By Subir Ghosh

[This piece is based on this journalist's speech at the human rights workshop he attended at Dehra Dun.]

It was heartening to see mediapersons being the panelists at a forum on the role of the media. In a random survey of various seminars held on the issue in New Delhi in recent times, one found that among the speakers jurists accounted for 35 per cent, bureaucrats accounted for 35 per cent, politicians were 20 per cent, and mediapersons only 10 per cent. The mediapersons who usually speak at such fora usually belong to the management cadre in media establishments.

The hackneyed "role of the media" subject is an explosive one. On the face of it, the media should not have a role to play by itself. The media is seen by many as something which is meant to inform, instruct and educate. The soap-culture newspapers have only in recent times added the entertain angle as well. The inform part is fine, but the instruct and educate component is fraught with dangerous consequences.

Who are media people to be so self-righteous and sacrosanct so as to tell the people what they should do and what they should not? In such cases, the media does not remain objective; once subjective and opinionated, the media becomes a tool in the hands of the establishment. One must remember, the term "fourth estate" was meant to denote the media as the "fourth estate of the establishment". In most cases, it still is. In an ideal situation, the media should act as a mirror, and not as a catalyst.

It is equally important to remind people that the media in India does not have any exclusive right called the "freedom of the press". The media has as much right to be free as is any Indian citizen granted the right to freedom of expression by the Indian constitution. The myth that there is something called the "freedom of the press" must go. Yes, the press must be free; but then so must be the citizenry. The term is also used, more often than not, to denote absence of state control over the media. What is hardly talked about is how market forces and economic compulsions (apart from personal biases) dictate the media as well.

Before commenting on the role of the media, it is imperative to know how the media functions.

To confine the discussion to only one aspect of the media - the print; laypersons must understand that newspapers, by and large, carry three types of content: reports, features and articles. The first can be broadly said to denote the right to information, the last the right to freedom of expression. The second can be construed as a mix of the other two. The third only provides an avenue for people to express their ideas and opinions in the columns of the newspaper.

Journalists are primarily concerned with the first - news, and, therefore, in a position to ensure the right to information to the people. It is the same media-as-a-mirror aspect that has been mentioned earlier. Here, yet again, the intrinsic dichotomy in the media must be explained for those not abreast with how it functions: it is a classic business vs profession instance. For media owners a newspaper is a business, for journalists it is a profession. For the sake of convenience, let us leave out the complex overlapping aspects.

As far as journalists are concerned, human rights cases in India have been largely reported quite faithfully. It is only because of media reports that the predicaments of exploited/persecuted communities have been brought to light and jurists and others have been taking interest in such issues. Since journalists have been doing their job, there is little point telling them either what their job is or how they should do their job.

What merits mention and, hence, a debate are situations where both journalists and human rights activists face a constant threat to life in the course of discharging their duties. This writer's knowledge and understanding on the situation in Kashmir being limited, talking about the Northeast would be pertinent.

Most newspapers and journalists in the Northeast can be broadly classified into two categories: those who are anti-security forces and those who are anti-militants. On the other hand, in the case of newspapers and journalists from mainland India; firstly, they are dead against insurgents (without much basis in most cases), and secondly, they do not give adequate coverage to atrocities perpetrated on innocent people by security forces, particularly Army and Assam Rifles. The heinousness of the militants is faithfully reported and equally faithfully accorded due prominence.

It is here that the role of media owners, more than journalists, come into play. Most newspapers have an unofficial/unwritten writ running large in their offices that one cannot report atrocities committed by security forces beyond a point. There are two factors that come into play here: for one, the Army especially must not be projected as a villain; and secondly, the militants must be projected as rogues.

Take the example of The Times of India. It remains the only newspaper in the country to have a human rights cell. Yet, it is yet to highlight human rights abuses that are rampant in the Northeast. The newspaper seems to have been more preoccupied with the alleged violation of the economic rights of Ashok Jain.

