Journalists on Tuesday termed the newly approved Broadcasting Policy-2014 as “black law” for the media.
They also set fire to the copies of the draft of the National Broadcast Policy-2014.
The journalists’ leaders advised the government to rethink about the policy and said that disregard for the freedom of media makes people confused.
They said this at a protest rally in front of the National Press Club (NPC) jointly organised by Bangladesh Union of Federal Journalists (BFUJ) and Dhaka Union of Journalists. Calling Information Minister Hasanul Huq Inu “an enemy of freedom of press”, Shawkat Mahmud, President of a faction of BFUJ, asked the NPC authorities not to welcome the minister in the Jatiya Press Club until the draft is quashed.
The cabinet yesterday (Monday) approved the National Broadcasting Policy-2014, giving the government enough power to gag the freedom of press in the name of maintaining standard of news, programmes and advertisements in the electronic media.
According to the leaders, all contents of radio and television will come under strict government monitoring. False, discriminatory and misleading information and statistics must be avoided in news and programmes, according to the draft policy.
They agitating journalists vowed to wage movement against the draft policy, even by sacrificing their blood, if needed, as it might curb freedom of the journalists, they said.
They also said, the government intends to curtail the freedom of press through formulating the policy which will not be accepted.
Former President of BFUJ Ruhul Amin Gazi, DUJ President Abdul Hye Sikdar, General Secretary of NPC Syed Abdal Ahmed, DUJ Secretary General Jahangir Alam Prodhan, journalist leader MA Aziz and Joint-General-Secretary of NPC Quader Gani Chowdhury, and, among others, spoke at the programme.
Apart from opinion sharing with media personalities, editors and concerned people, month-long protest programmes will be announced to press home their demand, for scrapping the policy, they said. A grand rally will follow later on, the protestors said.
Earlier, in the wake of approving the draft policy, private television owners’ organisation Association of TV Channel Owners (ATCO) has called for a meeting in this regard today.
