Please don’t tie our hands, you’ll have to come to us again: Matiur Rahman Chowdhury

Matiur Rahman Chowdhury, president of the Newspaper Owners’ Association of Bangladesh (NOAB) and editor-in-chief of Manabzamin, said that the incumbent government wants to enact laws to curb criticism, but those very laws end up being used against the government itself when it loses power.
Addressing the government, Matiur Rahman Chowdhury said, “Please don’t tie our hands again. If you tie our hands, it will be to your own detriment. I won’t be able to write in your favour anymore. One day, you will have to come back to us again.”
He made these remarks on Sunday morning at a roundtable discussion on the proposed Cyber Security (Amendment) Act, held at the office of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) in Dhanmondi, Dhaka.
A total of 19 organisations, including TIB, BRAC, BLAST, and the Bangladesh Mahila Parishad, organised the meeting.
Matiur Rahman Chowdhury said that power is not permanent anywhere in the world. He remarked that laws should therefore be drafted with the future in mind.
The editor of Manabzamin said that laws are necessary to combat cybercrime. However, he stressed that criticism of the government must be distinguished from cyber crime. “There will inevitably be criticism of the government; that is perfectly normal in a democratic society. If these two are not treated separately, the danger will remain,” he said.
The NOAB president also questioned a provision in the proposed Cyber Security Act that would allow newspapers or online news outlets to be shut down over an offence committed by an individual. Expressing concern about how the law might be enforced, he warned of the risk of political interference. He said that a phone call from a ruling party leader at the local level could potentially lead to someone’s arrest.
Matiur Rahman Chowdhury also questioned the definition of “misinformation” in the proposed law. In his view, a news report could be labelled as misinformation or accused of being published with the intention of defaming someone simply because that person disliked its contents. He said there must be a clear answer to the question of who would determine whether information was deliberately false.
Matiur Rahman Chowdhury opposed granting mobile courts the authority to try journalists. He said, “You are giving the power to try journalists to the same mobile courts that are used to catch people who manufacture adulterated medicines! How can such a thing even be contemplated in a democratic society?”
Matiur Rahman Chowdhury called for discussions on the proposed law to be held across districts and for opinions to be sought from people from all walks of life. He also urged the authorities to ensure that the committee responsible for drafting the law included representatives from diverse social and professional backgrounds.
The meeting was moderated by Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB). Participants included Mohammad Shahidul Islam, president of the Dhaka Journalists union (DJU); Shafiqul Alam, editor of Daily Wada; Sharifuzzaman Pintu, convener of the Online Editors Forum; and Fouzia Afroz, Bangladesh head of the Tech Global Institute, among others.