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A new reality for free media
Sadly, some very disturbing signs can still be seen that are posing a new set of threats against free press.
A new reality for free media
We must learn from the past
VISUAL: SALMAN SAKIB SHAHRYAR
Before, when we spoke the truth, we were countered by the state and its agencies. Now, when we speak the truth, we are countered not by the state, but by lies, accusations without any proof, and tagging on the basis of hate narratives. Outrageous accusations are being made against legacy media without any evidence. In rare cases, when examples are cited, they are either false, taken out of context, distorted, or twisted to suit a predetermined goal. Thus, the media today is facing a new challenge in the post-truth era with an audience that is not used to such falsehood, half-truths and distortions, and as such is being victimised and misled.
I am heartened by a recent comment by the chief adviser's press secretary, Shafiqul Alam, for his emphatic assertion of the need for a free media for a country's advancement. He also stressed the necessity to examine the media's role in distorting objective journalism and upholding the fascistic policy and governance structure of the past regime. He repeatedly stressed that power must always be held to account, and invited all media outlets to scrutinise his own government's performance in the spirit of total independence and professionalism.
We would like to commend him for his stance and focus on two aspects of his remarks: the need to examine our past, and to chalk out a path for the media's unfettered and independent future journey.
As for the past, it is true that most newspapers did not challenge the dictatorial regime of Sheikh Hasina during her rule of over 15 years. They either vigorously supported it or hid the truth, deflected issues that deserved criticism, or distorted facts so that the public wouldn't feel negative about the regime.
There were a few of us who defied all threats—both public and undercover—and carried on speaking truth to power. In the case of this newspaper, the antagonism burst into fury when we invited Prof Muhammad Yunus as chief guest at our 25th anniversary celebration in 2016. In the presence of thousands of invited guests, including 22 editors from South and Southeast Asia, a drama was enacted by several Awami League (AL) ministers who publicly staged a walkout, shouting condemnatory remarks, accusing this writer of having insulted them when Prof Yunus appeared on the stage to deliver the keynote speech. This newspaper was accused of "launching" (whatever that meant) Prof Yunus and giving him a huge national and international platform to work against the Hasina government. (Given her venomous remarks, relentless personal attacks, and fictitious cases against Yunus ever since, one can understand her fury against this newspaper and its editor.) From then on, we were her declared "enemy," and she treated us as such. The avalanche of cases started within hours of that event using my remark on a TV show as a pretext.
This newspaper's editor was charged in 84 cases, 16 of which were for sedition. Several times on the floor of parliament, the former prime minister termed The Daily Star and Prothom Alo "anti-state," "anti-Awami League," and "anti-people." Many AL MPs castigated this newspaper in parliament, accusing us of "indulging" in all sorts of "conspiracies." Even some non-AL MPs joined the castigation, demanding the closure of this newspaper and jailing of its editor. On one occasion, the former prime minister spoke for 21 minutes in parliament denigrating this newspaper's editor, casting doubt on his role as a freedom fighter and raising all sorts of false questions against him. A few years later, during the opening of the Padma Bridge, she falsely accused this writer of travelling to the US and meeting high-level State Department officials and the World Bank president to lobby for the cancellation of the WB loan, as part of Prof Yunus's alleged "efforts" (totally false) to scuttle the Padma Bridge project. For nearly 15 years, we were never allowed to attend the former prime minister's press conferences or any of her functions. We were never allowed to cover her foreign trips or ask her questions as the head of the government. Over time, all her ministers, save one or two, started to avoid us, not allowing our reporters to talk to them and speaking against us whenever the occasion permitted. And all this while some 40 national and international businesses were asked not to give us any advertisement, abruptly reducing our revenue by 40 percent. This continued till the July uprising last year.
We are proud to say that The Daily Star never buckled, thanks to our staff, our board of directors, and the leadership.
