JK Media Guild, executive council, on Tuesday held an extra ordinary session in Srinagar and unanimously denounced the J&K Government for its “unethical, immoral and undemocratic” media policy announced on 2nd June 2020.
The executive council, which met under the chairmanship of president Mir Ajaz Ahmad and was attended by Vice President, Bilal Bazaz, General Secretary Imtiyaz Ahmad Bazaz, Executive members Shahid Rashid, Khalid Qureshi, Reyaz Ahmad Reshi and members Mir Mushtaq Ahmad, Ruby Nisa Khan and others, deliberated on media policy and other “draconian laws being used to intimidate the media fraternity in Kashmir.”
Patron JK Media Guild Probodh Jamwal and Suhail Kazmi also participated through video conferencing in the meeting, read a statement issued by the guild.
The speakers on the occasion termed the continuous “arrogance” from police and other government agencies against media as a virtual censorship to pursue its “sinister designs.”
The speakers, referred to a recent press statement of D G Police, Dilbagh Singh, when he “disgraced a section of media-men as scurrilous elements.”
The speakers rejected the media policy, where the journalists will be forced to seek permission from the unscrupulous elements of the government before publishing any report, read the statement.
“They said, it will be better to close all media houses than to serve sinister designs of a lobby of vested interests.”
General Secretary, Imtiyaz Ahmad Bazaz urged upon all the media organizations, publications, accredited journalists and photo journalists to unite at this hour of grave crises being faced by one and all, which has a potential to uproot the foundations of journalism in Kashmir.
Vice president, Bilal Bazaz challenged the government to implement the media policy and be ready to face the consequences as entire fraternity will come out on streets to fight the draconianism tooth and nail as, “We can’t compromise on the professional ethics to please an undemocratic and uncalled for order to intimidate us”.
“We have worked in the toughest ever situations, where we were on the mouth of barrel everytime, but didn’t compromise” he added. He said, we have sacrificed several of our colleagues while discharging professional duty, but didn’t compromise.
President Ajaz Ahmad Mir said: “whenever any media policy is prepared in any part of the country, the government has to take into confidence the members of the fraternity, but this ill conceived policy might have been prepared by a group of sick people in the government, as the so called policy announced is a worst kind of slap of the democratic system of the country.”
He added that the media men can’t be intimidated by escalating the threat perception in the minds of journalists.
Mir vowed to frustrate these ill conceived designs of the government at any cost.
He urged upon all the media associations to come forward and fight the “onslaught” unitedly.
JK Media Guild while concluding the session, unanimously condemned the “anti media and undemocratic media policy and also invited all the media organizations. Journalists, media associations for a day long sit-in in Lal Chowk on 6th July 2020 at 11.00 AM.”