EDITORS’ Council on Saturday expressed its surprise, dissatisfaction, and shock at the final report of a parliamentary standing committee on the draft Digital Security Act which totally ignored the concerns expressed by journalists. Following disapproval from journalists, rights campaigners and foreign diplomats in Dhaka, the Law Minister earlier had admitted that there were some elements of concern for free speech and that would be amended. But the JS body suggested no fundamental changes to Sections 8, 21, 25, 28, 29, 31, 32, and 43 of the Draft Act that pose serious threats to freedom of expression and media operation. When citizens are being denied freedom a country loses its democratic characteristics due to unaccountability and corruption.
The government can get credit for introducing the Right to Information Act (RTI) but simultaneously colonial-era Official Secrets Act puts a bottleneck in the effects of the RTI. The Editors’ Council said it rejected the newly formed Digital Security Act as it is opposed to the freedom of expression and freedom of the press as guaranteed by the Constitution. The right to freedom of speech is the people’s right and not just the right of the press or right of the media men. What is not appreciated is that freedom of expression is a precondition to good governance. Our political leaders under the influence of bureaucrats will not appreciate it. Bureaucrats by temperament are autocrats. So, common people are victims of the undemocratic system of government.
It is also unfortunate that as party activists our journalists are divided and not able to resist black laws against the press unitedly.
What is significant is that the government has just modified the controversial ICT Act’s Section 57 but at the same time reintroduced the Section in another form under the Digital Security Act 2018. Now self-censorship by media outlets is on the rise due to fear of violence, arrests and harassment against those who criticize the government. So, the new tool to gag freedom of media will be more dangerous.
We must say, it would not only threaten the right of free speech every day, but the government also will fail to know the public grievances that is essential for it to be a pro-people government.
