November
8,
2003
Press
Statement
The
Polit
Bureau
of
the
Communist
Party
of
India
(Marxist)
has
issued
the
following
statement:
Tamilnadu:
Attack
On
Press
Condemned
The
decision
to
imprison
the
publisher
and
four
editors
and
journalists
of
`The
Hindu'
by
the
Tamilnadu
legislative
assembly
is
an
outrageous
attack
on
the
freedom
of
the
press
and
the
rights
of
citizens.
The
sentencing
to
prison
of
the
journalists
of
a
respected
newspaper
is
a
gross
misuse
of
legislative
privilege.
This
extraordinary
step
against
`The
Hindu'
and
the
`Murasoli'
newspapers
is
another
sign
of
the
extreme
intolerance
to
any
opposition
or
dissent
by
the
Jayalalitha
government.
It
follows
the
action
of
mass
dismissals
of
government
employees
and
the
filing
of
cases
against
opposition
leaders
for
supporting
the
strike.
This
attack
must
be
strongly
condemned
and
opposed.
The
Jayalalitha
government
must
reconsider
and
withdraw
the
action.
All
the
democratic
forces
must
unitedly
protest
such
authoritarian
acts.