropriate law to make all media investments transparent," Adhikari said.

On Thursday, the Maoist party presented a document in parliament which shows that Kamal Mani Dixit, father of Kanak, had transferred $50,000 from his account in HSBC Bank in London to ING Vysya Bank in India on June 9, 2004.

Nepal Rastra Bank spokesperson Bhaskarmani Gnawali said Nepali nationals cannot open an account in a foreign bank if they are staying in Nepal. "Those with residence permits in the foreign countries can open account till he/she stays there," he explains. "Exporters earning foreign exchange can also hold a bank account in foreign country on NRB’s approval."

 Dixitspeak

The Maoist party dishonoured parliament by raising the irrelevant issue. I will never be diverted on the need for the criminal accountability for the grave human rights abuse during the conflict by both sides [state and non-state actors].

  The trust is a non-profit organisation registered with Social Welfare Council. Its main task is to publish a South Asia Magazine [Himal Southasia] which is in existence since 1996.

 As far as the transaction of HSCB is concerned, my father Kamal Mani Dixit reported the existence of the UK-based account to the Rastra Bank after the government asked those holdings accounts in overseas banks. This was done in 2021 BS. He has been periodically updating the central bank regarding the account. (pr)