Seminar cum Workshop on Safety and Security of Journalists at Guwahati

A one day seminar cum workshop was organized under the leadership of Journalists Union of Assam at Dispur Press Club, Guwahati involving two other organizations – Assam state committee of Association of Small & Medium Newspapers of India and Journalists Federation of Assam on December 10, 2017. IJU leader and former member of Press Council of India K. Amarnath attended the event as resource person. Rajiv Prakash Baruah, Director, Information and Public Relations and Pallab Bhattacharya Assam and Additional Director General of Police (SB) Assam also attended the seminar cum workshop as distinguished guests.

K. Amarnath said that regular attacks on journalists create an environment of self censorship in media which is harmful to democracy. Attending a workshop cup seminar held today at the Dispur Press Club, Guwahati organized by Journalists Union of Assam, Assam state committee of Association of Small & Medium Newspapers of India and Journalists Federation of Assam Amarnath said that only unity among the mediapersons can build resistance against attacks on media and freedom of expression. Pallab Bhattacharya Additional Director General of Police (SB) Assam said that co ordination between police and the mediapersons are important in preserving media rights and safety of journalists. He also said that sometime unverified news published in media creates lots of misunderstanding and confusion. Rajiv Prakash Baruah Director of Information and Pubic Relation Department said that the present state government has decided to pay Rupees 5 lacs to each family members of 32 journalists killed in the state since 1990. He also assured that the state government would take all possible steps to help the small and medium newspapers of the state with regard to the issuance of advertisements. The participants in the seminar cum workshop discussed the UN pan of action on safety of Journalists. The seminar has resolved to set up a State Alliance of Media Safety comprising all the journalists unions of the state. The seminar also decided to establish an Eminent Group of Journalists (EGJ) to serve as a mediation platform between media workers and media owners as well as between media and the government authorities. The seminar urged the state government to enact a special law to protect the journalists of the state in line with Maharashtra. The seminar also urged the government to appoint a special prosecutor exclusively to take up and pursue cases of attacks on media and media workers to promote a culture of justice and accountability. The seminar also asked the government to set up a first track court to deal with the media right violation day to day basis. The seminar opined that a set of Safety Protocols for journalists by the industry outlining minimum safety standards and procedures. The Safety Protocols for journalists should be endorsed, adopted and implemented by al media organizations that hire journalists and media workers and other member associations. The seminar also adopted the following resolutions in the seminar.

A set of “Safety Protocols for journalists” should be developed by the media industry outlining minimum safety standards and procedures, based on best practices on safety of media practitioners. The Safety Protocols for journalists should be endorsed, adopted and implemented by media organizations that hire journalists and media workers and other member associations.

The signature “code of journalism ethics” adopted by representative media associations and media regulating bodies should be amended to make safety of journalists the number one obligation in each one of them.

A “Media legal Aid Fund” should be established to make available resources for journalists to invoke legal processes to pursue justice as one of the key means of combating impunity.

The government should facilitate in consonance with working journalists, high eve investigation into the deaths of all journalists killed so far to provide justice for their families.

The representative media associations should emerge with the political parties to include protection of media freedom as part of party manifestos.

The Press clubs and media centres should be converted into resource hub on safety of journalists providing training, tools, and technical resources.

A photo gallery of the slain journalists of the state should be established inside press clubs and journalists unions’ offices; statues of slain journalists like Kamala Saikia, Punarmal Agarwala and Parag Kumar Das should be installed in prominent places.

Journalists Union of Sikkim formed New Executive Body

Journalists Union of Sikkim(JUS), an affiliate of IJU has formed a new executive body in its annual general meeting held at Press Cub of Sikkim, Gangtok in presence of IJU Vice President Geetartha Pathak on December 20, 2017. The members of the union discussed at length the implementation of Majhithia Wage Board Award for journalists and other newspaper workers. Countering the argument of the newspaper houses that since all the newspapers in the state are small and medium and their revenue earned is low, the newspaper managements of the stat are not in a position to implement the Award, the union leaders said that since the Wage Board has considered the different classes of newspaper houses on the basis of revenue earned and fixed the salary slab accordingly, it would not be difficult for them to pay the salary as determined by the Wage Board. The members of the union also said that since the minimum wages for skilled labour in the state is not less than Rs 800, the salary of journalists should not be less than Rs 24000 per month. However the journalists of the state are getting far less salary than the minimum wages fixed for the skilled labours by the state.

The meeting also decided to engage in activities for media rights other problems of media persons in the state in synchronization with Press Cub of Sikkim. Joseph Lepcha, President of Press Cub of Sikkim apprised IJU Vice President about activities of JUS in the state during last year. He also said that JUS would take a proactive role in activating the Northeast India Federation of Journalists, an IJU affiliated umbrella organization of journalists unions of Northeast. JUS members expressed its deep concern at the increasing attacks on journalists and freedom of expression in the country. It urges the Sikkim government to enact a law in line with Maharashtra for safeguarding the mediapersons.

IJU Vice President Geetartha Pathak met the leaders of Eastern Himalayan Journalists Union, a recognized body of journalists of Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), West Bengal at Kalingpong and take stock of the situation there.