MUFP celebrates World Press Freedom Day

As we at the MUFP celebrate the World Press Freedom Day today we have a reasons to both rejoice and feel concerned about the developments in Orissa.

2009 offered us compelling reasons to unite under one umbrella and fight all attempts at muzzling and terrorising the media and media persons and that saw the birth of a unique and broad platform called the Media Unity For Freedom of Press. The MUFP has been able to bring together all sections of the media across the state on several issues that threatened media's basic rights and mandate to investigate and report the truth. The sense of unity among media persons on such occasions has been truly encouraging and friends belonging to several journalist unions have joined our efforts in very large numbers.

At the same time we have great many reasons to feel concerned about the growing challenges - be it from the administration, corporate sector, mafias or people who enjoy political clout as well as money and muscle power.

The cases that we have taken up in our brief existence - from attacks on Laxman Choudhury, Jagannath Bastia and Amulya Pati among several others down to the latest bloody attack on media persons at the Silicon Institute of Technology - clearly demonstrate a trend of growing intolerance against the media. Friends working in Maoist zones as well as in areas where people's movements are taking place are among the most vulnerable to repression, physical attacks and even death threats from powers that be. The state government and the district administration are slowly but definitely turning against the idea of a fiercely independent press and we have reasons to apprehend they would fall back on draconian measures whenever they are exposed to public scrutiny.

Our only shield against organised or institutional attacks on the freedom of press is our newly achieved unity which we must preserve and protect against all odds and at any cost. We need to reiterate our commitment to the idea of press freedom through press unity on the World Press Freedom Day and resolve to strengthen the MUFP as a body that is above all divisive and petty considerations and one that is wedded to the idea of defending the self-respect as well as basic and inalienable right of the media to report the truth, come what may.

MUFP seeks judicial probe into attack on newsmen

This emergency meeting of Bhubaneswar based media persons, conveyed by Media Unity for Freedom of Press, in the evening of 28th April, 2010, unanimously determined that the Freedom of Press is severely threatened in Orissa. While exploring remedies, the following resolutions were unanimously adopted:

Resolution No1:

This meeting condemns the bloody attack on media persons on duty covering plight of students of privately run Silicon Institute of Technology, Bhubaneswar. It appreciates the police action in arresting some of the spotted miscreants comprising management and staff of this institute; but simultaneously it puts on record that the police is yet to proceed in the right track, as all the arrested miscreants are enlarged on bail in absence of police ability to forward the case details promptly to the court of hearing and the body of the student that succumbed allegedly to food poisoning has been disposed off sans post-mortem and other medico-legally studies.

This meeting takes serious note of the advertisement of OPECA in various newspapers designed to denigrate the Press. OPECA advertisement goes on to say that “allegation against the Directors and employees of Silicon Institute of Technology for allegedly manhandling the media is absolutely false and fabricated”. When in subsequent advertisement the OPECA admitted the offense and offered unconditional apology, a team of its members have disowned it the next day and have openly tried to influence the Police Commissioner to drop the charges under 307 IPC under which prima-facie the attackers were booked. This meeting condemns the first ad. Of OPECA as blatant lie and resolves that the state government be called upon to appeal against the grant of bail to the miscreants specifically as their collective body has been trying to influence the Police to drop the charges under 307. It is clear that the miscreants were using their group to tamper with normal process of law by trying to influence the police commissioner to drop the charges of attempt to murder and if they are allowed to stay on bail, it cannot be said for sure that they will not try to tamper with evidences. Hence this meeting calls upon the Government to go instantly on appeal against the bail order as well as to take action against the in-charge police authority that have helped the miscreants be enlarged on bail by not submitting the CD in time.

Taking into consideration the above scenario vis-à-vis the exhibition of cold silence by the Silicon College authorities over the sordid development this meeting hold that the Silicon College perpetrated the murderous attack on the media persons to obliterate the proofs of havoc they have played on the lives of students as well as to intimidate the Press and therefore, calls upon the Government to take exemplary action against SIT as a measure to discipline the errant traders of techno-education and to restore professional climate for the Press.

To bring the truth to light this meeting of MUFP urges upon the Chief Minister to institute a time bound Judicial Commission of Enquiry under the Commission of Enquiry Act. to be headed by a Retired High Court Judge to probe into the incidents that lead to murderous attack on the media persons inside the Silicon Institute of Technology , after they went there to cover the alleged death of a student due to food poisoning, functioning of the SIT and all technical institutions who are members of OPECA, where neither the students nor the media persons are safe. The Commission may kindly probe into the cause of the sudden death of the student, role of police for not registering an Unnatural Death Case and handing over the body to the parents without ascertaining the cause of death and allowing the body for cremation. It may also probe into the role of the police in not filing the CD before the Court in time, role of the Public Prosecutor and circumstances under which all the ten accused persons were bailed out in absence of the Case Diary.

