STOP ATTACKS ON PRESS

Political parties terrorize the press and media
SFI activists attack journalists, Malayala Manorama office
Wed, Jun 25 (PTI) Kottayam.
Three journalists, two of them from crew of Manorama News channel, were injured as pro-CPI (M), SFI (the student wing of the CPM, Students Federation of India) workers attacked them while they were covering clashes between SFI and pro-Congress students wing activists here. The SFI workers also stoned the Malayala Manorama office, damaging window panes of the daily's headquarters building.
The injured journalists, Nishanth ( Nishad ?) Kurien and Manorama TV reporter Pradeep Jose, both from Manorama News, and Arun John from another daily were admitted to the district hospital (Government Medical College Hospital ).
According to eyewitnesses, the attack by the SFI activists was without any provocation.
Earlier in the day, the SFI took out a march to Kottayam district Collectorate in protest against an agitation organised by the KSU, student wing of the Congress, seeking withdrawal of controversial portions from a class VII social science textbook which reportedly contained an "anti-religious" sentiment.
While returning after the march, they came face to face with a group of KSU workers the SFI men, activists, on seeing Youth Congress leader Jayji Palackalodi, who led the Youth Congress protest march on Tuesday, started chasing him and clashed with a group of KSU, UDF student outfits, activists near a college in the city.
When the activists saw Mr. Joseph of Manorama News, they chased him too through K.K. Road and pelted stones at him. While the journalists tried to seek shelter in police jeep, the assailants pulled him out and beaten up brutally. He suffered serious injuries in the right eye and bruises all over the body.
Others who came to his rescue were also manhandled by the SFI men. A camera was also damaged in the melee. When the journalists and photographers returned to their office, the SFI activists chased them even as the police remained mute spectators.
Superintendent of Police Mathew Policarp said 10 persons were arrested.
Kerala Union of Working Journalists condemned the attack on the daily's office and journalists and held a protest march in the town. Deploring the incident, Malayalam Manorama editorial director Thomas Jacob told attacks against Malayala Manorama had become recurrent since 1967, when the newspaper’s office was first targeted by CPM cadres.
The Kerala Police decided to register a case of attempt to murder against those who carried out the attack after journalists staged a protest. CPM leaders had not contacted Malayala Manorama office to condemn the attack. The only conversation was over phone between Chief Editor K M Mathew and Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan last night. “We had to take a protest march to the SP’s office to ensure that police took the issue seriously,” Jacob said.
The CPM mouthpiece Deshabhimani virtually blacked out the issue. Coverage of the attack was limited to a one-paragraph statement, condemning the incident, issued by the Thiruvananthapuram Press Club.
The Indian Newspaper Society (INS) and Editors Guild of India condemned the attack on three journalists and the office of Malayala Manorama in Kerala allegedly by SFI activists and asked the state government to take strong action against the guilty.
In a statement, INS President Bahubali S Shah said the three journalists and a driver were attacked in Kottayam when they were on duty.
"The INS expects the Kerala government to take strict exemplary action against the perpetrators and ensure that an atmosphere is created for mediapersons to perform their duties without fear and intimidation," Shah said.
In its statement, Editors Guild of India expressed deep concern over the increasing instances of intolerance and violence against editors, journalists and newspapers in recent past and said attacks in different parts of the country were carried out by outfits which enjoys protection and immunity from ruling parties.
"The Editors Guild of India considers this as a serious and violent infringement of the freedom of the press and urges the Kerala government to take exemplary action against the guilty and ensure that such attacks are not repeated," Guild Secretary General K S Sachidananda Murthy said.
All the three journalists and their driver Sabu are undergoing treatment for multiple injuries in the Kottayam Medical College Hospital.
SFI state president A N Shamseer said the trouble began after Youth Congress men “tried to tease” an SFI activist. “Our workers misunderstood the journalist as a Youth Congress activist,” Shamsheer said. He instead blamed the media for blacking out the attack on journalists by activists of the Muslim Students Federation, the student wing of Indian Union Muslim League, in Malappuram on Tuesday.
More Incidents took place in kerala
In 2007, Monday, Aug 12 some miscreants attacked journalists at KOTTAYAM in Kerala. The journalists who arrived to cover a meeting were forced into the Press Club and locked inside the building. Trouble began when some of the participants shouted slogans against Mar Mathew Arackal, the Bishop of Kanjirappally, who was on the dais. They demanded that the Bishop be ousted from the venue. Others vented their ire at the mediapersons who were covering the melee. Soon, miscreants attacked the journalists standing near the Press Club.
More than 30 journalists were under siege. A team of police officials, led by Superintendent of Police S. Sreejith, chased away the miscreants.
In Nov 01, 2004 MALAPPURAM, Fifteen mediapersons who went to cover the reception according to the Industries Minister, P.K. Kunhalikutty, at the Karipur airport here today came under attack allegedly from activists of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML).
Mr. Kunhalikutty was arriving here after performing `Umarah' at Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
Asianet correspondent V.M. Deepa and cameraman K.P. Ramesh, Indiavision correspondent Baiju Unnikrishnan, Kairali correspondent Shailesh, Jeevan TV correspondent Ayyappadas and cameraman Suresh, NTV correspondent Sajeev C. Warrier, Surya TV reporter Jayan Komath, New Indian Express photographer N.P. Jayan and Kerala Shabdham reporter Koyamu sustained injuries. All of them had been admitted to the Baby Memorial Hospital in Kozhikode.
It was around 2.30 p.m. that an unruly mob attacked an Indiavision vehicle. Later, another mob targeted correspondent Deepa and cameramen of other television channels.
Abusive and lewd remarks were made against her; she was attacked and kicked. The cadres threw stones at the other journalists.
In COIMBATORE, Feb. 16 , TN journalists attacked by Kerala police .
A GROUP of journalists from Coimbatore district in Tamil Nadu, who had gone to Mukkali in adjoining Kerala where a weir was being constructed across the Bhavani river, despite a ban, were injured when the police from Kerala allegedly attacked them on Saturday.
A section of the farmers from Erode district in Tamil Nadu, who had gone to the place to see the construction work, also earned the wrath of the police and were hurt in the attack.
The injured journalists and farmers were admitted to the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital.

