Bangladesh Bank: Lift ban on journalists

Whoever joins Bangladesh Bank as governor seems to fear facing the media and journalists. The central bank is an important state organisation and people have the right to know about what is happening inside it. This is the reason journalists go to the central bank to collect news.

But in a recent development, Bangladesh Bank executive director and spokesperson Mezbaul Haque said, "The central bank has decided that journalists would be able to go to only the spokesperson upon collecting a special entry pass. If an official provides a pass, journalists would be able to meet that official only.”

This means that the journalists would no longer be able to enter Bangladesh Bank by registering their name and address in the entrance. This is an unwritten embargo.

Journalists covering economic affairs on Thursday registered a protest against the move by staging a sit-in in front of Bangladesh Bank. In the wake of the situation, the Economic Reporters' Forum (ERF) president and general secretary held a meeting with Bangladesh Bank governor Abdur Rouf Talukder but no solution emerged from the meeting. The governor maintained that the top secret documents of Bangladesh Bank are being sneaked out through journalists and that’s why they should not be given free entry into the building of the central bank.

The Bangladesh Bank’s decision came at a moment when the banking sector is facing stringent criticism over issues such as merger and default loan. Are the central bank officials trying to hide their weakness and failure by this decision?

However, this is not the first instance of imposing restrictions on the journalists by Bangladesh Bank. In 2016, Fazle Kabir was appointed as the governor as Atiur Rahman had resigned in the wake of the reserve heist. On the very first day, journalists were restricted from entering the third floor of the governor's house. The order was later canceled in the face of objections and protests from journalists.

A similar ban was imposed after Abdur Rauf Talukdar joined as governor in July 2022. The concerned journalists announced a boycott of all programmes of Bangladesh Bank. The restriction was later relaxed. After almost two years, Bangladesh Bank has come up with the same strategy of restricting press. The question is whether the central bank is trying to protect the vicious cycle of the banking sector or cover up their own failures by shutting the door for journalists.

Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has expressed deep concern over the decision of Bangladesh Bank. Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) has condemned and protested against the central bank's ban on free movement of journalists to Bangladesh Bank.

This move would not only dent the image of the central bank, but also end the remainder of transparency and accountability of the banking sector. We hope that Bangladesh Bank would immediately withdraw this restriction and would refrain from issuing any written or unwritten obstruction in the gathering of information by the journalists.