Ensure uninterrupted flow of information
Every year, on this day the term ‘press freedom’ becomes the talk of the world and people look back on the indices that show how free is the media in different countries. In 1993, the general assembly of the United Nations declared May 3 the World Press Freedom Day. This year the day comes at a time when we are fighting against the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, which makes the day even more significant.
The media in Bangladesh has not been enjoying freedom of the press in its truest sense and different surveys show that the situation has gone worse since 2013. Among 180 countries surveyed in this year’s study of the France-based Reporters Without Borders, Bangladesh was at 151, a further place down than the previous year. And among the South Asian nations, it is the worst.
Even the unstable Pakistan or the war-torn Afghanistan, two countries besotted with terrorism and internal clashes, are ahead of Bangladesh in the index.
The absence of the freedom of the press in our country is just a consequence of our failure to ensure the best democratic practices. Those in power have always tried to flex their muscles to serve their purpose and treated the media like an enemy instead of seeing this as an entity that helps the overall development.
And that is why the authorities formulated black laws to control the media. The digital security act only gave them the scope to misuse power and muzzle the press.
In Bangladesh, we have seen as many as 70-80 cases being filed against a national daily just to harass the editor. And the court, too, let it happen despite knowing that they were false ones. This is enough to portray the real picture of press freedom in Bangladesh. No matter what the government say, everyone in the country and outside know the truth.
For the last few years, Prothom Alo has not been getting government advertisements and those from a number of leading companies. Such steps were taken only to hamper true journalism.
During the time of a crisis like coronavirus, uninterrupted flow of information is a must. But cases have been filed against two editors as their media houses reported against looting of relief goods.
According to the Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK), as many as 51 journalists have been harassed in the first three months of the year. Newsmen have been barred from attending the daily press briefing on the COVID-19 situation as well, as someone questioned how two government entities provide different data.
The authorities should realize that they are violating quite a number of articles of the Right to Information Act. Uninterrupted flow of information is a cornerstone of a democracy. The government and other stakeholders should work to ensure that in this crisis period.