CPJ alarmed by the conditions of journalists in Manipur

New York, Aug 10 (UNI) City-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has expressed concerns over the deteriorating working conditions for the media in India's North-Eastern state of Manipur, where more than a dozen insurgent groups are engaged in separatist activity or factional fighting.

Besides increased pressure from competing militant groups, journalists in Manipur are now faced with a new directive issued by the local government banning the publication of any statements made by ''unlawful organisations.'' Quoting the local Manipuri journalists, the CPJ said the vaguely worded order, issued on August 2, would cripple reporting on Manipur's internecine conflicts.

Moreover, the directive puts them in a near impossible situation, with the threat of physical reprisal from militants on one side and government prosecution on the other, the CPJ added.

An editorial in the Imphal Free Press said the ban would force the news media ''to choose between the devil and the deep sea.'' The All Manipur Working Journalists Union has urged the state government to withdraw the order immediately.

''Journalists must be free to make decisions about what to publish and what not to publish,'' said the CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon, adding that instead of making conditions for journalists even more insecure,the government should focus on providing greater security for the press in Manipur to carry out their important work.

The CPJ is an independent, nonprofit organisation that works to safeguard the 'freedom of press' worldwide.

Quoting information received at its New York office, the CPJ said the ban came amid a period of heightened tension for the press in Manipur, which was navigating competing demands from rival factions of the separatist People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK) to carry their opposing statements.

According to news reports, on July 31 armed men associated with the 'Tiger faction' of PREPAK visited the offices of two local newspapers -- Hueiyen Lanpao and Naharolgi Thoudang -- and demanded that the group's statement be published the following day.

Members of the Journalists Union and the Editors Forum of Manipur held an emergency meeting and decided to carry an edited version of the statement in the next day's editions.

Later, the editor of the local Sangai Express received a packet containing a rocket-propelled grenade and was threatened of ''dire consequences'' if his newspaper carried the Tiger faction statement.

According to the news reports, the ominous parcel was labelled in bold, lettering ''from the Home department of PREPAK''.

In response to the threats, the Journalists Union and the Editors Forum decided to suspend publication of all local newspapers, the CPJ said, quoting the reports.

UNI