Mediapersons here hit out at the ULFA on Wednesday for the recent threats issued to four city-based journalists, and asked it to withdraw the same immediately. They were reacting to the threat, issued by ULFA commander-in-chief Paresh Barua through an e-mail on June 8, at a meeting organised by the Journalists’ Union of Assam affiliated to the Indian Journalists’ Union at the Guwahati Press Club. Several journalists and newspaper employees’ union leaders spoke on the occasion. DN Chakravarti, editor of Dainik Asam — the oldest Assamese daily — came down heavily on the outfit and said the ULFA had lost its ability to identify friends and foes. ‘‘The ULFA is pursuing a meaningless philosophy which is proving to be self-destructive as well as harmful to the Assamese society,’’ Chakravarti, who had earlier faced a similar threat for his critical remarks against the ULFA following the Dhemaji blasts, said. Barua had, in his June 8 statement, named D N Bezboruah, former editor of The Sentinel (also former president of Editors’ Guild of India), Prasanta Rajguru, executive editor of Amar Asam and two others. ‘‘There is no problem when we carry ULFA’s statements verbatim. But when we are critical or when we publish the truth, they cannot accept it,’’ said Rajguru. He had invited the wrath of the outfit by publishing a story about an opinion poll conducted by the People’s Consultative Group, in which most respondents had opposed the demand for sovereignty. JUA president and Press Council of India member Geetartha Pathak recalled that the local media had even violated Press Council guidelines in publishing ULFA statements keeping in view the interests of the common people. Later, IG (Special Branch) Khagen Sharma said: ‘‘A stage comes in insurgency when journalists are also made targets by militant groups. It happens because journalists write the truth which becomes unacceptable to them.’’ Talks on schedule, says Centre NEW DELHI: Despite the surge in violence in Assam, the Centre has decided to go ahead with the June 22 talks scheduled with the Peoples Consultative Group (PCG), constituted by the ULFA last September. National Security Adviser M K Narayanan and Intelligence Bureau director E S L Narasimhan attended a high-level meeting to discuss the issue on Wednesday. After briefing Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil on the matter, Narayanan told reporters that the talks would be held as decided earlier.
