14 October 2023
Abahlali baseMjondolo press statement
Crackdown on the Indian media and others
The fascist government in India has launched a major attack against the media. On the morning of 3 October the homes of over 100 journalists and others, including a comedian, were raided in four cities, in an operation carried out by more than 500 police intelligence officers. Around 50 people were interrogated in police stations, and two arrested.
We have also just heard that the writer Arundhati Roy has been charged by the police, and may face sedition charges. She is one of the progressive intellectuals of the world who has expressed solidarity with us when we have faced repression.
The attack on the progressive media in India, which has been condemned around the world focussed in particular on NewsClick and People’s Dispatch. Newsclick editor Prabir Purkayastha and administrator Amit Chakraborty were arrested. They have been denied bail and remain in detention.
NewsClick and People’s Dispatch cover a wide range of people’s struggles. NewsClick became globally famous as a result of its coverage of the farmers’ strike in India in 2020 and 2021. It has also covered struggles in many parts of the world, including South Africa and Swaziland. NewsClick covered the assassination of our leader Lindokuhle Mnguni. People’s Dispatch has often given excellent coverage of struggles that are ignored in other media. For instance they were the first publication in the world to break the story of the uprising in Swaziland in 2021. They have given excellent coverage of the recent assassinations of our leaders, coverage that has circulated across the world.
We add our voice to the global condemnation of the state repression of Indian journalists, writers and others, and express our solidarity with everyone who has suffered from this repression and affirm our commitment to supporting media freedom and freedom of speech for all people everywhere.
Contact:
Thapelo Mohapi: 084 576 5117
Mqapheli Bonono: 073 067 3274
Snenhlanhla Mncanyana: 073 832 3331