S M Mizanur Rahman :
Users of the social network Facebook in Bangladesh will get their access to it soon, said State Minister of ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak.
“We have contacted the Facebook authorities. We hope that the restriction can be lifted very soon,” he told a press conference at the National Press Club in city on Thursday.
Asked when that might happen, the state minister replied: “I cannot give you an exact date and time, but I can at least say that Facebook will be unblocked very soon,” he said.
However, State Minister for ICT Division Zunaid Ahmed was reportedly continued to update and share posts in his Facebook account even on Thursday.
Besides, some cabinet members, MPs, influential leaders and bureaucrats are also using Facebook while
the common people are being deprived of the social networking facility for the last 16 days.
They include State Minister for ICT Division Zunaid Ahmed Palak, Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal Lotus, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam, and Prime Minister’s Special Assistant Mahbubul Hoque Shakil.
People in Bangladesh started using Facebook since 2006 and the number of the users registered to 1.8 crore, according Information and Communication Technology Ministry.
When contacted, Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu and Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said they do not know whether the ministers, lawmakers and government high-ups are using Facebook or not.
“I don’t know whether ministers, lawmakers and government officials are using Facebook or not. If I obtain such information, immediate steps will be taken in this regard,” Hasanul Haq Inu told The New Nation.
Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said he does not have any information that the Ministers are using Facebook.
“I think journalists know better than me,” he said.
When asked when the ban imposed on Facebook will go, the home Minister said based on intelligence’s report, the decision to lift the ban will be taken.
State Minister for ICT Division Zunaid Ahmed Palak and State Minister for Telecom Tarana Halim have been assuring people that the ban would be lifted soon. As they are not telling the exact time and date about lifting of the ban, a confusion has been created among the common users.
The Facebook authorities will visit Bangladesh on December 6 to discuss a proposal about signing a deal with the government to combat cyber crimes in the country, sources said.
Earlier on November 30, the government wrote a letter to the Facebook authorities showing interest to sign a deal with the social networking site in order to attain information about its users.
The government has taken the step to ensure public security as plots are on to carry out militant activities in the country and following the militant’s mayhem in the Europe and other parts of the world.
Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (BTRC) suspended the operation of Facebook, Messenger, Viber and WhatsApp in Bangladesh on November 18 following a Supreme Court verdict that upheld the death sentences of war criminals Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed and Salauddin Quader Chowdhury.
