Journalists protest, no newspapers in Manipur today

IMPHAL: After a decision to protest against the 'diktat' of a militant outfit by the All Manipur Working Journalists' Union (AMWJU), newspapers in Manipur on Wednesday failed to hit the stands.

The decision was taken in a meeting of AMWJU last evening, following a statement issued by the militant outfit, a spokesman for the body said.

While a section of the outfit wanted the statement to be published in newspapers, another section of the same outfit warned the dailies with dire consequences if the statement was published, he said.

The media body decided not to publish any statement issued by the outfit while appealing the public not to disturb the functioning of the media in the state.

"This is not the first time that militant outfits have disturbed the smooth functioning of the media in Manipur," the spokesman said.

On earlier occasions also, dailies had failed to hit the stands because of various pressures from different militant outfits, he said.