Some part of govt allowed attacks on Prothom Alo-Daily Star-Chhayanaut: Nurul Kabir
Nurul Kabir, president of the Editors’ Council and editor of daily New Age, believes that some part of the government allowed the attacks, vandalism, and arson at the offices of Prothom Alo , The daily Star, and Chhayanaut to occur.
Nurul Kabir made this statement today, Saturday, while speaking as a special guest at the 6th Broadcast Conference of the Broadcast Journalist Centre (BJC) at the International Mother Language Institute in Segunbagicha, Dhaka.
Syeda Rizwana Hasan, adviser for information and broadcasting, was the chief guest of the event.
On the night of 18 December, country’s leading newspaper Prothom Alo was deliberately and systematically attacked by miscreants.
Prothom Alo office was vandalised, set on fire, and looted, leaving the building in ruins.
On the same night, The Daily Star’s office was also attacked with vandalism, arson, and looting.
When went to show solidarity at The Daily Star, Editors’ Council president Nurul Kabir himself was harassed that night. Many have condemned the incidents as a “dark day for the media.”
People concerned note that these attacks fall under assaults on independent media.
The issue of these attacks, vandalism, and arson repeatedly came up during speeches at BJSC’s 6th Broadcast Conference as well.
Nurul Kabir said, “It is clear that announcements had been made one or two days prior to destroy Prothom Alo, The Daily Star, and Chhayanaut. Everyone in this country knows who made these announcements, including the government. Under any law of Bangladesh, this is a criminal offence. Yet the government did not arrest them beforehand to prevent it.”
“They had already announced that these would be destroyed. That is why we have said that at least some part of the government allowed this to happen. Then, it was an organised force that carried out this act. Among those already arrested, clear political affiliations have been found,” he continued.
The session, moderated by journalist Shahnaz Sharmin, also featured speeches by former head of the Media Reform Commission and consulting editor of The Daily Star Kamal Ahmed, Supreme Court lawyer Sara Hossain, senior journalist and BJC adviser Khairul Anwar, CEO of Jamuna Television and BJC trustee Fahim Ahmed, BBC Media Action representative in the country Md Al Mamun, and journalists Talat Mamun, Ilyas Hossain, and Milton Anwar.