Editors Guild of India calls Manipur CM Biren Singh’s remarks ‘intimidatory’, urges govt to close FIRs

“The Guild has already acknowledged and corrected an error that was pointed out regarding a photo caption, and we remain open to further discussion. However, the Chief Minister’s labelling of the journalists body as “anti-State” and “anti- national” is deeply disturbing, especially given the way the Union Government has emphasised the country’s democratic credentials as well as the spirit of freedom of speech at the global stage for the upcoming G20 summit,” it further said.

The report in question had criticised the role of the state administration and alleged bias by officials and a section of the media in the ethnic conflict, which has killed over 150 people and displaced thousands. The report alleged that the leadership of the state “became partisan during the conflict” and “failed to do its duty as a democratic government which should have represented the entire state”.

“The Guild had received several representations from civil society as well as the Indian Army raising concerns that the media in Manipur was playing a partisan role in the ongoing ethnic conflict between the majority Meitei community and the Kuki-Chin minority. The Guild had sent a three-member team to Manipur to examine the media’s reportage in the state as well as the effects of internet shut down,” it said.

The Guild’s team – comprising Seema Guha, Sanjay Kapoor and Bharat Bhushan – visited the state on August 7-10 and released a 24-page report on September 2. It was constituted after the Guild said it had received several representations, including from the Indian Army, about “uneven and biased reportage of the conflict.”

The Guild said that the “underlying idea of the report was to enable introspection and reflection on the media’s conduct in such a sensitive situation”.

Condemning the report, at a press conference on Monday, Chief Minister Singh said the Guild “instigated hostility among one another and attempted to cause more turmoil by putting oil to the already burning state instead of cooling down the flames”.

“Don’t come if you don’t know about the background and the history of Manipur. Please don’t come and say anything. Before coming, you people have to understand the background of the present crisis; how it happened, how it got created and who created it. Let the investigation be finished,” he said.