IMPHAL, Apr 17: Imphal-based newspapers will be suspending publication from Wednesday in protest against the arbitrary detention of six senior journalists last night by a faction of the underground KCP and strictures imposed upon the Imphal Free Press.
The IFP however has not received any official ban notice from any underground group as yet.
Members of the media fraternity will also be staging a protest rally in Imphal tomorrow morning over the issue.
The decision was taken at a meeting of editors and journalists convened at the Manipur Press Club today over the detention last night of five newspaper editors and the news editor of ISTV by the KCP mobile task force (City Meetei) over the misquoting of a statement of the group, and the failure to publish the group`s press note in full.
Today`s meeting strongly condemned the detention of the editors, and took a serious view of the strictures imposed on the Imphal Free Press.
After thorough deliberation, the meeting adopted six resolutions. As a mark of protest, it was decided to leave editorials blank in the April 18 editions of all newspapers; further, it was agreed to stage a protest rally tomorrow. A memorandum is also to be submitted to the chief minister of Manipur urging him to put an end to the victimisation of the journalist community.
The meeting also decided to pursue further the earlier demand raised for a white paper on the shooting of the AMWJU`s general secretary, Ratan Luwangha. It was also decided to seek the assistance of various civil society organisations and individuals in the journalists` movement.
The meet also decided to make public in detail the circumstances of the detention of newspaper editors by the underground group.
In this connection, it is to be mentioned that on April 14, newspapers published a statement issued by the KCP`s central committee through the KCP`s publicity secretary.
On the other hand, exercising discretion under the local adjustment clause of the code of conduct earlier framed by the Editors` Forum, Manipur, a statement released on the KCP mobile task force commander was not published.
After heavy pressure was exerted in this regard by the MTF chief commander, the journalist organisations met repeatedly, and adopted various resolutions.
However, late on April 15, an agreement was reached on telephone with the MTF chief commander on the basis of indications that his group was moving towards unification of the KCP. On this basis, a report was published the next day that City Meetei had endorsed the unification of the KCP.
In the wake of the publication, City Meetei expressed his desire to meet with editors of newspapers to discuss some internal issues of the KCP.
As such, at around 7 pm on April 16, six editors went to a place suggested by the MTF.
After reaching the spot, some members of the MTF escorted the editors to a nearby building. Once the latter were inside, the doors were locked, and editors were threatened by the cadres, who asked, `Kanana adugumba pao adu phong-u hai, karamna pao phongdoklibano.`
The cadres demanded that the press note issued by the MTF should be published in full. They said the KCP chairman had not extended a formal invitation to the group for unification, but only mooted the idea over the telephone, and further demanded that an apology should be published over the misquote.
They further demanded that no news relating to the KCP should be published without the approval of MTF chief commander City Meetei.
The cadres also declared that a three-month ban has been imposed on the Imphal Free Press on the same matter.
In this regard, it is to be clarified that City Meetei, in his telephone conversation earlier with newspaper editors, had not actually said that the KCP chairman had extended an invitation. He had however in an earlier communication stated to some of the editors that the chairman had, over the telephone, offered unification of the KCP.
Owing to haste in framing the draft for the news item, the editors doing the drafting mistakenly stated that `an invitation` for talks had been received, in place of `an offer`.
In the course of their detention last night, the MTF cadres offered to release four of the six newspaper editors immediately, while the remaining two would be detained until the publication of the report as desired by the MTF. The editors however declined, and all six were released in the early hours today (April 17) after publication of the day`s newspapers.
