JFA demands stringent action against Manipur militants
Guwahati, 22 December 2015
Expressing strong resentments over the militants’ threat to
an Imphal based television editor, the Journalists’ Forum Assam (JFA)
has urged the Manipur government led by Okram Ibobi Singh to take
immediate & appropriate actions against the culprits.
The Assam based journalist organization also extended moral supports to the agitating
Manipur journalists, who have been raising voices against the diktat
of armed militants.
According to the local media outlets, a newly floated militant group
named KCP-MJC had been threatening the editors for not providing space
for its press statements. Lately the outfit planted a bomb at the
residential gate of Yumnam Rupachandra, editor of Impact Television, a
local cable news channel. The editor was also threatened by the outfit
through a telephonic conversation recently for not using their press
statements.
Though threatening the scribes in Manipur is very much common, the
journalist community took the latest incident with serious concern, as
the militant outfit used a hand grenade to scare the editor.
The media
persons under the banner of All Manipur Working Journalists’ Union and
Editors’ Guild Manipur held an emergency meeting at Manipur Press Club
on Tuesday night and resolved many decisions including to submit a
memorandum to the State government demanding adequate security
protection to the scribes.
Expressing their angers against the diktat, the Imphal-based
newspapers decided to publish blank editorial columns on Wednesday. They also observed a pen-down strike, sit-in protest demonstration and
carried out a silent rally in Imphal demanding actions against the militants same day resulting no publication of newspapers on 17
December. The local cable news bulletins were also taken off the air for 24 hours.
The JFA, in a statement issued by its president Rupam Barua and secretary Nava Thakuria, has denounced the militants for their
audacity to dictate the media and called upon the journalists of
Manipur to get united against the banned armed outfits. It also appealed to the Manipur civil society groups to stand behind the media persons at the time of crisis.
* This Press Relese was sent to e-pao.net by Mithu Choudhury who can be contacted at sivaassam(aT)gmail(doT)com
This Press Release was posted on December 23 2015
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