On Monday, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said that if his party wins the next national election, it will work to protect a free and independent press. He said this because journalists often end up in the pockets of politicians because they don’t work well with others.
“Our commitment is very clear. In our 31-point plan, we made it clear that we want to see and build a free and independent mass media.” That’s why we promised to set up a panel for this reason at that time, he said at a meeting where people could share their thoughts.
The leader of the BNP said that the interim government set up a committee to reform the media. However, the report that the commission made has not been talked about anywhere.
In case the people choose the BNP to run the government, he said, the party would make this problem their top priority.
“I have to say one thing: you journalists are part of a lot of unions, like BFUJ and DUJ, and some of those unions are divided along political lines.” “That means you are becoming partisan,” Fakhrul said.
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He said that political groups don’t want reporters to side with them or stay loyal to them. “But if you put yourself in their pockets on purpose, that’s a problem...” We have seen that many of you have backed fascism on your own over the past 15 years. The people of this country and I have seen it.
According to the leader of the BNP, journalists need to promise not to be influenced by politics and to do independent work as required by their trade.
The event called “Consultation on Media Reform” was put together by the Broadcast Journalist Centre (BJC) at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre.
Many of the panellists talked about media freedom and how to protect writers, according to Fakhrul. “Whether we’re talking about journalism, education, or independent media, I think that in the end, everything comes down to how the state is set up.”
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According to him, the country went through a lot of talks and formed a number of committees as it changed from a fascist system to a democratic one.
“At that time, freedom of the media, especially in broadcasting, became a very big issue.” The media cannot be seen as an island, though; that’s not my point. There is a link between this country, its structure, those of us in power or resistance, and those who work in journalism. “That’s why I don’t think reforms can really work unless we really accept them and want change,” Fakhrul said.
He said that the BJC proposal calls for a separate law for broadcast media, a national broadcast commission, a wage board, job security, and for all TV channels to be recognised as pay channels and as an industry. It also calls for clear rules on TV licensing and ownership structures, as well as the adoption of a code of ethics and political commitments for broadcast media.
“If the people choose us and we get to form the government, your ideas will be given top priority,” the leader of the BNP said.
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