Reporters to continue black badge protest over Gwaltabi incident

The All Manipur Working Journalists’ Union (AMWJU) and the Editors’ Guild Manipur (EGM) have resolved to suspend boycott of Govt. news but to continue with black badge protest over the harassment of journalists by central forces at Gwaltabi while en route to cover the 5th Shirui Festival. The protest includes the display of slogans demanding protection of media rights.
A memorandum was earlier submitted to the Governor on May 20, following which a two-member enquiry committee was formed and instructed to submit its report within 15 days. The committee submitted its findings to the Manipur Chief Secretariat on June 16.
However, AMWJU and EGM expressed disappointment that no concrete action has been taken, even after more than a month since the incident. They stated that the future course of agitation would depend on the government’s response to the enquiry report.
In a statement, the journalist bodies expressed regret for any inconvenience caused to the public and reaffirmed their demand for accountability. They declared the movement’s slogan as: “We demand action now against injustice.”