Centre Denies Report That Said Foreign Reporters Were Asked to Leave Assam

The Associated Press also denied that its reporter was escorted out of the state by local police in light of the final NRC’s release.

New Delhi: Hours after a news report was published in Assam Tribune, the state’s largest and oldest English daily – quoting Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) sources – that the government had brought the state under the “protected area category” following the controversy kicked up by the update of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), the ministry has termed it “misleading and incorrect”.

The news report, published on September 3, also stated that all foreign journalists reporting from the state “have been asked to leave”.

In a tweet, MHA spokesperson Rina Mitra reacted, “The information provided in this article is misleading and incorrect. Neither the MHA nor MEA (Ministry of External Affairs) has given any information (to the newspaper) as mentioned.”

Mitra said, “The responsibility of publication of such information, and consequences thereof, lie entirely with the media house concerned.”

The Assam Tribune report, with a New Delhi dateline, quoted home ministry sources as saying:

“Till now, foreign media were barred from entering only Jammu and Kashmir and a few hill states of the Northeast on reporting assignments. But now, Assam has been added in the protected area list along with other northeastern states.”

It further said, “When contacted, sources in the Ministry of External Affairs said that foreign journalists will now have to seek permission from the MEA and subject to final clearance by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the go ahead will be given.”

Visa rules are clear that journalists require permission

When contacted by The Wire, sources in the MEA also called the report “incorrect”. Sources said point no. 82 (i) of the rules under which visas are granted by India anyway clearly state that “A foreign journalist, TV cameraperson, etc. including a foreign journalist already based in India, who desires to visit a restricted or protected area or Jammu and Kashmir or the North Eastern States, should apply for a special permit through the Ministry of External Affairs (External Publicity Division)”.

Also Read: Why Is No One In Assam Happy With the Final NRC?

The MHA spokesperson too clarified the point on twitter, “MHA is consulted internally by MEA before issuing this permission. There is no PAP [protected area permit] or RAP [restricted area permit] in the state of Assam. Thus, no PAP or RAP is needed by a foreign journalist.”

Under the Foreigners (Protected Areas) Order, 1958, all areas that come under the inner line permit or those which share international borders were declared PAP and RAP areas. These include Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Though Assam shares an international border with Bangladesh and Bhutan, it was not included. However, a 2010 MHA order exempted Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland from the protected area regime until 2022, subject to certain conditions.

A foreigner choosing to report from any northeastern state requires prior permission from the MEA. However, it is not yet clear since when such a rule was put in place by the government. A foreign journalist coming to India on a reporting assignment needs to apply for a visa under the ‘J’ category.

The Assam Tribune report also quoted a source in the Foreign Correspondents’ Club in Delhi to state that “a female reporter of wire agency Associated Press (AP) was recently escorted by the Assam Police to the airport and put in the next available flight to Delhi.” It said, “She was politely told by Assam government officials to leave the state and first procure the necessary permission from the Government of India.”

The report said a correspondent of the Associated Press was escorted out of the state by local police. Representational image. Credit: Franck Paul/Flickr

AP says ‘story is incorrect’

When The Wire contacted Lauren Easton, director of media relations at the Associated Press, she said, “The story is incorrect”. She said, “An AP journalist on assignment in Assam left voluntarily after learning the visit required prior government permission. The journalist was neither escorted by police nor forced to leave.”

The state government also denied the report of the AP journalist being escorted out by police. Sources in the state home and political department told The Wire that an inspector general of the state police contacted the AP journalist, who denied that the police had forced her to leave the state. “We have not received any directive from the Centre to ask foreign correspondents reporting on the NRC from the state to leave.” The sources said, “The reporter thereafter told us that she or her office would soon release a statement denying the news report.”

The final draft of NRC, exclusive to the state, was published in July 2018, excluding over 40 lakh residents. There were concerns that these people may lose their citizenship eventually and several reporters from foreign news media outlets have been visiting Assam to report on it. The United Nations has also written several letters to the Indian government expressing apprehensions over the issue of a large number of people becoming stateless due to the process.

On August 31, the final updated NRC was released, in which a little over 19 lakh applicants were excluded. They will now have to take legal recourse to prove their citizenship at over 200 Foreigners’ Tribunals set up across the state. If they fail the test, they will have the option to approach the high court and the Supreme Court. However, it is not yet clear whether those who can’t prove their citizenship at the tribunals would be sent to the six detention centres functioning in the state during their trial in the higher courts.

Recently, the Supreme Court, which is monitoring the update of the register, directed the government to release those persons kept in detention for three years and upwards.