[After this point had been made at the workshop session, Man Mohan, the TOI human rights cell coordinator, regretted that the Northeast had indeed not been granted due coverage; but explained his limitations being the only person in the cell. He expressed the hope that he would be able to carry reports of human rights violations from the Northeast in the future.]

Calcutta-based newspapers do carry small reports of human rights violations, not because they are very concerned about the people of the Northeast; but because they have a substantial circulation in the region. In spite of that, the reportage on human rights violations by security forces remains pathetic. For correspondents of many non-Calcutta, non-Northeast newspapers Guwahati is either a punishment or a plum posting. The less said the better about either lot and how and why they act as they do.

The problem is particularly acute with journalists from outside newspapers who paradrop with pre-conceived notions, ideas and convictions about the Northeast, particularly insurgency, and go about writing lopsided, motivated reports. The Luingam Luithui (a founder member of the Naga People's Movement for Human Rights) case provides a stark example of a human rights activist being hounded by the Indian establishment as a direct result of some irresponsible reporting by an irresponsible journalist.

No, not all journalists out there are bad. It is also important to understand what problems journalists face in reporting human rights violations. Apart from treading a tightrope between the security forces and rule of the Indian law on one hand and the insurgents on the other, journalists have a difficulty in accessing information. Official versions, one knows, is not the hard truth/reality. The second is a situation where journalists are not allowed to report on abuses by security forces. Such instances are hardly worth any mention as far as newspapers of the Northeast are concerned, while one has talked about the outside newspapers.

DIMAPUR, October 3: The residence of the editor of a local daily has been ransacked and robbed by a gang of robbers who also tried to abduct her husband after the couple refused to pay Rs 5 lakh to them, police said today. Armed robbers, who claimed to be National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang) activists, raided the house of Nagaland Page editor, Monalisa Changkija, at Duncan Basti area early yesterday and demanded the money. When Changkija and her husband, Bendang Longkumer, deputy general manager of the Nagaland Industrial Development Corporation (NIDC), refused to pay, the robbers started ransacking the house and looted a number of valuables, the sources said. They also tried to abduct Longkumer. Though the robbers claimed to be NSCN(K) activists, police said all of them were criminals recently released on bail. Three of them were arrested during the day and some of the looted items were recovered. The arrested robbers admitted during interrogation that the SBBL gun which they had used was stolen from the residence of the stringer of a Calcutta-based English daily. The car in which they came was also stolen. One of the accused is still at large. (PTI; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 4, 1999)

IMPHAL, October 5: The Manipur government today ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident in which 10 civilians were killed after an ambush on Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel by activists of the United National Liberation Front (UNLF) on October 3. An official statement said that chief minister W Nipamacha Singh has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident. Ex gratia payment or giving of jobs to next of kin of the victims would be decided after the submission of the report. The statement was issued after different organisations and individuals had submitted memoranda to the chief minister in connection with the firing at Nungoo Lamkhai (near Tonsem Lamkhai in Thoubal district). The statement said the chief minister had assured the representatives of different groups that "suitable action against the culprits would be taken in due course." Hundreds of women today gathered at the chief minister 's office demanding judicial inquiry into the incident and immediate shifting of CRPF personnel from the area (Nungoo Lamkhai area). (PTI; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 6, 1999)

IMPHAL, October 5: The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has denied its involvement in the killing of 10 civilians in an encounter with insurgents on Sunday at Manipur's Tonsen Lamkhai in Thoubal district even as some political parties demanded the withdrawal of the force from the area. "We ourselves lost seven people while five were injured. The bus carrying civilians came under crossfire. Our boys were hiding for cover and there was no question of their indulging in such a heinous act," a top CRPF official in New Delhi said yesterday referring to the charges that the civilians were lined up and shot dead by its personnel during the encounter. The force had an excellent record of human rights and was highly sought after by all states for security duties, he said. The commandant of 35th CRPF battalion in a statement expressed grief over the killing of civilians in the encounter in which a CRPF deputy commandant and an activist of the UNLF were also killed. (PTI; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 6, 1999)

