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Administration’s Mouthpiece Burnt In Front of ‘The Daily Telegrams’ Office
Port Blair, Jan 6: Continuing their protest against the publication of controversial ‘Gazette Notification’ of the A&N Administration, media representatives of local newspapers today gathered in front of ‘The Daily Telegrams’ office and shouted slogans to close down the Administration’s mouthpiece.
The media persons demanded that the Administration’s Mouthpiece ‘The Daily Telegrams’ so that support is rendered to small private newspapers which are struggling to survive in the islands. As a mark of protest several copies of ‘The Daily Telegrams’ and ‘Dweep Samachar’ a Hindi mouthpiece of the Administration was burnt.
The media persons further demanded that the Administration should immediately withdraw the Gazette Notification, which was published with an ulterior motive to suppress freedom of press in the islands.
“In the absence of an Assembly in the islands, it is only the private media which has been playing the role of a watchdog. And this has been pinching the Andaman Administration”, said Shri S.P. Ellango, Editor of Aspect, a local daily.
“By promoting The Daily Telegrams to compete with the small private newspapers here, the Administration finds it convenient to brush aside private newspapers”, he added.
To remind our readers, The A&N Administration had published a Gazette Notification on 3rd of Nov. 2009 and had finalized it without publishing any draft notification or calling for suggestions/objections. Moreover the power to check on the newspapers for release of Administration’s advertisements which was in the hands of the Chief Secretary has been lowered to the rank of the Director of IP&T thereby making it convenient to threaten the struggling newspapers.
“The Gazette Notification itself proves the kind of transparency in the A&N Administration”, said Shri Saravana Kumar, Editor of Sagar, a Hindi Daily.
“It is a clear attempt to suppress the Freedom of Press, which is a great insult to a place which claims that it is a Mini India”, the Editor said.
The media persons have been fighting for their right of Advertisement since past one and a half years. But instead of supporting the small newspapers few officers posted in the A&N Administration have planned a conspiracy to stop free press in the islands. The representatives of media have decided to continue their protest till the Administration withdraws the Gazette Notification and accepts the Jaiswal Committee’s recommendations for a smooth functioning of press in the islands. |
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