UNB, Dhaka :
The World Press Freedom Day was observed in the country as elsewhere across the world on Wednesday with a fresh call for a unity among journalists to stop repression on them and realise their rights.
Different social and professional bodies marked the day with various programmes, including discussion and seminar, highlighting that the freedom of press and the freedom of expression are basic human rights.
On the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day,
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an end to crackdowns on journalists who he described as a ‘voice of the voiceless’.
The theme of this year’s day was ‘Critical minds for critical times: Media’s role in advancing peaceful, just and participatory society’. In 1993, United Nations declared May 3 as the World Press Freedom Day.
To mark the day, Jatiya Press Club arranged a seminar while Bangladesh Online Media Association and pro-BNP factions of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) and Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ) organised separate discussion meetings at the Jatiya Press Club. Youth Journalist Forum Bangladesh also arranged a discussion at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity (DRU).
Speaking at the seminar arranged by the Jatiya Press Club, Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu said the government is working for journalists as their well-wishers, not foes. “But at this moment, militancy, terrorism, drug-dealers, smugglers are the main threats to the establishment of press freedom in Bangladesh. They’re threats to the state, too.”
Rejecting the Amnesty International report ‘Attack on Freedom and Repression: Attack on Freedom of Speech in Bangladesh’ that came out on Tuesday, Inu said, “Amnesty International has published a biased, ill-motivated report. Amnesty did not stand in favour of Bangladesh during the Liberation War. Even after the death of Bangabandhu, it remained silent.” Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) President Manjurul Ahsan Bulbul presented the keynote paper at the programme.
Addressing the discussion organised by BFUJ and DUJ, BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir alleged that the government has long been controlling the media as it does not believe in press freedom.
Fakhrul urged all, including the journalists, to get united putting aside misunderstanding and division among them to overcome the situation and ‘restore’ democracy in the country. Leaders of the Youth Journalists Forum Bangladesh at their programme urged journalists to get united for realising their rights and stop repression on them.
The World Press Freedom Day was observed in the country as elsewhere across the world on Wednesday with a fresh call for a unity among journalists to stop repression on them and realise their rights.
Different social and professional bodies marked the day with various programmes, including discussion and seminar, highlighting that the freedom of press and the freedom of expression are basic human rights.
On the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day,
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an end to crackdowns on journalists who he described as a ‘voice of the voiceless’.
The theme of this year’s day was ‘Critical minds for critical times: Media’s role in advancing peaceful, just and participatory society’. In 1993, United Nations declared May 3 as the World Press Freedom Day.
To mark the day, Jatiya Press Club arranged a seminar while Bangladesh Online Media Association and pro-BNP factions of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) and Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ) organised separate discussion meetings at the Jatiya Press Club. Youth Journalist Forum Bangladesh also arranged a discussion at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity (DRU).
Speaking at the seminar arranged by the Jatiya Press Club, Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu said the government is working for journalists as their well-wishers, not foes. “But at this moment, militancy, terrorism, drug-dealers, smugglers are the main threats to the establishment of press freedom in Bangladesh. They’re threats to the state, too.”
Rejecting the Amnesty International report ‘Attack on Freedom and Repression: Attack on Freedom of Speech in Bangladesh’ that came out on Tuesday, Inu said, “Amnesty International has published a biased, ill-motivated report. Amnesty did not stand in favour of Bangladesh during the Liberation War. Even after the death of Bangabandhu, it remained silent.” Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) President Manjurul Ahsan Bulbul presented the keynote paper at the programme.
Addressing the discussion organised by BFUJ and DUJ, BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir alleged that the government has long been controlling the media as it does not believe in press freedom.
Fakhrul urged all, including the journalists, to get united putting aside misunderstanding and division among them to overcome the situation and ‘restore’ democracy in the country. Leaders of the Youth Journalists Forum Bangladesh at their programme urged journalists to get united for realising their rights and stop repression on them.
