Editors Guild demands withdrawal of advisory on live reporting J&K encounters

The security forces were trying to escape from any kind of media scrutiny, the Guild said

The Editors Guild of India has urged the Kashmir police to withdraw it’s advisory against live reporting of encounters.

In a statement, the guild said the police had forbidden journalists from reporting live encounters with militants “on the specious plea that it is ‘likely to incite violence’ or that it can promote ‘anti-national sentiment’. Nothing can be further from the truth.”

The security forces were trying to escape from any kind of media scrutiny about the flow of events behind the violence, the guild said the statement.

"Live reporting from conflict areas, including encounters between security forces and militants, is one of the most important journalistic duties of any responsible media, and requires extreme grit and determination on the part of reporters. At best, there may be some guidelines that can be issued with respect to reporting from such scenes, with the aim of protecting the integrity of tactics and plans of security agencies, as well as to avoid journalists from interfering with the evolving situation and from sensationalising the issue that can stir up emotions at audience’s end. Globally those have been the norms adopted by responsible governments," the statement said.

"The Kashmir Police advisory was draconian and undemocratic, and flies in the face of the stellar role journalists have played in reporting conflict in the country. Therefore the advisory must be withdrawn immediately," the statement from the guild said.