Protect mass media from digital siege, journos' meeting urge

BNP standing committee member Khandakar Mosharraf Hossain addreßing the World Free Press Day of BFUJ at National Press Club in Dhaka on Saturday, April 30, 2922.

The need for protecting the freedom of the mass media from the present digital siege was underscored at a discussion mèeting organised by the Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists at the National Press Club on Saturday to mark the World Free Press day.

Speakers at the function elaborately discussed the legal, political and financial barriers to free mass media in Bangladesh and said that free mass media can be ensured only when the democratic and fundamental rights of the people are restored.

Referring to the opposition stand not to have elections under the present government on the plea of adoption of unfair means in the 2014 and 2018 elections, they said this stand was not enough. The opposition leaders should clearly spell out their alternative plans for ensuring unfettered democracy and press freedom.

BNP's standing committee member Dr Khandakar Mosharraf Hossain was the chief guest at the discussion where Nagorik Oikya chief Mahmudur Rahman Manna and UBINIG chief Farhad Mazhar were special guests. Presided over by BFUJ president Muhammad Abdullah, the function was also addressed by editor of GreenWatch Dhaka, Mostafa Kamal Majumder, former BFUJ and Press Club president Shaukat Mahmud, former Press Club secretary, Sayed Abdal Ahmed, Press Club secretary, Elias Khan and BFUJ secretary general, Nurul Amin Rokan among others.

Khandakar Mosharraf Hossain said journalists faced obstructions to their journalistic freedom due to various repressive laws and executive actions of the government. Obstructions of media owners were also serious impediments to free journalism in the country. 

He made mention of vision 2020 of BNP chairperson Begum Khaleda as the roadmap to restoration of democracy and press freedom in Bangladesh.

Mahmudur Rahman Manna said that the opposition was one on the point of no elections under the present government, though opinion differed on the duration of the proposed election-time government. Refeŕring to the nature of the proposed all-Party government which would have to do many repair works to put the statecraft on the right track, he said as the bigger party BNP would definitely have a greater share in it but participation of leaders of smaller parties should not be put at the mercy of others.

Farhad Mazhar underlined the need for the BNP to make it adequately clear to the people what are it's plans to rebuild the country by sustaining the opposition unity that has emerged out of the  craving for the restoration of the democratic rights to free elections, freedoms of expression, movement and association. He said journalists should demand freedom of media from a non-partisan point of view.

Mostafa Kamal Majumder said most existing media outlets in Bangladesh are upholding one side of the political divide while media representing the other side stand marginalised through cancellation of registrations, politicial and economic pressures. Even the state-owned media deny the opposition views space. The political leaders should think of restoring news media under social ownership that in olden days used to strike a balance in the midst of bipartisan extremes by giving space to all shades of opinion. All democratic countries of the world have socially owned media that steer the society from national perspectives away from partisan lines, he added.

Shaukat Mahmud said state's interference with individual freedom was epitomized through the 2014 recording of the telephonic conversation of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition and public distribution of the same. High-ups imported invasive ransomware from Israel to do such mischiefs with the media and, when news went out, claimed it was meant for UN peace missions - a claim rejected by the UN. He urged political leaders to find solution to the problem that fress freedom was restricted by the fundamental law.

BFUJ secretary general Nurul Amin Rokan dwelt at length on the media ecosystem and said that press freedom index or Bangladesh went down by 19 percentage points in the last one decade.

BFUJ president Muhammad Abdullah said that 80 percent opposition media workers were now jobless and needed support. The government financial support to journalists are going to on-job journos who go to collect cheques by riding their own cars. He urged support to the journalist welfare fund created by BFUJ to support the jobless ones.