Yambem Laba
Imphal/Geneva: Hours after his abduction, journalist Yambem Laba was released by the militants who have been waging a war against New Delhi for decades.
Local media persons informed that journalist Yambem Laba was kidnapped by a group of gunmen from his residence at Uripok locality in Imphal even without giving him time to change his night dress.
In a video message of Laba, which came to the surface in the morning hour, it was heard that he mistakenly termed a militant outfit as ‘surrendered’, whereas the group was engaged in a ceasefire with the Union government in New Delhi. On a local television talk show, Laba on Monday night (February 10, 2025) analyzed the current political turmoil in Manipur which continues to boil even after the resignation of State Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Sunday, February 9, 2025.
Laba (69), associated with a national English daily (The Statesman, simultaneously published from New Delhi, Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, and Siliguri), remained traceless until noon, and his family was worried about him. The police launched a search operation to rescue the scribe.
A former member of the Manipur Human Rights Commission, Laba remains active on social media, where he often expresses personal views on the crisis faced by Manipur for the last several months. A few months back, the militants fired many rounds in front of his home in Imphal.
Earlier today, expressing serious concern over the abduction of the senior journalist in Manipur, the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) demanded his unconditional release. The global media safety and rights body also urged the local authorities as well as the Prime Minister of India to take appropriate initiative to get the Manipuri journalist freed from the banned outfit.
“No journalist, even if he/she criticizes the State and non-State actors on a regular basis, must be physically intended. The media persons have the liberty to put their views which are legally and logically correct, but that may turn bitter for the politicians and armed militants. Unless there is any personal character assassination, the scribe’s views should be accepted by the authority and society as a whole,” said Blaise Lempen, president of PEC.
PEC’s South Asia representative Nava Thakuria added that Manipur, which borders Myanmar, has been witnessing communally flared conflicts between the majority Meitei people and minority communities including the Kukis. Since May 2023, over 250 people have been killed and more than 60,000 residents were displaced. A large number of public and private properties in various parts of Manipur belonging to both communities have been targeted, vandalized and even burnt down.
– global bihari bureau
