Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has expressed grave concerns over the government directive to separately register all online portals of newspaper and TV channels saying it will establish total control and intervention of the government over the media.
In a statement issued to the media on Tuesday, Dr Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of TIB said, “It has been reported in the media that even the newspapers and TV channels that have been in operation for many years have been asked to seek re-registration of their online portals.
“Although it is being explained by the Information Ministry to be part of an attempt to provide the media the advantages of being registered with the government and as an attempt to control yellow journalism, this will in reality only establish total control of the government over the media in the country”, he insists.
Question will arise if despite the presence of laws and regulations for media, this new directive is intended to serve the interest of the media or in fact it comes as a tool to increase pressures on the media by the government and thereby to ensure vested quarters to remain above criticism and accountability, Dr Zaman points out.
While the government is expected to do everything possible to uphold the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of information and opinion, we witness the government is ironically establishing further control over exercise of such rights, he says.
It is absolutely inexplicable that pledges are being regularly made by government to ensure transparency and accountability, those who are supposed to implement such pledges are desperate to create all possible barriers against independent and courageous journalism that could expose corruption, abuse of power and mismanagement, Mr Dr Iftekharuzzaman stated.
The Executive Director said, “it is disappointing that the government has ignored the media stakeholders and experts’ views that the long serving newspapers and TV channels are by their very right and legal existence already entitled to keep their online portals active”, he said.
Referring the importance of free and uncontrolled prevalence of online news media for meeting the government’s high profile electoral commitment of Digital Bangladesh, Dr Zaman further said, “Control if you can the promotion of personal interests by vested quarters, but do ensure free online media at the same time. Please don’t further undermine the freedom of media pledged as part of national independence. Failure to ensure free media in Bangladesh will convert pledges like “free flow of information”, freedom of expression, and ‘Digital Bangladesh’ as only rhetoric's.”
TIB expects that the government will abandon this new directive of re-registration of online portals of long-running newspapers and TV channels, and rather would ensure free media in the country by a set of positive initiatives for the media including scrapping of the regressive provisions of the Digital Security Act.
It is also the responsibility of the government to control fake news and yellow journalism in due legal process, but nothing justifies any restriction on the independent media, the statement said.