IMPHAL, October 6: Thousands of women and students stormed the Manipur chief minister, Wahengbam Nipamacha Singh's bungalow on Tuesday afternoon in protest against the alleged massacre of 10 innocent persons by Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans following an ambush by militants near Sugunu in Thoubal district on October 3. Members of the joint action committee of Nungoo Lamkhai victims also submitted a memorandum to the chief minister in this connection. The memorandum demanded a judicial inquiry into the incident and to take up drastic actions against the guilty CRPF personnel involved in the firing incident. It also demanded a government job each to the next of kin of the victims and ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh each. Thousands of women in traditional attire were awaiting official response from the chief minister's side till filing of this report. (Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 7, 1999)

AGARTALA, October 9: Two separate National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) delegations will visit Tripura to take stock of the present condition of Reang (Bru) refugees in North Tripura district. About 50,000 Reangs had to flee Mizoram and take shelter in Kanchanpur subdivision in the wake of an ethnic flare-up with Lushais (Mizos). Despite heavy pressure from Tripura government and the Centre, Mizoram government was reluctant to take them back. The repatriation process had started, but soon it halted as violence again raged in Reang villages. Tripartite talks among Central government, Bru organisations and Mizoram government came a cropper and the future of about 34,000 Reang refugees in six camps at Kanchanpur subdivision became uncertain. (Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 10, 1999)

GOLAKGANJ, October 11: People in the Assam-Bangladesh border areas are living a life of insecurity due to the activities of anti-social elements. Though the Border Security Force (BSF) has been deputed as a neutral force in the border area, no security has been provided to the people of this area, it is learnt. This time, however it is the BSF activities which have come into question. It is alleged that they have been creating terror of Gashpara in the Assam-Bangladesh border. Sources said that the BSF burnt a rice mill of Gashpara recently. According to sources, some BSF jawan s who were coming from Dhubri by jeep, arrived at Gashpara area and burnt down a rice mill on September 23. Later, the owner of the rice mill, Abdul Gaffur Prodhani, conveyed the matter to the deputy commissioner of Dhubri. When contacted, the locals of Gashpara area they told The Assam Tribune that a few months ago, Abdul Gaffur Prodhani, owner of the rice mill, received a contract through DRDA, Dhubri, for building a culvert. But the construction work of the culvert was not good. Therefore, the culvert-cum-bridge was too weak to carry the loads of the vehicles. The BSF jawan s who regularly crossed the culvert on vehicles, requested Gaffur to reconstruct the culvert. But Gaffur did not agree and so the BSF jawan s burnt the rice mill. Due to the destruction of the rice mill, the local people of the area are facing several problems. The distance between Dhubri to Gashpara is about 50 km and the people of the area cannot carry their goods to Golakganj or other towns. People have requested the authorities to take urgent steps in this connection. (Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 12, 1999)

NEW DELHI, October 11: The Asian Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Network (AITPN), a coalition of indigenous and tribal peoples in Asia, today urged the National Human Rights Commission to direct the Union government to cut 10 per cent from the budgetary allocation from the Mizoram government and award the same to the government of Tripura for disbursement to the Reangs. The Reangs constitute about 10 per cent of the total population of Mizoram. Over 40,000 Reangs fled from Mizoram in October 1997 and took shelter in Tripura and Assam to escape from atrocities such as killing, rape, molestation and destruction of churches and temples. The Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) members in league with the Mizoram Police perpetrated these atrocities, the AITPN said.

The AITPN director, Suhas Chakma, said Mizoram had abdicated its responsibilities to private organisations like the MZP. However, "since the Reangs are not twice born Hindus like the Kashmiri Pandits who fled from Jammu and Kashmir in the 1990s, there is complete apathy towards the Reangs. They are denied equal facilities and were not allowed to take part in the state Assembly elections held on 25 November 1998, although Kashmiri Pandits have been participating in such elections through postal ballots", he said.

