The All Manipur Working Journalists Union (AMWJU) and the Editors Guild Manipur (EGM) have objected to the Editor Guild of India’s ‘Report of the Fact-Finding Mission on Media’s Reportage of the Ethnic Violence in Manipur’ that was published on 2 September 2023. The two unions accused the team from EGI of making “Motivated Allegations based on Hearsay”.
The unions criticised the “half-baked” report made by the team “completed in merely four days”, damaging the image of the Imphal based journalist community in Manipur.
The scribe unions alleged that the EGI report carried many factual errors and challenged almost every point, first being the “claim Meiteis were the initiators of the riots on May 3”.
AMWJU and EGM acknowledged that there were shortcomings in reportage because of “unavoidable constraints” including the internet ban and territory accessibility to “reporters belonging to the communities in conflict” which they claimed that EGI did not understand.
The journalist bodies have requested for clarification from EGI for the “grave misrepresentations of the Imphal based journalists community” or face legal damage suit.
Among its objections included the report’s reference to – Hill Area Committee Act 1972, which the unions said did not exist; the eviction of Kuki villages from “reserved forest” and “protected forest” to which the unions stated that more Meitei houses were evicted than the Kukis’ in this exercise; N Biren Singh’s government withdrew the tripartite Suspension of Operations agreement with the Kukis groups; rape of woman in the viral video case; total destruction of Kuki-Zo churches, houses and other properties in Meitei dominated areas on 3 May; Meira Paibis were “without remorse”; newspapers and news channels in the Imphal valley took dictations from the Chief Minister’s office.
Further, AMWJU and EGM opposed the choice of photographs used in the EGI report which it claims “shows the Kuki-Zo communities as endemically victimised.” It also accuses the report of failing to highlight the violence and threats faced by the Manipur journalists and ignoring the goodwill deeds of the unions.
Read more: REPORT OF THE FACT-FINDING MISSION ON MEDIA’S REPORTAGE OF THE ETHNIC VIOLENCE IN MANIPUR
