Scribe bodies condemn army high-handedness
Source: Chronicle News Service
Imphal, October 12 2023:
In a shocking attack on the freedom of press and direct infringement in performing their duties by the journalists, Indian Army units stationed in Sabungkhok Khunou areas obstructed several media-persons from covering a gunfight and forced them to delete footages from their cameras.
Expressing vehement disapproval of the Army's unjustifiable actions, All Manipur Working Journalists' Union (AMWJU) and Editors' Guild Manipur (EGM), in a joint statement, strongly criticised the conduct of combined troops belonging to 20 Jat Regiment and 5/4 GR.
These troops obstructed media persons from discharging their professional responsibilities on Thursday in Sabungkhok Khunou area, where the journalists were assigned to cover the incident of assault on Sabungkhok Khunou village.
The troops from Jat Regiment not only prevented a media team comprising reporters from ISTV, Impact TV, Tom TV, and ISCom from documenting the incident, but also forced them to delete footages captured on their mobile phones.
Another media team from Tom TV and Impact TV, positioned in a different part of the area, also faced initial restrictions in capturing visuals of the incident.
AMWJU and EGM view this incident as a blatant assault on the freedom of expression, a deliberate attempt to stifle the press, the joint statement said, while demanding accountability for these actions.
The two apex journalist bodies said memoranda would be submitted to the chairman of Unified Command, security advisor to CM Kuldiep Singh, and Governor Anusuiya Uikey, urging them to investigate the series of assaults on the media since May 3, and take appropriate corrective measures.
The media in Manipur has been operating under extremely challenging circumstances since the onset of the present crisis, the joint statement of AMWJU and EGM said, while reiterating the appeal to all security forces in the state not to target or impede media personnel in the execution of their legitimate duties.