New York, July 09, 2022 (PPI-OT):The US-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and other local and international media organizations have lashed out at the fascist Modi government in India for leading vilification campaign against Kashmiri journalists in print and electronic media.
The CPJ in a statement expressed solidarity with the 11 Kashmiri journalists who were described as “supporters of militancy” in an op-ed published at the behest of the Modi government on Thursday.
The article titled ‘Vultures of Single Narrative Feasting on Misery’ was published in a Srinagar-based English daily Rising Kashmir with the author’s name Majeed Ahmad. “Such accusations put the journalists at further risk of violence in an already hostile environment for the press,” CPJ said.
“CPJ stands in solidarity with the 11 Kashmiri journalists who were described as supporters of terrorism in an op-ed published on Thursday. Such accusations put the journalists at further risk of violence in an already hostile environment for the press,” CPJ tweeted.
Meanwhile, DIGIPUB, a platform of digital news media organisations, has also come out sharply against the newspaper for publishing the article.
In a statement, the platform articulated its concern for the “safety of several independent journalists in occupied Jammu and Kashmir” who were described in the article as “militant sympathisers.”
The journalist mentioned in the article include Sanna Irshad Mattoo, Uzma Falak, Nusrat Sidique, Jahangir Ali, Haziq Qadri, Bilal Kuchay, Mohd Raafi, Quratulain Rehbar, Kamran Yousuf, Kaisar Andrabi and Aakash Hassan.
“By vilifying Mattoo and others, the writer and the newspaper which gave the article space have placed these journalists-already intimidated in many ways, including through criminal cases, threats, arbitrary detention, police visits to families- in greater danger than ever, in the latest instance, they have also been called pro-Pakistan ‘vulture’ who ‘preach hatred’ and “encourage targeted readers to carry out pre-determined action’,” the statement noted.
“Quite apart from the fact that these are defamatory accusations, they essentially paint targets on the backs of these journalists, a dangerous new front in the ceaseless war against what is left of the free press in Kashmir,” it added. DIGIPUB has demanded that these “local media organizations pause and take a critical look at what they have done.”
Network of Women in Media, India (NWMI), said that without the slightest substantiation or evidence, the article insinuates that the journalists are similar to militants. “This adversely impacts and threatens their professional work. It also seeks to create an atmosphere of fear and intimidation and warn them and others of the perils of stepping out of line,” NWMI said.
For more information, contact:
Kashmir Media Service
Phone: +92-51-4435548, +92-51-4435549
Fax: +92-51-4861736
Email: info@kmsnews.org
Website: www.kmsnews.org