Endangered journalists

There is reason to believe, after watching the way Manik Saha was killed, that the threat is very real --the outlawed political outfit which claimed the responsibility of Manik's death is planning to kill nine more of our fellow professionals. There is no scope for making any mistake -- journalists are facing the most severe kind of professional threat.

The killers of Manik Saha have not even bothered to hide their identity, which no doubt is a reflection on the law enforcers' inability to deal with them. It is also an indication of the growing clout of a section of hardened criminals operating in the southern zone in the name of a clandestine political group. But people would like to know -- after watching the gruesome murder and learning that such crimes might be repeated -- what the government is doing to counter the evil forces.

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Security of journalists does not only mean that the lives of a few individuals would become safe; it refers to protection of the freedom of expression and many other sacred things without which a civilised society cannot exist. The killers are trying to silence the press, and it is now the duty of the government to resist them with everything at its disposal.

However, nothing can be done as long as law and order remains precarious. So, the government must act decisively against the forces out to unsettle the media.

The threats issued by the political extremists cannot be taken lightly. The government must offer the security cover that the endangered journalists need, while intensifying the hunt for the political extremists. It is, in the ultimate analysis, a question of defending democracy and freedom as a whole.