Monday, Nov 10, 2003
Monday, Nov 10, 2003 |
| Southern States | ||||
|
News:
Front Page |
National |
Southern States |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary | Southern States
-
Tamil Nadu
By Our Special Correspondent
N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief, The Hindu, along with M.P. VeerandraKumar, INS president, ending a day-long fast observed by journalists in Chennai on Sunday. — Photo: N. Balaji
The Madras Union of Journalists (MUJ), the Chennai Press Club (CPC), the Journalists Action Group and the Network of Women in Media, Chennai, had jointly called for the fast to press for withdrawing the legislature's order. Earlier, the organisations had planned to hold the demonstration near the State Guest House, Chepauk. As police refused permission for the venue, the fast was held in the CPC premises. Even the rain did not deter the participants who continued the fast and shouted slogans denouncing the Government's attempts to gag the Press. As a mark of ending the fast, the president of the Indian Newspaper Society, M.P. Veerendra Kumar, offered glasses of juice to Chinnakuthoosi and `Nathikam' Balu, senior Tamil journalists. Expressing solidarity with the journalist fraternity, leaders of various Opposition parties condemned the assault on Press freedom and said the attacks were a matter of great concern. The TNCC working president, E.V.K.S. Elangovan, was highly critical of the manner in which the police conducted operations with regard to The Hindu. The police illegally entered the newspaper office and conducted searches on Friday and also intercepted the Editor-in-Chief, N. Ram's car in Bangalore on Saturday. Describing November 7 (on which date the Assembly passed the sentence against five members of The Hindu and the Editor, Murasoli) as "Black Day", the DMK treasurer, Arcot N. Veerasamy, said if such actions could be taken against The Hindu, the fate of other newspapers could be imagined. The BJP national secretary, L. Ganesan, who condemned the police actions in Chennai and Bangalore, said the Bangalore incident was beyond all civilised norms. The freedom and rights being enjoyed by the Press were hard won. The Union Minister of State for Non-conventional Energy Sources, M. Kannappan, said the rights enjoyed by the Press were not granted by any individual but were the collective rights of community. The former Law Minister, Aladi Aruna of DMK, said the action against a newspaper with a rich tradition could not be tolerated by anyone and should be condemned. The AICC secretary, G.K. Vasan, MP, said that instead of concentrating on good governance and uplift of the poor, and accepting fair criticism, the Government was trying to stifle the freedom of the Press. A "people's struggle" against the Government was the need of the hour. The CPI leader, A.M. Gopu, said the Assembly sentence symbolised the height of attacks on democratic institutions by the AIADMK Government. A. Soundarajan of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions said since the AIADMK Government took over, several sections had been experiencing hardship. Now, it was the turn of the Press. The Government should end its "anti-democratic approach." The TNCC general secretary, Peter Alphonse, said "Tamil Nadu should feel ashamed of the government it had elected." The Joint Editor, The Hindu, Nirmala Lakshman, said the issue was not just a family matter, but one which concerned the entire Press. All journalists should stand united to fight for the cause of Press freedom. She criticised the ``bullying and terror tactics'' adopted by the police during their search operations in the houses of journalists. The PUCL general secretary, V. Suresh, said Assembly privileges were anachronistic to the concept of modern democracy and should be scrapped. R. Bhagwan Singh, MUJ president, hoped that the overwhelming response to the protest fast would ensure no further attacks on the Press. S.M. Balasubramanian, chief reporter of Theekathir, said the House should hold a special session to rescind the order. The Puthiya Tamizhagam leader, K. Krishnasamy, and the traders' leader, T. Vellaiyan, were among those who criticised the Assembly decision. In a statement, the Congress Jananayaga Peravai general secretary and former Union Minister, P. Chidambaram, said the Chief Minister and the Speaker were of the view that they should not be subjected to any criticism. ``They are really dictators. Such persons getting elected is a democratic accident and a disaster. If they are not stopped in their tracks, democracy will be in peril," Mr. Chidambaram said. Condemning the Assembly decision, he said the issue that had come up now was whether the Press and the public had the right to criticise discussions that took place in the House.
DYFI appeal to President
The seventh all-India conference of the Democratic Youth Federation of India has urged the President to take immediate action "to protect democracy in Tamil Nadu", in the wake of the Assembly's decision. Recalling The Hindu's role prior to Independence and its stand against communalism and more recently at the time of the Tamil Nadu government employees strike, the DYFI resolution said the newspaper had always taken a stand to protect democratic rights. Such an attack on democracy had not occurred except during the Emergency. The incident was a pointer to the way in which the Government wanted to scuttle democracy and shut the door to democratic rights in all respects.
Printer friendly
page
News:
Front Page |
National |
Southern States |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
|
|
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | Business Line | The Sportstar | Frontline | The Hindu eBooks | Home |
Copyright © 2003, The
Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu
|