Intolerance and violence against the Fourth pillar of Indian constitutional democracy, The media, press and Information, are rising , This is a serious matter of civil concern and it is apparently nourished and unleashed by state or center Power and Political power apart from anti social elements like terrorism…
Where is the saviour of democracy? Such questions haunt us often?

Eenadu, the largest Telugu newspaper, being financially squeezed by the government at the Centre, under pressure from the state chief minister whom the newspaper had criticised. A sedition case, in Gujarat, has been lodged against ‘The Times of India’ for reports criticising a police official. In Kerala, three journalists from the Malayala Manorama were beaten up by CPI(M) cadres and they were under police protection. In Maharashtra, the home of the Loksatta editor was ransacked by people belonging to a regional party. The editor of Andhra Jyothi has been arrested for being in the vicinity when an effigy of a Dalit leader was beaten with chappals by the newpaper's staff — who were protesting against its offices being attacked by the Dalit organisation. The offices of at least three TV news channels in different cities have been vandalised. And a well-known public intellectual, Ashis Nandy, had to rush to the Supreme Court in order prevent arrest by the Gujarat police because he wrote about the communalisation of the middle class, in The Times of India. Apart from stray incidents which go un noticed!

This country has witnessed last three decades the awkward and ugly fangs of intolerance and violence on freedom of Press and its crew men. This should be stopped ! this is our only prayer to our Indian government.
source are following mentioned below
editor@expressindia.com
IndianExpress_com CPM sees no red when comrades assault Kerala journalists.htm
PTI.
http://www.outlookindia.com/pti_news.asp?id=583354
http://www.indianexpress.com/story/327434.html
http://www.thehindu.com/2008/06/26/stories/2008062655571300.htm
http://www.thehindu.com/2008/06/26/stories/2008062655571300.htm
http://in.news.yahoo.com/20/20080625/1416/tnl-sfi-activists-attack-journalists-mal.html
Source business standard 2nd july \ Editorial Press under attack.htm
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/004200806251864.htm and more

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