KL NEWS NETWORK
SRINAGAR
The Editors Guild of India on Sunday strongly condemned the efforts by the Jammu and Kashmir Government to gag the media in the state.
“The police was sent in the early hours of the morning into the offices of the local media in Kashmir with the printing presses being seized along with the copies of the newspapers that had just been printed,” a statement issued by India’s largest body of editors.
“It is extremely unfortunate that the State Government, under fire for its poor management of the law and order situation in the Valley, has sought to shoot the messenger,” the statement said while referring to reports of seizure of newspapers from printing presses and arrest of their staff.
The Editors Guild notes, the statement said, “the two main English newspapers of Kashmir, Greater Kashmir and Rising Kashmir, are run by responsible editors and journalists and report events with sobriety.”
“We are also aghast to note that the media censorship will continue, for a minimum of three days if not more. This is a direct assault to the freedom of the press in India and the Guild strongly condemns this unwarranted muzzling of the media,” the statement, which was signed by Raj Chengappa, Prakash Dube and Seema Mustafa – all senior journalists, added.
The Editors Guild of India “requested” the State Government to immediately lift the censorship and refrain from any action to intimidate the press.
