Dimapur:
Three newspapers in Nagaland published blank editorial pages on Monday to protest a directive by the paramilitary force, Assam Rifles, deployed in the state to carry out counter insurgency operations.
Assam Rifles had written to the editors of five newspapers last month asking them not to publish the demands of the banned outfit the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang) or NSCN (K) to print any of its press releases. The directive said the council is banned and printing or projecting its demands is a violation of law.
The editors of the three papers - Morung Express, Eastern Mirror and Nagaland Page - which published blank editorials say the directive is an attempt to curb the freedom of the press. Given the volatile atmosphere they operate in, following it and ignoring NSCN(K) adds to the security threat they already face, they say.
The Nagaland Post - a leading paper - though, carried a strong editorial criticising the directive. "In our opinion, it was more important to actually make our viewers aware of the development and so we went ahead and wrote about it. I have suggested we protest further by writing to the Assam Riles seeking clarification," said Geoffery Yaden, Editor of the Nagaland Post.
The NSCN(K) is a major insurgent group operating out of Nagaland and Manipur. It was banned in September and classified as a terrorist organisation by the Union home ministry on November 6. The group was responsible for an ambush on an Army convoy on June 4 in the Chandel district of Manipur.
The outfit came into existence in 1988 and is headed by S S Khaplang, on whom the National Investigation Agency has declared a reward of Rs 7 lakh for his alleged role in the Manipur ambush. It is believed that Khaplang operates out of neighbouring Myanmar.