Resolution No.2:

The MUFP expressed its grave concern over murderous attack on Mr. Amulya Pani by anti socials, while on duty. Though he has named the assaulters in his F.I.R. before the police so far the Kalinga Nagar police have not arrested the assaulters because of their high political connections.

This meeting of MUFP therefore urged upon the Chief Minister of Orissa to intervene in the matter and ensure arrest of the assaulters within a week and to take exemplary actions against the police officials and politicians for protecting the assaulters.

Resolution No.3:

This instance of bloody attack on media persons calls for immediate legislation against any such attack in future. Hence it is resolved that the government be moved to promulgate an ordinance pending pending framing of a law on physical protection of media persons, the nomenclature of which should be something like ‘Physical and Intellectual Protection of Media persons Act’ with provision of severe punishment. As such, this meeting calls upon the government to frame and promulgate an Ordinance styled as ‘physical and intellectual protection of media persons’ Order, 2010’ to be turned into an assize by the Assembly.

Resolution 4:

It was shocking to note that the Lokpal of Orissa has been addressed by the Secretary of the Public Grievances & PA department to initiate appropriate action as per Section 15 (5) of Orissa Lokpal and Loayukta Act 1995 against journalists and media organizations that according to him have violated Section 15(4) of the said Act by publishing recommendations of the Lokpal in cases against Vedanta. Even as this meeting wants to make it clear that with evolution of peoples’ right to information, any restriction on press coverage of matters unrelated to defense privilege has become redundant; it is of the considered opinion that the concerned Secretary has no locus standi under the said Act to post such a notice to the Lokpal.

Hence it is resolved that the Secretary, PG&PA department has acted without authority in posting the notice against Press to the Lokpal and has, by seeking action “so as to prevent” the Press from publishing the Lokapal’s recommendations “in future”, has resorted to a criminal act of intimidation against the media persons/houses.

It is therefore further resolved that the role of the Secretary of the PG&PA department in the instant case is condemnable and therefore his action is condemned as anti-people, anti-Press and pro-dubious industrial operators.
This meeting, on this ground, calls upon the State Government to take exemplary action against the PG&PA Secretary in order to assure that gagging of freedom of Press is not the job of this Government.

Kashmiri journalist was held for 41 months without trial

Reporters Without Borders has interviewed Maqbool Sahil, a journalist based in Srinagar, the summer capital of the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir, who was detained for 41 months without trial. Now the editor of the Urdu-language weekly Pukaar, Sahil has spent 19 years covering the conflict in Kashmir, in which thousands have died since 1989.

Arrested in 2004 after covering the rape of an Australian tourist for Chattan, the newspaper he then worked for, he was beaten and tortured during two weeks of interrogation and accused of spying for a Pakistani network. He was nonetheless never tried although Indian law says every detainee must be indicted before a court within 60 days. He decided to resume working as journalist following his release on 9 January 2008.

Sahil wrote seven books while in detention. His prison diary, “Shabistan-e-wajood,” was acclaimed by Reporters Without Borders last year.

Reporters Without Borders: Why were you arrested?

Maqbool Sahil: I was detained solely because of my work as a journalist for the weekly Chattan, covering crime and doing investigative reporting. A few days before my arrest, I covered the story of an Australian woman visiting Kashmir who said she was raped by the owner of the houseboat she had been staying on. Almost all the newspapers covered the case but I dug up facts that contradicted the Australian woman’s account and I wrote about this for the weekly.

Read the full interview: http://en.rsf.org/india-kashmiri-journalist-was-held-for-29-04-2010,37224.html

MUFP protests attack on journalists in Kalinga Nagar

Media persons of Bhubaneswar on Wednesday staged a protest against the attack on journalists in Kalinganagar in Jajpur district on March 4.

Coming under the banner of Media Unity for Freedom of Press (MUFP), the journalists hailing from different newspapers and television channels observed the silent protest for one hour under the Freedom Tree near the main entrance gate of Jayadev Bhavan.

The journalists displayed banners, posters and cartoons depicting the state government’s undue concern for corporate houses and the ruling party's scant respect for press freedom.

It was decided at the protest meeting that a team of journalists from the Capital city would visit Kalinga Nagar defying the police ban on April 8.

MUFP CONDEMNS ATTACK ON MEDIA PERSONS

A considerable number of members of Media Unity for Freedom of Press (MUFP) representing the print, electronic (TV) and Web media met in an emergency meeting at Bhubaneswar on Tuesday (05.04.2010) afternoon and elaborately discussed about the increasing attack on the media by the police, anti-socials and the corporate-government nexus.

