Scribes denounce bomb threats
Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, August 13, 2012:
Media fraternity in Manipur yesterday shut down their respective media houses and hit the road to show protest against the bomb attack on A Mobi, President of All Manipur Working Journalists' Union.
Unidentified armed persons exploded a bomb at the Thongju Pechu Lampak residence of A Mobi at around 8 pm yesterday.
Mobi was in the kitchen when the explosion took place.
Though no one was hurt in the attack, frontal portion of the house suffered partial damage.
Decrying the bomb attack, journalists in Manipur took out a protest rally today and met the Chief Minister as well as the Home Minister and submitted memorandum to highlight their grievances.
During the meeting, Home Minister Gaikhangam assured that lives of media persons in the state would be protected under all circumstances, Gaikhangam said that bomb attack at the house of A Mobi has been taken seriously by the state government.
The act has also been condemned by the government in the strongest terms and further measures to protect the media persons will be taken up.
Gaikhangam also informed that he has spoken with the Home Minister of Maharashtra over the issue of discriminating and threatening the lives of Manipuris in Pune as an offshoot of the ethnic clashes in Assam.
In their memorandum, the aggrieved mediapersons demanded a conducive atmosphere for them to carry out their duties, to provide security at the residences of Editors and office bearers of AMWJU, to replace the VDF deployed in media houses by Manipur Police and to find out those involved in threatening media persons and conduct an enquiry into the matter.
This is the second time within the current month in which media houses in this strife-torn northeastern state have been forced to shut down on account of threats and intimidation.
Two factions of an underground organization have threatened journalists over the issue of publication and non-publication of their respective press releases.
On August 9, two media houses including Hueiyen Lanpao received bomb hoax calls.
Meanwhile, expressing solidarity to the aggrieved media fraternity, locals of Thongju Puchu Lampak staged a sit-in-protest demonstration at the market shed of Thongju Pechu Lampak denouncing the bomb attack at the house of A Mobi.
Organised under the joint aegis of Thongju Chigongleimakhong Development Club and local Meira Paibis, around 100 agitators took part in the protest demonstration.
The protestors used placards and festoons which read "We condemn bomb attack", "Do not repeat such terrorist attacks in future" and "Do not target innocent people," etc.