An emergency meeting convened by All Manipur Working Journalists’ Union (AMWJU) here today has taken the decision to lift the suspension of the publication of news of government in the State till February 25 following assurance from the chief minister that the FIR against senior journalist A Mobi will be withdrawn. However, there is a specific rider that if the chief minister rescinds from his words after the expiry of the deadline, AMWJU will not only reimpose the suspension but intensify its protest.

Chief Minister O Ibobi who is also in-charge of Home portfolio has said that the case against AMWJU vice president and Sanaleibak daily editor A Mobi would be reevaluated and the FIR against him will be withdrawn, said a statement signed by Jonish, joint secretary of AMWJU. The chief minister is also understood to have assured that he in consultation with AMWJU will make sure that journalists in the state are protected and do not have to go through the fate of A Mobi in the future.

Senior journalist A Mobi was arrested on the morning of December 29 from outside his office in Tedim road in Imphal by two  Imphal West police commandos in civvies on alleged charges of acting as intercessor between the proscribed Kangleipak Communist Party-Tabungba (KCP-T) faction and the extorted entities. The journalist fraternity has vehemently rubbished the charges as “baseless” and “fabricated”.

The journalist fraternity has been demanding the unconditional release of A Mobi by resorting to various forms of agitation. The journalists have ceased work, resorted to sit-ins and taken to the streets. Media in the state has also refrained from publishing news related to the government and its achievements.

This is the first time the chief minister has reached out for truce with the journalists. However, AMWJU has said that if the chief minister did not honor his words and withdraw the FIR against the senior journalist A Mobi by February 25 next, it will not only revert back to imposing suspension of government news but will step up its agitation further on.