Protest against harassment of jourlists

From a Correspondent

Dibrugarh, Jan 25: Many jourlists and leaders and members of a few regiol organizations came out in protest against harassment of jourlists on Wednesday. The protesters, under the leadership of Dibrugarh Press Club, Greater Dibrugarh Press Club and Dibrugarh District Jourlists Association, gave expression to their angst and grievance in the form of a two-hour sitting protest in front of the DC office. The participants, as a mark of protest, wore black badges around their arms and also raised slogans demanding protection of jourlists from the unwarranted actions of the armed forces. The protest was a reaction to the arrest of a Chabua-based jourlist by the Army on the night of Uruka this year.

Swarupjyoti Chetia, the president of Chabua Press Club as well as a reporter, was apprehended from his house at midnight, for he was suspected to be an informer of ULFA. Chetia, however, was released by the authorities later following widespread agitation against the arrest. Apart from the three organizations that took the lead in the sitting protest, representatives of several other organizations including All Assam Freelance Writers and Jourlists Association, Chabua Press Club, Khowang Press Club, Lahoal Press Club, AASU, Dibrugarh garik Mancha, Jatiyatabadi Yuva-Chatra Parishad, Matak Yuva-Chatra Sanmilan and CPI(M-L) actively participated and called for a high-level inquiry into the random arrest of Chetia. They also criticized the fact that despite Chief Minister Sarbanda Sonowal being a tive of Dibrugarh, the fourth-pillar of democracy was not given sufficient protection here. Later, the protesters also submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister to this effect through the Deputy Commissioner.