Most regrettably, the newly formed caretaker
government headed by Dr. Fakruddin Ahmed seems to
be headed in the direction of a confrontation
with the independent media, both electronic and
print. For the first time in 16 years this writer
received a call from the press information
officer of the ministry of information very
gently, saying: "I hope you are aware that we are
in an emergency." I asked him what he meant and
under what authority and on whose directive was
he calling me. He avoided my questions and I told
him never to call me again with anything that has
to do with restricting press freedom.

Obviously this official was not calling me on his
own. So who are pushing the just-born caretaker
government towards an inevitable clash with the
independent media? Let us make it unambiguously
clear and say with as much forthrightness as
possible that we will never accept censorship or
any attempt to restrict the media. The media in
Bangladesh will not allow even an iota of
restriction imposed on them.

We understand what is national interest, what is
good for our people and how people’s rights can
be better served. We also know our
responsibilities and how to be restrained, if
necessary. The fact that those in power felt the
need to start the discredited and hateful system
of issuing press advisory over the phone is not
only shameful but also suicidal. Such advisory
only protects those who are afraid of
transparency and openness. They cannot be friends
of Dr. Fakruddin’s government, not for that
matter of Bangladesh or of anybody who has the
country’s interest at heart.

It is a well-known experience and one that is
globally applicable that media restrictions only
serve the corrupt and the vested interest groups.
Anybody or any group devoted to serving public
interest has nothing to fear from a free press.
In the past when media censorship existed in the
country whom did it serve? Never the public. We
accept that free media have not always succeeded
in eliminating the corrupt and the criminal
elements from the society. But that has been so
because the people in power never used the media
reports in investigating further and finding out
the truth. The government of the day,
irrespective of any party, in fact blamed the
media for maligning them and as such protected
the corrupt simply because of the nexus that grew
between the politicians and the criminals. Even
under such constraints, whatever little public
interest has been served it was due to the
relentless pursuit of the journalists to expose
corruption. Few other groups did as much for
public interest as the media.

Take the most recent political crisis. The nation
would have had to suffer a one-sided election,
with the most flawed voter list and partisan
bureaucracy imaginable but for the media. If
President Iajuddin really pursued public interest
he would have gotten our full backing even after
assuming power unconventionally, according to
some illegally. But he got the very opposite from
the media as a result of which people have been
better served.

With the declaration of emergency, an overall
legal cover has been brought into effect within
which the government now has the power to
institute some restrictive rules for the purpose
of maintaining law and order and related
governance issues, including restricting some
fundamental rights. But it does not automatically
mean that a government will have to issue
restrictive rules in all the fields covered by
the emergency provision of the constitution.

Therefore we urge Dr. Fakruddin not only NOT to
go in the direction of press restrictions but
also to issue a clear statement re-asserting the
centrality of free media in his policies and
categorically stating his government’s full
commitment to the highest degree of freedom for
the media. Such a statement by the Chief Adviser
is very necessary because the lower level
government and law enforcement officials,
especially those corrupt officials who have a lot
of dirty linen to hide, may use the pretext of
the emergency to harass the media professionals.
They also sometimes act on behalf of the corrupt
businessmen to intimidate the investigating
journalists to desist them from following their
stories.

We have said so in the past and repeat ourselves
now that free media have greatly enhanced
Bangladesh’s prestige globally. It is a matter of
pride for our people. Of the things that give a
positive image of our country, free media is high
among them. Restricting it in any way will come
at a great cost to our international goodwill.
Since the promulgation of emergency almost all
the foreign press that contacted this writer for
comments, and it was nearly two dozen, all
invariably asking about the fate of press freedom
under the present circumstances.

We wish the new caretaker government well. We
pledge our full co-operation in all its
pro-people and pro-democracy activities. We will
vigorously support its good actions and criticise
the bad ones. We may even be merciless on
occasions. But all our actions will be solely
guided by national interest and the desire to
strengthen democracy and empower the people to
have a greater say in running their country. As
for the immediate task, all our effort will be
directed to the holding of a free and fair
election at the earliest. This, as we know, is
also the number one task of the new caretaker
government and in that sense we are allies. There
cannot be any sense on part of Dr. Fakruddin’s
government to debilitate its ally, perhaps the
most valuable one. So, Dr. Fakruddin, say NO to
press restrictions, and say it repeatedly and
loudly so that the whole world can hear it and
the enemies of the free press lurking in the
shadows know that they have no place in the 21^st
Century Bangladesh.

Postscript: After conclusion of this piece, the
news came that the advisory council in its first
meeting decided to uphold fundamental rights as
much as possible under the purview of emergency.
We are heartened by this decision, but we would
have preferred if upholding press freedom was
separately mentioned.