The CA's press secretary also laid emphasis on examining not only the past, but also how media covered the events of July-August 2024, now popularly called the Monsoon Revolution. We welcome this decision and thank him for his praise that some media, in spite of severe threats, published prominently the number of students and general people being killed daily.
We also need to examine the politicisation of journalist unions. A special focus should be given on the role of the owners of media houses who used their outlets to eulogise the Hasina government for business purposes, get illegal bank loans, get lucrative contracts, retain untaxed profits, and indulge in money laundering. When directed by the owners, working journalists did not have much of a choice. We think the editors should have tried to prevent that—and failing that, they should have resigned.
Against all the laudable things that are being said about the freedom of media and the present opportunity to engage in independent journalism, we are sad to say that some very disturbing signs can still be seen that are posing a new set of threats against free press.
As of November 2024, as many as 140 journalists have been accused of murder and cases have been filed against them on the basis of their reporting of the student-led mass uprising. Twenty eight journalists have been charged with crime against humanity. We strongly feel that the interim government's treatment of journalists has been sweeping, denigrating, and devoid of the sensitivity that this profession deserves. At this moment, we have the highest number of "murder-accused" journalists in the world. In this situation, how likely is it that the world will believe this government is handling the media fairly? Whatever criticism that this government has so far received from world bodies—Human Rights Watch (HRW), Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ), Reporters without Borders (RSF)—has mostly been for the way journalists are being treated.
It has been several months since the cases against journalists were filed. We know of no progress in terms of verification of the accusations. An eight-member committee by the interim government was formed to monitor harassment cases against journalists on October 27. No progress on this account has been reported till now. All this, while the accused journalists are unable to do their regular jobs, take care of their families, and in some cases pay for their children's education. They are also suffering from social humiliation and leading a life of constant fear, lest they be arrested. For any criminal or unethical action, a journalist must face the law as any other citizen. But everyone must be guaranteed the due process under the law, which is their constitutional right.
We appeal to the interim government, given all their professed commitment to free and independent media, to take an immediate look into the cases against journalists and bring them to an accepted legal standard.
Mahfuz Anam is the editor and publisher of The Daily Star.
We must learn from the past
VISUAL: SALMAN SAKIB SHAHRYAR
Before, when we spoke the truth, we were countered by the state and its agencies. Now, when we speak the truth, we are countered not by the state, but by lies, accusations without any proof, and tagging on the basis of hate narratives. Outrageous accusations are being made against legacy media without any evidence. In rare cases, when examples are cited, they are either false, taken out of context, distorted, or twisted to suit a predetermined goal. Thus, the media today is facing a new challenge in the post-truth era with an audience that is not used to such falsehood, half-truths and distortions, and as such is being victimised and misled.
I am heartened by a recent comment by the chief adviser's press secretary, Shafiqul Alam, for his emphatic assertion of the need for a free media for a country's advancement. He also stressed the necessity to examine the media's role in distorting objective journalism and upholding the fascistic policy and governance structure of the past regime. He repeatedly stressed that power must always be held to account, and invited all media outlets to scrutinise his own government's performance in the spirit of total independence and professionalism.
We would like to commend him for his stance and focus on two aspects of his remarks: the need to examine our past, and to chalk out a path for the media's unfettered and independent future journey.
As for the past, it is true that most newspapers did not challenge the dictatorial regime of Sheikh Hasina during her rule of over 15 years. They either vigorously supported it or hid the truth, deflected issues that deserved criticism, or distorted facts so that the public wouldn't feel negative about the regime.
There were a few of us who defied all threats—both public and undercover—and carried on speaking truth to power. In the case of this newspaper, the antagonism burst into fury when we invited Prof Muhammad Yunus as chief guest at our 25th anniversary celebration in 2016. In the presence of thousands of invited guests, including 22 editors from South and Southeast Asia, a drama was enacted by several Awami League (AL) ministers who publicly staged a walkout, shouting condemnatory remarks, accusing this writer of having insulted them when Prof Yunus appeared on the stage to deliver the keynote speech. This newspaper was accused of "launching" (whatever that meant) Prof Yunus and giving him a huge national and international platform to work against the Hasina government. (Given her venomous remarks, relentless personal attacks, and fictitious cases against Yunus ever since, one can understand her fury against this newspaper and its editor.) From then on, we were her declared "enemy," and she treated us as such. The avalanche of cases started within hours of that event using my remark on a TV show as a pretext.
