New Delhi, April 04 2010: In the conflict riddle state of Manipur where people are receiving various forms of atrocities meted out by the security forces and police, scribes are also not able to discharge their duties freely apart from giving various forms of obstruction in their duties, said Editor of Ereibak daily, Irengbam Arun speaking at the second day of the national conference Media and Law held at International Youth Centre, Chanayakapuri, New Delhi.

The Editor was speaking as representative of the All Manipur Working Journalists' Union in the morning session of the technical session of the seminar.

Many other scribes from the state are also participating in the conference.

He said, the reporter who took the photograph of the controversial July 23, 2009 incident in which a former underground and a housewife were killed in the firing by the police commandos which later evoked widespread protest following exposure that it was a "fake encounter" by Tahelka magazine is still concealing his or her identity from the CBI inquiry into the incident.

The reporters could not publish the photographs taken on that incident in the newspaper where he/she is working at the time of occurrence of the incident due to fear of ultimate consequences to be received by the media house and the scribe in the state where everybody knows what view is keeping by the security forces and police commandos towards the scribes, Arun observed.

Amidst the prevailing view of the security forces and police towards the police, a junior sub-editor of the Imphal Free Press, K Rishikanta was killed in a highly suspected manner on November, 17, 2008 .

Government handed over the investigation into the case to CBI on the demand of the scribe who undertook cease-work strike for 13 days but the case is pending with the CBI till date.

Not ended with this, in June 2008, Chief Secretary of Manipur government and DGP threatened to cancel RNI registration of the media houses when Media houses turned down their proposal to censor press statements issued by the banned underground outfits.

On the other hand, chairman of the Wage Board for Journalist, government of India Justice G R Majithin is visiting the state in May next to assess the salaries and other allowance gettable by the scribes of the state.

The visit of the chairman was informed by the president of the Indian Federation of Working Journalist, Vikram Rao in an interaction with state scribes taking part in the conference.

At the concluding part of the seminar organised by the Human Rights Law Network, New Delhi Media Lawyer of New York Jonathan Donnellan talked on the conditions of the scribes in United States and International Case Law on Sedition, Hate Speech, Sting Operation and obscenity.

Supports from the European Union, Centre for Culture, Media & Governance, Jamia Milia Islamia; Indian Federation of Working Journalists and UNI Employees National Joint Action Council are the partners in the organisation of the seminar.

Relating difficulties confronting by the scribes coming from different parts of the country and talks on the role of Press Council marked the concluding function of the two day seminar.

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