Scribes highlight issues to PCI team
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, September 25 2013: The State media fraternity today put forward a detailed account of various inconveniences being faced by them to the visiting six-member PCI Sub-Committee on Safety of Journalists led by Amarnath Kosuri.

The team interacted with the members of All Manipur Working Journalists' Union (AMWJU), Editors and journalists at the conference hall of Hotel Classic.

Kosuri Amarnath assured the scribes that the Sub-Committee would look into the grievances of the State media persons and press the Government authority concerned to ensure safety for journalists.

He also advised the scribes to face all the challenges unitedly.

The State scribes informed the visiting team about killings and harassments meted out to journalists, intense pressures from different quarters over publication and non-publication of news reports and press statements, imposing bans on bringing out publication, low wage of scribes and using unparliamentary language and the arrogance by NIA personnel at the office of some media houses.

PCI team interacting with media

The scribes also complained to the PCI team that the State authority does not take up necessary measure for the safety of media persons.

Regarding a recent threat given by an armed group to Editors and hawkers that led to suspension of newspaper publication for two days, they questioned why the State police were unable to trace the culprits although the phone numbers from which the threat calls were made had been given to police.

On the otherhand, the scribes said, police could arrest the man who exploded an IED at the gate of Chief Minister's official residence within two days.

They said that State police sometimes snatch cameras or delete photos from journalists.

After listening to these complaints, Kosuri Amarnath said that the matter would be informed to PCI and Ministry concerned of the Central Government.

The State scribes also urged the visiting team to constitute a separate unit which can exclusively look into the issues of the North East, Manipur in particular.

Later, AMWJU submitted a memorandum to the Chairman of Press Council of India through Kosuri Amarnath, Convenor of the Sub-Committee in Safety of Journalists.

The memorandum said that the State journalists do not have a fixed working hour.

The wage given to them is too low even for senior journalists, it said and added that there is no health insurance scheme for journalists and employers usually sack the scribes who remain unwell for long.

The memorandum also demanded that PCI takes up necessary steps to revise the pension amount of the widows of late journalists, provide adequate compensation to injured and slain journalists and develop press colony to ensure safety to media persons.

The memorandum also provided a detailed account of incidents happened between 1993 and 2012 wherein State journalists were killed, injured and intimidated.

The Sub-Committee will meet Home Minister and other officials concerned tomorrow.