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Date: November 3 2004
Around 100 journalists and non-journalists
affiliated to the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) and
Kerala Newspaper Employees' Union (KNEU) on Tuesday took out a protest
march to the office of the Inspector General of Police (North Zone)
at Nadakkavu here, condemning the attack on mediapersons by IUML
activists, including a lady reporter, at Karipur International Airport
on Monday.
Mediapersons, including this website's
newspaper lensman N.P. Jayan, came under attack at the airport when
they reached there to cover the arrival of Industries Minister and
IUML general secretary P.K. Kunhalikutty, who is facing fresh charges
of `sexual abuse' in the sensational ice cream parlour sex scandal.
The protestors demanded that the
UDF government pay compensation to all those mediapersons who were
injured on Monday and also in the Indiavision attack in which this
website's newspaper chief reporter was injured and a 'Desabhimani'
photographer's camera damaged.
``The police cannot afford to remain
silent to the violence unleashed by IUML volunteers in an attempt
to suppress press freedom,'' the protesters said.
Those who addressed the protest
march included KUWJ state president Bobby Thomas, vice-president
T.K. Ramakrishnan, Calicut Press Club president N.P. Rajendran and
secretary N. Rajesh. MLAs Binoy Viswam, Mathai Chacko, and P.S. Supal
also addressed the protesters. Hundreds of activists of various class
and mass organisations also joined the protest rally making it a
mammoth gathering.
Meanwhile, the DYFI and BJP also
took out separate protest marches to the Police Commissioner's office
here, accusing the police of failing to protect newspersons while
on duty.
