Daily threatened again, scribes to protest today

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Feb 25: Days after a grenade was lobbed inside the office of Poknapham daily, the media house has yet again been threatened not to publish newspapers for six months by an underground outfit, said All Manipur Working Journalists’ Union (AMWJU) vehemently condemning the threats to press.
The new threat to the media house came to light when AMWJU and EGM (Editors’ Guild Manipur) enquired Poknapham about the reason for not publishing today’s issue of the paper, said AMWJU in a statement today.
AMWJU and EGM held an emergency meeting regarding the threat and have taken several resolutions urging the group concerned to clarify and provide reasons for dictating that the publication of Poknapham newspaper be shut down for 6 months within 48 hours (from 6 am of February 26). If the clarification is not given by the end of the 48 hours, the allegation raised against Poknapham would be taken as unfounded and baseless.
In solidarity with Pokna-pham, journalists of all media houses including electronic media will cease work and launch protests from tomorrow (February 26).
The emergency meeting also decided to ask civil society organisations  for assistance on difficulties and constraints media houses are facing, said AMWJU.
Further, condemning the February 13 bomb attack at Poknapham media house, AMWJU and the EGM said that  the failure of the Government and the police to identify and arrest the person who lobbed the hand grenade inside the office premises even after 10 days is very unfortunate.
The persons responsible should be arrested at the earliest, they said.
The media in Manipur has been at the receiving end for long.