PTI
ITANAGAR, DECEMBER 21
The Arunachal media fraternity represented by Arunachal Press Club (APC), Arunachal Pradesh Union of Working Journalist (APUWJ) and Arunachal Electronic Media Association (AEMA) have taken serious exception to the threat by a militant outfit to an Imphal-based editor of a television channel and supported the agitating Manipur journalists.
Equating the threat to an action to demoralise the scribes, APC president Chopa Cheda condemned it as inhuman and unacceptable.
“The civil society should rise to the occasion to guard the media institution in the larger interest of the society,” he said.
A newly floated militant group, KCP-MJC, had been threatening the editors for not providing space for its press statements.
Lately the outfit planted a bomb at the residence of Yumnam Rupachandra, editor of Impact Television, a local cable news channel.
The editor was also threatened by the outfit through a telephone call recently for not using their press statements. Media persons under the banner of All Manipur Working Journalists’ Union and Editors’ Guild Manipur held an emergency meeting at Manipur Press Club and unanimously resolved many decisions including submission of a memorandum to the state government demanding adequate security protection to the scribes.
Expressing their angers against the diktat, Imphal-based newspapers decided to publish blank editorial columns on Wednesday last.
They also observed a pen-down strike, sit-in protest and carried out a silent rally in Imphal demanding actions against the militants same day resulting no publication of newspapers on December 17 last.
The local cable news bulletins were also taken off the air for a year.
