Imphal, September 10: Acknowledging that Manipur is home to a number of armed organisations, the proscribed KYKL today said that a large number of the armed groups are today a matured lot.

However the incident on September 6 at MU which involved one of the most matured and organised armed groups and MUSU took KYKL by surprise when the news was carried in the papers the next day, said the outfit in a statement.

The bigger surprise however was the news carried by two newspapers, Matamgi Yakairol and Mannaba and the coverage given by the ISTV, said KYKL.

The news carried by the two newspapers did not reflect the incident clearly and it smacked of an attempt to cover up the gist of the story.

The story was big and significant as it involved the severe thrashing of MUSU members and the abduction of its president, but the manner in which the two newspapers and ISTV tried to play down the significance of the incident was a clear reflection that they had shirked their duties as a responsible media.

MUSU had immediately convened a press conference after the incident and they had named the organisation which had kidnapped their president.

However not carrying the news as it was spelt out in the conference meant that the newspapers concerned had ceased to be a responsible media, added KYKL.

The call of the hour was to spread the news clearly as soon as possible to save the live of the MUSU president, opined the outfit.

The abject failure to live up to their duty as the media was akin to robbing the rights and freedom of the press, said KYKL.

Since the three news establishments had failed to deliver its duty, KYKL decided to ban the two newspapers and the news channel.

However KYKL received plausible explanations from the Editors of Matamgi Yakairol and Mannaba, said the statement and recalled that the Editor of Yakairol stated that there was machine breakdown and the Editor was out of the office.

Mannaba also explained that they did not receive the invitation for the press conference.

However for ISTV there can be no explanations, said the outfit and added that the incident was recorded.

Moreover ISTV is the only local news channel in the valley of Manipur reaching out to at least 2/3 of the population in the valley.

The impact of the visual media is also something which cannot be matched by the print media, said KYKL.

Taking all this into consideration, the ban on ISTV was not lifted.

Extending solidarity to ISTV, All Manipur Working Journalists' Union and Editors' Forum, ceased publication on September 8, robbing the right to information of the people, said KYKL.

Since the KYKL also had a role in the incident, it expressed its regret to the people.

Stating its case on the incident, KYKL said that it publicly apologises for over stepping the understanding reached with AMWJU in 2001 and added that it will not side step the AMWJU in any dealings with any newspaper establishment or news channel in the future.

The statement further said that the role of civil societies is gaining in importance all over.

There is no work that civil societies cannot achieve and no force can defeat civil societies.

Eastern Europe is the classic example.

The observation of Italian revolutionary Antonio Gramsci that revolutionary organisations can achieve their goal of uprooting an regime can happen only when it wins over the civil society stands true today.

As such the programme of the KYKL is to strengthen civil society in Manipur and in the region.

It is wrong for a Government to pull down the civil society and it is all that more wrong when a revolutionary organisation tries to do the same with any civil society, said KYKL and added that it is opposed to any move to demolish civil society.

One part of the civil society, which the KYKL aspires to build is the media, said the statement.

However there is a surprising element in the civil societies of Manipur, it observed and added that Civil Society should be understood according to Gramsci observation that Civil Society = society-State- business.

It is the responsibility of the civil society to oppose anything that it wrong and likewise for the media to be called a media, it should speak for the truth.

Civil society cannot be part of the Government or the Opposition, frontal organisations of armed groups cannot be part of civil society too.

Civil society should have no political leanings or friends or foes and should be neutral.

The press, media and the university are also part of the civil society.

Today there are numerous civil society organisations in Manipur.

The media too has made rapid progress.

And armed groups too have become part and parcel of the land affecting the lives of the people.

Armed groups are everywhere from getting contract works to distributing rice and sugar to education, local issues and even in domestic issues.

Despite the overwhelming presence of the armed groups, no voice of praise can be heard and no criticism can be heard.

The armed groups may have done a number of commendable jobs but at the same time, they may also have committed a number of errors too, being human.

This phenomenon is astounding, said KYKL and added that the primary responsibility of constructively criticising the armed groups must rest with the media.

But there has been no such criticism, said KYKL and questioned why.

The answer may lies with the fact that in the tussle between the Government and the armed groups, the media may be unnecessarily feeling wary.

The Government may be feared as they are founded on the wrong foundation but there is no ground to fear the armed groups.

Earlier, before the KYKL attained maturity, it may have conducted itself in hot headed manner but today there is no reason to feel the same sentiments today.

On the other hand, the silence of the media may be taken as underestimating the armed groups, said KYKL.

The armed groups too should not intimidate anyone and an environment needs to be created where people need not fear the armed cadres, it observed and added that this is an aspiration of the KYKL.

The few steps taken up by KYKL in the last few days was to precisely drive home this point.

If a news is to be blanked out for fear from an armed group then it is necessary to force its publication too.

Only in such a situation can the true identity of the media be protected.

The media should not kneel when asked to do so by any force said KYKL and added that the freedom of the press should not be about serving the interest of only the powerful but also the weaker section.

A free media has massive responsibility.

Responsibility involves risk.

Anyone who fears to take risk has no business to have responsibility, it added.

Not carrying the news when a student leader of a university is abducted by an armed group is akin to not taking up the responsibility of a media.

The newspapers and the TV channel may have given the short shrift to the story because of the risk involved.

However it should not be forgotten that the day the journalist decides to take up this profession, he should be ready to take risk.

The responsibility of the media is all that more in a place like Manipur where there is armed political conflict.

The journalist community should not toe the line of the intellectuals who are under the wishful thought that there is no insurgency in the land.

Journalists cannot pretend not to see either, it added.

The people too cannot over look the conflict situation.

The people today should take a keen interest in the conflict situation as indifference will only lead to the loss of the people and the land.

There is no guarantee that revolutionary organisations will not become arrogant and added that if armed cadres are not politically conscious then they may be worse than a drunkard.

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