A senior journalist was assaulted by attendees of the sit-in demonstration held today over the death of former HNLC leader Cherishterfield Thangkhiew, with senior NGO leaders quickly condemning and apologising for the incident.
The KSU, FKJGP, HNYF and RBYF tendered a joint apology for the attack on senior scribe EM Jose, who was covering the demonstration at Shillong Civil Hospital junction.
A group of masked individuals at the sit-in confronted the journalist, who is the editor of the Meghalaya Monitor online portal, a few minutes before the event began.
One of them kicked the journalist from behind and others came close to him shouting, to the shock of the scribe who had no clue of what was happening. There were also voices from the group like, “Press, press,” referring to the scribe. A few of them said sorry.
Soon, other journalists who were nearby gathered and decided to wait for a decision before covering the event. Some pressure group leaders came forward and individually apologised for the incident and later, before the start of the event, one of the leaders publicly made an apology.
Later, the pressure groups who organised the programme sent an apology via WhatsApp.
“On behalf of the FKJGP KSU HNYF and RBYF, I sincerely tender my apology to our good friend Bah Jose, for what happened this morning in the sit-in demonstration. I understand that the incident happened outside the venue much before the programme started but we will find out the person involved and take action. Once again, Bah Jose, we are really sorry for what happened to you this morning,” said the message of FKJGP president Wellbirth Ranee.
Meanwhile, the Shillong Press Club said that it took the “unprovoked attack” with the “utmost seriousness and annoyance”. The SPC welcomed the prompt action and apology by the pressure groups but noted that this is not the first such incident and that repeated instances of violence against journalists is making reporters’ lives unbearable and that future incidents will make it impossible for the press fraternity to forgive.
The Meghalaya Editors’ and Publishers’ Association (MEPA) also strongly condemned the incident by “some anti-social elements”.
“Although the organisers of the demonstration have apologised for the incident, MEPA urges them to trace the culprits and punish them so that such kinds of unwanted incidents do not recur,” it added.
