The All Manipur Working Journalists’ Union (AMWJU) and Editors’ Guild Manipur (EGM) have appealed to all security forces operating in the State not to target or prevent media personnel from performing their legitimate duties.
Condemning the alleged incident of blocking the media persons on Thursday, the two bodies of working journalists in Manipur stated that the combined troops of the 20 Jat Regiment and 5/4 Gorkha Regiment allegedly prevented media persons from doing their duties on October 12 at Sabungkhok Khunou area, where the media persons had gone to cover an incident of attack on Sabungkhok Khunou village.
In the incident, troops of the Jat Regiment not only prevented the media team consisting of reporters from ISTV, Impact TV, Tom TV, and ISCom from covering the incident but forced them to delete whatever footage was there on their mobiles, a statement issued by the two bodies alleged.
The media groups also stated that another team of media consisting of Tom TV and Impact TV on the other side of the area was also initially prevented from taking any footage of the incident.
The AMWJU and EGM demanded accountability as they consider it as a direct attack on freedom of speech, and an effort to muzzle the press
The two bodies also stressed that they would send representations to the Chairman, Unified Command, Kuldiep Singh (Security Advisor of the CM), and Governor of Manipur, Anusuiya Uikey to kindly look into the series of attacks on media since May 3, 2023, and take appropriate action.
