Jammu and Kashmir CM Abdullah asked the Press Council to frame a "suitable code of conduct" for journalists covering protests so that they do not find themselves at the receiving end of police action.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today asked the Press Council to frame a "suitable code of conduct" to ensure that journalists covering protests and demonstrations do not find themselves at the receiving end of police action against unruly crowds.
Abdullah was responding to a letter from Press Council of India (PCI) chairperson Markandey Katju to him on Thursday regarding an incident in the state in which journalists covering it had alleged that they were assaulted by police and paramilitary personnel.
In his letter, Katju had said that the PCI would launch criminal proceedings against police and paramilitary forces if they assaulted journalists covering demonstrations and other incidents.
Replying to Katju's letter, Abdullah said that he understood the feeling behind the missive but felt it necessary" to place on record that the police have never had an intention of targeting media personnel."
"It is easy for us, sitting far away from the scene of the action, to suggest that the police should look for cameras to ascertain whether a person is a press person or not but in the heat of the moment, with stones & tear smoke shells flying, it is often impossible for the police to take the time to make a proper assessment," Abdullah wrote.
The Chief Minister said that in countries like the United Kingdom, there was a code of conduct for journalists covering protests, demonstrations and other such situations.
"We have no such code binding on journalists in this country. Perhaps the time has come for the PCI to frame such a code in consultation with states & the media fraternity," Abdullah said.
He suggested that "journalists who wish to plunge into crowds to get the perfect photograph should wear brightly coloured jackets/bibs so that they can be identified easily by the law enforcing agencies," he said.
"Unless you take the initiative to make it easier to identify journalists/camera persons in such situations, I'm afraid we will always run the risk of such mistakes happening again," said Abdullah, noting that forces operating in J&K would be able to follow such a code once it is framed.
The exchange of letters was triggered by an incident in which journalists had approached Katju alleging that some media people were assaulted while covering a demonstration.
Police had, in its report, said that the journalists could not be distinguished from the rest of the mob.
Katju in his letter had rebuffed the police argument and said that he had been informed that the journalists had video cameras and other equipment, which clearly distinguished them from the rest of the crowd.
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