Manipur media urge for balanced reporting
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, May 08 2023:
The Editors' Guild Manipur (EGM), All Manipur Working (AMWJU) and Manipur Hill Journalists' Union (MHJU) have appealed to media practitioners from mainland India and abroad to do justice in their reporting by balancing their stories in connection with the ongoing law and order situation in Manipur.
A joint statement issued by EGM, AMWJU and MHJU said that the media organisations have received many feedback from citizens on unbalanced reporting by the media, particularly by the National and international media, who have either sent representatives to Manipur or sourced information from Manipur.
Urging the media practitioners to play the role of peacemaker instead of trouble maker, it further called them to remember the role of certain media in Rwanda that sparked an unwanted genocide decades ago.
EGM, AMWJU and MHJU also showed their willingness to assist National and international media practitioners for balanced reporting.
"The present conflict in Manipur is complex and simply reducing it to Hindu vs Christian, or tribal vs non-tribal or Meitei will bring irreparable damage to the age-old relationship that people from the valley enjoyed with those from the surrounding hills", it added.
Maintaining that there are forces within both parties in conflict who are trying to bring about a fracture between the two communities for political mileage, personal vendetta and many other factors including the drug trade and turf control, the joint statement pointed out that it is the duty of the media to expose these people and stop agenda dictated by their narrow interests.
The scribe bodies jointly appealed to all journalists, including those from local media, to be peacemakers rather than trouble makers.