Congress Demands Immediate Release Of Detained Journalists In Manipur (image-pixabay)
The Manipur state has been gripped by violence for the past eight months. The Manipur police on Friday arrested Dhanabir Maimbam, the editor of the Meitei language newspaper Hueiyen Lanpao, on charges of promoting enmity between the communities of the state.
The arrest of Maibam came a week after the Manipur Police arrested another journalist Wangkhemcha Shyamjai for allegedly promoting enmity between communities in the state. Shyamjai, the editor of the newspaper Kangleipakki Meira, was booked for allegedly publishing “provocative news”.
You cannot curb the truth from coming out by arresting journalists, Mr @PMOIndia.
Our statement on the arrests of Dhanabir Maibam, editor of Hueiyen Lanpao and Wangkhemcha Shyamjai, editor of Kangleipakki Meira in Manipur. pic.twitter.com/Aag8hJujxS
— Pawan Khera 🇮🇳 (@Pawankhera) January 7, 2024
The Indian National Congress released statement on demanding the immediate release of the journalists who were arrested in the state of Manipur.
The statement read, “The Indian National Congress strongly deplores the arrest of the editors of reputable vernacular newspapers. We firmly believe that journalists should be allowed to pursue their professional duties without fear of intimidation, especially when reporting on matters of public interest. We firmly endorse the objections raised by All Manipur Working Journalists Union (AMWJU), Editors’ Guild Manipur (EGM) and Paomi Welfare Foundation”.
The All-Manipur Journalists Union, of which Shyama was an earlier chief and the Editors Guild Manipur (EGM) condemned the arrest and demanded his immediate release.
The Congress alleged that the BJP government is indulging in a string of assaults on Freedom of Press by arresting journalists. The statement added, “all this is being done to escape any accountability for the callous mishandling of the situation, by plunging the state into violence, chaos, and anarchy”.
The Manipur violence has resulted in the death of more than 200 people, injured 1100 and displaced 67,000 in the past eight months.
The Congress criticised the BJP government for suppressing Freedom of Press and targeting selected journalists by using draconian laws like UAPA.
The statement concluded by urging the Manipur government to immediately release the detained journalists and, to ensure the safety and well-being of all journalists working in Manipur, ‘upholding their right to report freely and independently’.
