Staff Reporter :
Digital Security Act 2018 is one of the world’s worst laws, said BNP leaders at a view exchange meeting on Monday. They also announced not to accept such a ‘black’ law.
“We don’t accept today’s law (Digital Security Law). In fact, we don’t accept any law of this government as those were passed in a parliament which has no legitimacy,” BNP Secretary General Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told the meeting held at a city hotel yesterday.
Fakhrul branded the government as ‘hypocrite’ saying it assured the Editors Council of taking steps for amending ‘controversial’ sections of the Digital Security Bill, but it was made law without any amendment.
Even, the government didn’t talk to anybody over the act,” he added. The BNP Secretary General alleged that the government has enacted the ‘black’ law as its safeguard so that media cannot publish any reports on its corruption.
Earlier in the day, President Abdul Hamid has assented to the Digital Security Bill passed in the 22nd session of the current parliament, making it a law. “The Digital Security Bill, 2018′ was passed to deal with cybercrimes, including hurting the religious sentiment, negative propaganda against the Liberation War and Bangabandhu and illegal activities in e-transactions and spreading defamatory data.
Former president of the National Press Club Shawkat Mahmud presented the keynote paper at the programme.
Fakhrul said, over 4,500 ‘fictitious’ cases were filed over the last one month while around 25,00,000 people were made accused in around 90,000 cases over the last 10 years. “People’s unity is the only way to overcome this situation. We’ll achieve the victory by forging the people’s unity.”
He called upon the BNP leaders and activists not to be frustrated and get ready for carrying their struggle. “There’s no reason to get frustrated. I see the light of hope. We’ll continue our struggle until our all demands are met, our chairperson is freed and people get rid of misrule.”
The BNP senior leader urged the government to release BNP chief Khaleda Zia from jail before the time runs out as only she can help overcome the current situation. “There’s no alternative to freeing Khaleda Zia to overcome the current crisis.”
BNP standing committee member Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain alleged that the Digital Security Act was framed from a BAKSAL concept to establish unwritten one-party rule. “What could be blacker than this law? Even, I think, there’s no such law in any monarchy, let alone democracy.”
He said the current ‘fascist’ regime formulated the law to ensure its security and gag the voice of the media, politicians and the common people who use the social media. “I would like to say that the consequences of such efforts wouldn’t be good.”
The Editors Council was given hope that their recommendations will be taken into consideration but that has not been done as well, said Nazrul Islam Khan, a senior BNP leader who also attended the programme.
“There are black laws, but this law is the blackest of black,” Nazrul Islam Khan added.
Journalists from different media outlets and some representatives from different embassies, including the USA, the UK, the EU, Canada, China, Russia, Afghanistan, Palestine, Turkey and Vietnam, attended the programme.
