HT Correspondent
HAFLONG, May 6: The Dima Hasao Journalists Union district committee of Journalists Union of Assam (JUA), an affiliate of Indian Journalists Union (IJU), in conjunction with the World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) submitted a memorandum to the Dima Hasao deputy commissioner Nazreen Ahamed and to the chief minister of Assam through the DC to raise issues which need immediate attention and action of the government.
The memorandum cited enactment of a special law for protection of journalists. It also urged to ensure the safety and security of journalists in the state. Government and the media houses must provide a decent and sustainable amount of salary which has direct bearing on press freedom, the memorandum stated.
The memorandum further raised a demand to increase the pension amount for journalists from the present amount of Rs 8000 to Rs 25000 (Arunachal Pradesh government has already announced Rs 25000 as pension amount to journalists).
Further, all committees formed by the government for welfare and other purposes including the press accreditation committee should be representative of all the registered journalists’ bodies of the state. The union has also asked all stakeholders to respect freedom of press and accept criticism as a democratic exercise. The memo also cited that surveillance of journalists violates the mandate of press freedom; therefore all kinds of surveillance against journalists must be stopped.
It needs to be mentioned that every year the Journalists Union of Assam creates awareness about the importance of free press and to sensitise the government and all other stakeholders for upholding press freedom in the state. United Nations General Assembly declared May 3 to be World Press Freedom Day or just World Press Day, observed to raise awareness about the importance of freedom of the press and remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right to freedom of expression enshrined under Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and marking the anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration, a statement of free press principles put together by African newspaper journalists in Windhoek in 1991.UNESCO also marks World Press Freedom Day each year by bringing together media professionals, press freedom organisations and UN agencies to assess the state of press freedom worldwide and discuss solutions for addressing challenges.
