DUJ Demands Media Entry into Protest Camps

Delhi Union of Journalists condemns the Delhi Police’s decision to not allow reporters to meet protesting farmers at the Singhu border. The Delhi Police magnanimously claims that they have taken such a decision keeping in mind the security and safety of journalists.

Reporters have been covering the protests of farmers since its beginning. There was no intimidation against objective reporting of the protests. Now, reporters have to go fifteen to twenty kilometres extra through village roads, sometimes by walking, to meet the farmers.

Reports so far indicate that the Delhi Police has denied basic amenities such as food and water to the protesters, besides removing toilets and shutting off electricity. If the entry of reporters is banned and the Internet shut down, the media will be unable to verify reports of conditions in the camps. Unconfirmed rumours will become widespread.

We urge the Delhi Police and the Union Home Ministry to lift the ‘ban’ on reporting farmers’ protests. We also urge the authorities to lift the Internet shutdown and the consequent blackout of information about the protests.