Media fraternity condemns attack on NOW!

GANGTOK, 08 Nov: The media fraternity of the state and those from the neighbouring hills have strongly condemned the attack on NOW! office last night.
The Press Club of Sikkim, while urging the State government to ensure the safety of journalists and newspaper houses, has underlined that “attacking a newspaper office cannot be the way of expressing one’s electoral frustration”.
The Press Club has further urged the Sikkim Democratic Front leaders to take action against its members involved in the attack.
These demands have been supported by Indian Journalists’ Union, Journalist Club of Siliguri and Press Club of Kalimpong.
Meanwhile, the Sikkim Federation of Working Journalists (SFWJ) condemning the attack has stated that the failure of the administration to bring to book those elements responsible for attack on media houses in Sikkim in the past has emboldened such elements to continue violently venting their displeasure with media houses and journalists.
SFWJ has further appealed to all state governments in the Northeast, including Sikkim, to provide CCTV cameras to all media houses so that journalists and media houses in the region work in a safe and secure environments. SFWJ has also urged all journalists in the region to stay united and to speak up unitedly and effectively.
Sikkim Mahila Partrakar Sangh [SMPS] has also condemned the attack as an attempt to suppress the freedom of the press and demanded that the ruling party take strict action against its youth and Cheli Morcha members involved in this attack. Pointing out that the culprits have accepted their crime, SMPS has also demanded that the administration take strict action against them.
Journalists from West and South Sikkim have also demanded that those involved in the incident be expelled from the SDF party along with strict action be taken against the culprits as per the law. They have also demanded that the state administration ensure security for the press fraternity in the state.
Condemning last night’s incident as a “barbaric attack”, the Darjeeling Press Guild has stated that it is not just an attack on a particular publication but on the entire press fraternity.
Kalimpong Press Club [KPC] has stated that the attack on the press when the Chairman of the Press Council of India and journalists from across the country were in the state is a totally condemnable act. KPC has demanded that the administration take a more serious note of the safety of journalists in the state.
Similarly, Sikkim Press Association [SPA] also condemned the incident stating the act was cowardly and urged the administration to act strictly so that such incidents did not repeat in the future. The association welcomed the SDF party’s assurance to take strict action against those involved in the incident.