Despite repeated demands before the Chief Minister to put an end to the atrocities on the media and allow them to operate freely for the best interest of the State and the people and to uphold human right as well as freedom of the media, the Chief Minister and his Government have so far not taken any action against the erring officials, politicians and the corporate goons who are threatening the media freedom in very many ways. The latest victims are Mr. Amulya Kumar Pati of Indian Express and many other scribes in Kalinga Nagar and Mr Prafulla Dash of Naxatra TV in Sambalpur.

The meeting resolved to invite all the media persons of Bhubaneswar and elsewhere to assemble under the Freedom Tree, in front of Soochana Bhavan on Wednesday (7th April, 2010) at 4 p.m. from where they would go on a silent protest march to the State Assembly covering their mouths with black ribbons to silently protest for one hour from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. against growing threat on media and demanding exemplary action against the offenders.

It also demanded that all the accused persons named by Mr. Pati in his F.I.R. should be arrested forthwith despite of their high political and corporate connections and be prosecuted.

Since media persons were allowed to freely cover the war, riot and other critical events for the interest of the State/nation and the people to feed them with correct information, the State Government should not impose any restrictions on their movement to any area in the State to cover corporate conflict.

The MUFP also resolved to send a delegation of journalists to Kalinga Nagar on Thursday, 7th April, 2010 to visit the Gobarghati and other villages where people are living in panic because of the terror let loose by the corporate-government nexus. The team would meet the affected people and also injured scribes including Mr. Pati and prepare a report which will be sent to various national and international media bodies as well as human right organisations.

MUFP CONDEMNS POLICE RAID ON HOUSE OF JOURNALIST AND WRITER DANDAPANI MOHAPATRA

Bhubaneswar, March 15, 2010: A large number of members of MUFP family who met under the "Freedom Tree" here on Monday, unanimously condemned the unwarranted raid in the house of journalist and writer Mr. Dandapani Mohapatra at Chungudikhol in Ganjam district on March, 11, without any search warrant, while Mohapatra was away from home.

Mohapatra is also the General Secretary of Dakhina Odisha Sahitya Sammilani since over past 25 years, and is known for his free thinking and raising voice against corruption and nepotism in the society and administration through his writings.

Mohapatra, who was present at the MUFP meeting narrated how five van loads of police belonging to five police stations, reached his home and virtually terrorised his family members and broke open all the boxes and packets containing books, newspapers and personal documents. They seized some old copies of "Ghadaghadi" magazine (now defunct) and some other magazines, which he had collected and preserved in his personal library. Then the police forced his only son Gautam Buddha Mohapatra to sign on some plain papers . The local Sarpanch was also asked to sign on some plain papers.

During the raid one police officer said that Mohapatra's house was raided because of his links with Naxal leaders.

While returning after conducting the raids for around five hours, the S.D.P.O. Chhatrapur, who was leading the police team, asked Mohapatra's son to ensure that his father should meet him at Chhatrapur immediately failing which he would have to face serious consequences.

The members of the MUFP felt that this was a deliberate attempt by the police to harass and terrorise the media persons and writers with an intention to shield free flow of news and information, which is a very dangerous phenomenon.

While condemning the police action, the MUFP demanded that the Government should use caution while dealing with media persons and writers and should not harass them physically and mentally in such manner, unless they have enough of evidence against any one. Government should try to realise from the case relating to arrest of Mohana based journalist Laxman Chaudhury under false and baseless allegations about his "Naxal link" for exposing misdeeds of the local police, and subsequently the Inspector-in-Charge Mohana police station has been caught red-handed and arrested by the vigilance sleuths for taking bribe from an illegal ganja trader.

MUFP condoles sad demise of Aaj Tak journalist

Bhubaneswar, March 06, 2010: The presidium of Media Unity for Freedom of Press (MUFP) deeply condoles the untimely sad demise of Aaj Tak TV channel's camera person Mukesh Kumar in a road accident on Saturday afternoon. Mukesh (35) is survived by his wife and a six month old son.

The accident took place near Pipili while Mukesh was returning from Puri along with Mr Parvat Kumar, reporter of the channel. The car in which both were travelling badly hit a roadside tree, resulting in serious injuries of Mukesh.

Both Pravat and Mukesh were brought to Apollo Hospital, Bhubaneswar where Mukesh was declared dead. His body will be released from the hospital on Sunday after inquest by the police.

The MUFP expressed heart-felt sympathy to the family members of Mukesh Kumar and have urged upon his employers to stand solidly behind his family since he was the only earning member of the family who died while on duty.

MUFP will hold a condolence meeting under the Freedom Tree outside Jayadev Bhavan on Monday morning to pay tributes to the memory of Mukesh.