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March
14, 2005
Sub: Recent attacks on journalists
The Network of Women in Media, India (NWMI) wishes
to protest against the attack last Friday by the
Shiv Sena on the Business Today office.
Political
parties, especially the Shiv Sena and the BJP,
are notorious for targeting the media, blaming
them for their alleged biased reporting. But what
happened at the offices of the India Today group
goes beyond all norms of democracy. A media house
is at perfect liberty to invite whoever it wants
to its private functions. By wrecking the office
of the magazine the Sena has once again proved
its lumpen character. As media persons, we wish
to register our protest at these types of incidents,
which are becoming far too common in various parts
of the country. We urge all those working as journalists
to take a strong stand on this issue.
This incident comes after the attack on NDTV journalist
Ms Priyanka
Kakodkar who was covering the events in Goa recently.
On March 4, the day of the trust vote in Panaji,
she and other reporters were heckled and assaulted
by BJP workers who were demonstrating outside
the Raj Bhavan in Goa after the BJP lost the trust
vote. The Congress won the trust vote and, later,
President's rule was imposed. There is evidence
to believe the attack was planned as Ms Kakodkar
was there for over an hour before the attack began.
Shortly
before the journalists set up their cameras for
live broadcast, the BJP started shouting slogans
against NDTV reporters, calling them "pimps
of the Congress" and making lewd gestures.
While Ms Kakodkar was on air, they continued to
shout slogans against her, accusing her of being
pro-Congress.
At one point, one of them threw stones at her
and, then, they tried to
snatch the crew's equipment.Luckily, Goa reporters
rallied around and
defused a potentially violent situation. Although
a BJP leader from the
former chief minister's officer was at the spot,
he merely said, "What can I do if the rank
and file is upset?"
We strongly oppose such attacks on mediapersons.
We believe they
undermine the freedom of the press and represent
attempts at censorship by mob. At a time when
press freedom is under so much threat from various
quarters it is important for journalists to resist
such efforts to intimidate the media. Journalists'
right to report news without fear or favour is
closely linked to citizens' rights to freedom
of expression and to information which, in turn,
are essential aspects of democracy. No political
party has the right to infringe on the democratic
character of the press. Assaults such as these
reveal the undemocratic character of parties that
indulge in them.
We also demand that the culprits in both cases
be brought to book.
The
Network of Women in Media, India, is an association
which aims to
provide a forum for women in media professions
to share information and
resources, exchange ideas, promote media awareness
and ethics, and work for gender equality and justice
within the media and society. Local groups linked
to the NWMI are currently functioning in 16 centres
across the country.
Sincerely,
On Behalf of NWMI
Ammu Joseph, Kalpana Sharma, Sameera Khan, Geeta
Seshu, Manjeet Kripalani, Neeta Kolhatkar, Shubha
Khandekar, Rajni Bakshi, Nilan Singh, Meena Menon,
Laxmi Murthy, Lalitha Vaidyanathan, Akhileshwari
Ramagoud, Shala Raza, Manipadma Jena, Renu Ramanath,
Rajashri Dasgupta, Ranjita Biswas, Ananya Chatterjee
Chakraborti, Ritusmita Sikdar, Indira Kanjilal,
Annam Suresh, Rina Mukherjee, Anjali Mathur.
A
copy of this letter was sent to:
- Press
Council of India,
Soochna Bhavan, 8-C.G.O. Complex,
Lodhi Road,
New Delhi 110003
Email: pcids@vsnl.net
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