Labelling of the press body as 'anti-state' and 'anti-national' deeply disturbing: EGI

The executive committee of the Editors Guild of India has reacted to the FIRs registered by the Manipur police against it for its report on the ethnic clashes in the state. The guild said it is 'shocked by the intimidatory remarks made by the chief minister of Manipur, N Biren Singh, in response to the report'.

Statement by the Executive Committee of the Editors Guild of India on the FIRs registered by the Manipur police against the Guild, as well as the intimidatory remarks made by the Chief Minister of Manipur pic.twitter.com/MHvrYT8ufj

— Editors Guild of India (@IndEditorsGuild) September 5, 2023

In a statement issued on 5 September, it stated,” The Guild is extremely disturbed that rather than respond to the concerns raised in the report in a meaningful way, the state government has registered FIRs invoking multiple provisions of the IPC. The Guild has already acknowledged and corrected an error that was pointed out regarding a photo caption, and we remain open to further discussion.” 

It continued, “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.”

The Guild further reiterated that the underlying idea of the report was to enable introspection and reflection on the media's conduct in such a sensitive situation, and urged the state government to close the FIRs. 

Other press bodies including the Press Club of India, the Mumbai Press Club, the Delhi Union of Journalists and the DIGIPUB News India Foundation among others have come out in support of the Editor’s Guild and condemned the state government’s move.

The Mumbai Press Club issued a statement on X (formerly Twitter) condemning the 'arbitrary and authoritarian action by the Manipur govt for filing an FIR against the President of the Editors Guild and its 3-members fact-finding team that had probed the one-sided media coverage of the ethnic clash in the state.'

We condemn the arbitrary and authoritarian action by the Manipur govt for filing an FIR against the President of the Editors Guild and its 3-members fact-finding team that had probed the one-sided media coverage of the ethnic clash in the state.@NBirenSingh @IndEditorsGuild pic.twitter.com/8DwGUlrxXa

— Mumbai Press Club (@mumbaipressclub) September 5, 2023

DIGIPUB’s statement condemning the FIR against the Editors Guild of India. pic.twitter.com/25mwvPUn9J

— DIGIPUB News India Foundation (@DigipubIndia) September 4, 2023

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