"The NHRC has failed to perform its duty to regulate the behaviour of the state and its agencies and uphold equality before law. The NHRC shies away from critical matters pertaining to the right to participate in the government. If the NHRC had intervened in our complaint in November 1998, there would not have been any need to file a case in the Delhi High Court for the right to franchise of the Reangs", Chakma said.

AITPN urged the NHRC to direct Mizoram government to institute a judicial inquiry commission into alleged atrocities against the Reangs by a sitting judge of the Gauhati high court considering the intensity and scale of violence as reflected from the exodus of over 40,000 Reangs. The commission should complete its investigation within a specified timeframe. In the meanwhile, the Mizoram government should provide interim compensation to the victims of abuses and the kin of those who were killed during the repression of the Reangs in October-December 1997 should be given Rs 500,000 as compensation; and government employment to a member of the victim's family.

The AITPN deplored the camp conditions in Tripura. Arbitrary headcounting of the Reangs on 20 April 1999 without any prior notice, has led to deletion of thousands of Reangs from the voter list. There are few educational facilities, medical and sanitation facilities. The AITPN's report "Justice Delayed and Denied" says, "From the beginning, relief camp conditions in Tripura were pathetic. Open fields and camps were the only recourse for this fleeing population. Inadequate shelter and water supplies have resulted in over 260 officially reported deaths and 1,400 infected people in the Kanchanpur sub-division relief camps of North Tripura district in 1998. Unofficial reports allege over 500 deaths from water born diseases, including malaria, cholera and gastro-enteritis. Gastro-enteritis has also hit Assam's Hailakandi's refugee camps where the State Government of Assam so far has not provided any assistance. Women have been the most severely affected. Inadequate sanitary facilities and the State Government's refusal to secure adequate health care are ascribed for these deaths. Miscarriages and new born deaths have been reported owing to the unhygienic conditions and inadequate health care provided to women and children in flight and in camps".

Although, the Tripura government has advertised for 11 doctors, 19 nurses and MPW workers, no one has been appointed. The AITPN urged the NHRC to conduct an inquiry as to how much money has so far been sanctioned and disbursed by the Central Government of India and how much has actually been spent on the Reangs. AITPN urged that the Reangs must be provided adequate medical and educational facilities in the camps and the government of Mizoram must pay for all these expenses.

The AITPN provided exhaustive and specific recommendations for honourable repatriation of the Reangs. It urged the NHRC to appoint a special rapporteur on the Reangs to monitor the condition of the Reangs in the camps and the process of the repatriation of the Reangs. It stated that deployment of para-military forces, like the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), prior to commencement of the repatriation process is a must and that the CRPF must camp in the Reang inhabited areas until rehabilitation of the returnees is completed.

AGARTALA, October 13: The visiting National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) delegation faced criticism in Tripura for its indifference towards everyday human rights violations committed by so-called militants here. Nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) and distinguished citizens, who met the delegation led by NHRC member, Sudarshan Agarwal, resented that during its six years of existence, the commission did not ever condemn any incident of carnage on innocent non-tribal villagers or kidnapping by militants. The state government also came under fire for its failure to protect life and property of the citizens. The four-member delegation came to Tripura to take an on-the-spot stock of the Reang refugees' condition in North Tripura district.(Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 14, 1999)

PARIS, October 15: The Reporters sans frontières (RSF) in a letter to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, has expressed its indignation over the murder of NA Lalrohlu, editor of a Manipur newspaper "Shan". RSF asked that "a serious and thorough investigation is conducted to identify and punish the authors of the murder, which seems to be a serious warning to independent journalists in the state of Manipur." RSF also drew the prime minister's attention to assaults against journalists made by security forces in Manipur state. On 10 October, Lalrohlu was shot by suspected militants of separatist movements in Manipur. The 35-year-old journalist was murdered with three other people after they were abducted by at least fifty militants. Before he was shot, he published articles in the daily which were critical of the militia groups. Journalists' organisations in Manipur state strongly condemned the killing and all newspapers remained closed for one day as a protest gesture. (RSF; Paris; October 15, 1999)