In a move reminiscent of the autocratic era of
General Ershad, Bangabhaban yesterday issues a
verbal instruction through an unidentified
official of the Press Information Department
(PID) to the TV news channels and the press not
to print any news, pictures and cartoons and
editorials critical of the present government. We
want to categorically state that gagging the
media is not the answer to solving the present
political crisis. We all know who, how and by
what means the present political crisis was
created that forced the declaration of emergency.
Throughout this crisis lasting over the last
several months media played their patriotic and
democratic role by pointing out the pitfalls of
the position of the two alliances and the series
of mistakes that the caretaker government was
making, especially the mistakes that were being
made by the chief advisor. We repeatedly warned
against keeping the advisory council totally out
of the picture and the unilateralism practiced by
the chief advisor.

The public was served well by the role of the
media. In fact but for the media people of this
country would have been deprived of their "Right
to Know" about how their country was being run.
We can also proudly say that the media served the
cause of democracy and of the constitution to
uphold which the President was repeatedly saying
that he was acting.

Today we cannot understand why this restricting
verbal order has been issued against the media.
We find the verbal nature of the order to be
against the public interest and suspect the
action is the brainchild of some particular
officials and not of the government. Any order of
a government is always written. Since it is not a
written order we cannot consider it to have the
backing of the law. This move cannot serve the
cause of betterment of the country and definitely
not the cause of democracy. If holding a free and
fair election is the ultimate end of the
emergency then gagging the press is the exact
antithesis of that end.

There cannot be any public choice, public
exercise of free judgement and practice of
democracy with a censored press.

When there are so many problems to address, so
many wrongs to right, so many manipulators of the
election process to bring to book, so many
abusers of power to identify and expose, the
first action of emergency was a verbal order to
gag the press.

Today one of the best achievements of Bangladesh
is its free, responsible and independent press.
The people feel proud of their media and the
world rightfully praises and respects Bangladesh
for that achievement. What an irony it will be if
it should be the first victim of the new
dispensation!

We believe this move to be against the interest
of democracy and of Bangladesh. Just as mistakes
after mistakes have brought us to this stage of
political crisis, the decision of gagging the
press is nothing but a continuation of those
mistaken decisions. We demand an immediate verbal
withdrawal of this decision, an apology to the
media and punishment to those who are responsible
for giving such a verbal order. Let the media
continue to play its constructive and
facilitating role to resolve the present
political crisis. Friends of democracy never gag
the press, only autocrats do. The people of
Bangladesh will never accept autocrats.