Srinagar: Reacting to the closure of Kashmir Press Club (KPC) in Jammu and Kashmir, The Editors Guild of India on Tuesday expressed deep anguish over the move saying that it has seen the "worst kind of state heavy handedness against any independent media".
This is Editors Guild of India's second statement after the Kashmir administration said the KPC had ceased to exist and took back the premises allotted to the largest journalists' body in the Valley.
Guild described the move as the "latest act in a sequence of disturbing events."
"The administration's move was preceded by a "shocking breach of institutional norms when a group of people, with the active support of state police and CRPF, took over the office and management of the Club" last Saturday, the Guild said.
"The shutting down of the club is the latest act in a sequence of disturbing events, wherein the 're-registration' of the Club was first arbitrarily put in abeyance' by the Registrar of Societies on January 14th, followed by the shocking breach of institutional norms when a group of people, with the active support of state police and CRPF, took over the office and management of the Club on January 15th," it said.
The Guild further added that space for media freedom and active civil society has been steadily eroding in the region. "Journalists frequently face intimidation from terror groups as well as the state. They are also charged under heavy penal laws, and are routinely detained by security forces for reporting or for their editorials," the statement by the Guild said.
It also pointed out the brutal killing of Shujaat Bukhari, the editor of Rising Kashmir, by "unknown people" besides the spate of cases filed by the police against journalists and photographers who were even charged with the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
The Guild also referred to the sealing of the office of the Kashmir Times and the advisory in April last year forbidding journalists from reporting live encounters with militants on the specious plea that it is "likely to incite violence" or that it can promote "anti-national sentiment".
"The shutting down of the Club therefore sets a dangerous precedent for media freedom," it said and reiterated its earlier demand that status quo before the January 14 order of Registrar of Societies be restored with respect to the functioning of the Club, and that the state works towards building and protecting the space for a free press.
(With inputs from PTI.)