Srinagar newspapers resume work; Mehbooba Mufti 'regrets' high-handedness
Srinagar: Srinagar newspaper firms resumed work late on Wednesday afternoon and the publications will hit the stands again on Thursday morning, after remaining unavailable for five days following an undeclared official media gag.
The publishers and editors of English, Urdu and other vernacular newspapers published from the Valley who met in Srinagar earlier to take a fresh look at their decision to suspend publications in the face of “press emergency” imposed by the government decided to return to work immediately.
This came after Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti offered an apology to a group of editors who met her in Srinagar for the inconvenience that may have been caused to them and the readers.
Police on Saturday confiscated the copies of all leading Srinagar newspapers during pre-dawn raids at their press offices in an undeclared information gag which has also shut down the Internet, Cellular phone services and Cable TV network partially.
Though no formal gag order was issued, the authorities had privately justified the curbs saying these were unavoidable in view of certain presentations in these publications “adding fuel to the fire”.
The editors and publishers of the newspapers have also been assured by the government that no one from the administration or police and other security forces will hamper their work or distribution of their publications among the readers. The Chief Minister, at the same time, made a fervent appeal to all sections of the media to contribute towards normalisation of the situation and return of peace in the Valley.
A statement issued by the government in Srinagar said that while describing free and vibrant media an essential pillar of democracy, the Chief Minister urged the Fourth Estate to play a responsive and proactive role in tiding over the enormous challenges facing Jammu and Kashmir and its people. She reassured the editors that the government is committed to independence of media at all costs and complaints of highhandedness against the press, if any, amid prevailing situation will be looked into. “Though there has been no deliberate attempt on part of the government to impose any restrictions on the publication of newspapers, whatever has happened, because of some communication gap is regrettable,” the Chief Minister was quoted as saying. She also assured a look into the incidents that unfolded during the past week hampering work of media persons.
Mufti who also holds the charge of Information Department, assured the editors that the government would facilitate, to the maximum extent possible, smooth movement of the journalists and other newspaper staff to ensure that they can perform their professional duties in a hassle-free manner. “She sought the cooperation of all the stakeholders including the media in facilitating return of peace and calm in the State and preventing further loss of lives and destruction of properties. She said media’s credibility is its biggest asset and it should try to maintain the same at all costs, especially amid difficult situations like the one Kashmir is presently embroiled in,” the statement said.
State’s education minister and government spokesman, Naeem Akhter, who was present during the editors’ meeting with the Chief Minister, acknowledged he had last week told some media persons that the government may be forced to impose strict curfew in Kashmir in view of the prevailing law and order situation, and that it may result in restricting the movement of all sections of the people including journalists and the staff associated with newspapers.
The media representatives who approached Akhter following the raid on newspaper press offices had also quoted him as saying “Better you stay at home for some time.”
But the arbitrary decision to gag the media evoked widespread criticism across the country and also by media watchdog organisations abroad.
Chief Minister’s advisor Amitabh Mattoo’s stated in Srinagar on Monday evening that there is no ban as such on publication of newspapers in the Valley. He also said the Chief Minister was not aware of any media gag from the government. He met owners and editors of newspapers to admit it was a “mistake” on part of the administration and "apologised" for it. This came hours after Information and Broadcasting Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said in Delhi that Chief Minister Mufti had told him there was no ban on publication of newspapers in the Valley.
The owners and editors of Kashmir newspapers who discussed the “press emergency” issue at a meeting held in Srinagar on Tuesday had said that even after Matoo’s admission the government has resorted to “propaganda blitzkrieg” by insisting that there was no ban. “They used all the available media to hit the credibility of the newspapers that has a history of not ceasing its publication even when it members were killed,” a statement issued by them had said.
It also said, “The editors took this issue very seriously. They asked Mattoo that the government must own the ban and issue a statement guaranteeing that media operations are not being hampered from the movement of staff, to newsgathering, printing and the distribution of the newspapers.” The statement added, “We have not heard anything from anybody in the government since then. It indicates that the government has not changed its press emergency” and announced that in the wake of these developments, the editors and the owners of the Valley newspapers “regret that it may not be possible for us to resume publication of newspapers. We will review the progress on Wednesday”.
On Tuesday evening, the J&K government in a statement said that it wants to make it clear that there are no restrictions on printing and publishing of newspapers. It said that in notifications issued earlier during the day the district magistrates of Srinagar and Budgam have “clarified that there is no restriction on printing and publishing of newspapers” in the twin districts where most of the newspapers are published from or their press offices are located.