This newspaper's editor was charged in 84 cases, 16 of which were for sedition. Several times on the floor of parliament, the former prime minister termed The Daily Star and Prothom Alo "anti-state," "anti-Awami League," and "anti-people." Many AL MPs castigated this newspaper in parliament, accusing us of "indulging" in all sorts of "conspiracies." Even some non-AL MPs joined the castigation, demanding the closure of this newspaper and jailing of its editor. On one occasion, the former prime minister spoke for 21 minutes in parliament denigrating this newspaper's editor, casting doubt on his role as a freedom fighter and raising all sorts of false questions against him. A few years later, during the opening of the Padma Bridge, she falsely accused this writer of travelling to the US and meeting high-level State Department officials and the World Bank president to lobby for the cancellation of the WB loan, as part of Prof Yunus's alleged "efforts" (totally false) to scuttle the Padma Bridge project. For nearly 15 years, we were never allowed to attend the former prime minister's press conferences or any of her functions. We were never allowed to cover her foreign trips or ask her questions as the head of the government. Over time, all her ministers, save one or two, started to avoid us, not allowing our reporters to talk to them and speaking against us whenever the occasion permitted. And all this while some 40 national and international businesses were asked not to give us any advertisement, abruptly reducing our revenue by 40 percent. This continued till the July uprising last year.
We are proud to say that The Daily Star never buckled, thanks to our staff, our board of directors, and the leadership.
The CA's press secretary also laid emphasis on examining not only the past, but also how media covered the events of July-August 2024, now popularly called the Monsoon Revolution. We welcome this decision and thank him for his praise that some media, in spite of severe threats, published prominently the number of students and general people being killed daily.
We also need to examine the politicisation of journalist unions. A special focus should be given on the role of the owners of media houses who used their outlets to eulogise the Hasina government for business purposes, get illegal bank loans, get lucrative contracts, retain untaxed profits, and indulge in money laundering. When directed by the owners, working journalists did not have much of a choice. We think the editors should have tried to prevent that—and failing that, they should have resigned.
Against all the laudable things that are being said about the freedom of media and the present opportunity to engage in independent journalism, we are sad to say that some very disturbing signs can still be seen that are posing a new set of threats against free press.
As of November 2024, as many as 140 journalists have been accused of murder and cases have been filed against them on the basis of their reporting of the student-led mass uprising. Twenty eight journalists have been charged with crime against humanity. We strongly feel that the interim government's treatment of journalists has been sweeping, denigrating, and devoid of the sensitivity that this profession deserves. At this moment, we have the highest number of "murder-accused" journalists in the world. In this situation, how likely is it that the world will believe this government is handling the media fairly? Whatever criticism that this government has so far received from world bodies—Human Rights Watch (HRW), Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ), Reporters without Borders (RSF)—has mostly been for the way journalists are being treated.
It has been several months since the cases against journalists were filed. We know of no progress in terms of verification of the accusations. An eight-member committee by the interim government was formed to monitor harassment cases against journalists on October 27. No progress on this account has been reported till now. All this, while the accused journalists are unable to do their regular jobs, take care of their families, and in some cases pay for their children's education. They are also suffering from social humiliation and leading a life of constant fear, lest they be arrested. For any criminal or unethical action, a journalist must face the law as any other citizen. But everyone must be guaranteed the due process under the law, which is their constitutional right.
We appeal to the interim government, given all their professed commitment to free and independent media, to take an immediate look into the cases against journalists and bring them to an accepted legal standard.
Mahfuz Anam is the editor and publisher of The Daily Star.
