Our hospitals are in worst condition. Despite all the claims of doing everything the hospitals are still unable to prepare itself for necessary treatment of coronavirus. The government seems not to be effective in implementing its own orders other than issuing orders to the police.
A journalist of an important daily could not find his way for his mother’s corona treatment for the mismanagement at Dhaka Medical College Hospital. He had moved from one place to another but could not arrange treatment for his mother. She obviously died in terrible pain without medical help.
He was with his elderly mother already in breathing problem. Firstly, he was told he must queue up for his turn to get the ticket. Thereafter he was sent from one place to another. There was no emergency arrangement for receiving immediate attention. It is our slavish mentally that unless one is an official VIP, one has to be extremely lucky to get public services in time. Go to the line, no matter how serious is the condition of the patient.
We know we are not always right when blaming the doctors or nurses because the pressure on them at this time is also inhuman. But they have also to be as human as possible for the human satisfaction that one did not die without medical care.
If an important journalist could not reach a doctor to attend to her dying mother in a government hospital in the capital then what image the government is trying to protect by police actions needs to be explained by the government.
From London a gentleman informed that his relation went for a test centre in Dhaka. After a few days he was told the results were negative. But his condition was worsening and he went again for a second test. This time he was told machine was not available. He met his death without any treatment.
Both the news are bad for the image of the government. But not to publish such news of mismanagement for fear of police action will not help the government efforts to save lives. Such bungling to save lives should duly be enquired only to improve conditions in hospitals and testing centres. Instead, the government is encouraged to take police actions for defamation on ground of harming its image.
The defamation case is bailable and not “jailable”. It is known to police as well the court that defamation is to be entitled to bail and not be sent to jail before he is found guilty. This is the rule of law. Lawlessness of the government. This we call police justice. The government that defies law sends also the message that law is no protection for the people.
The press is in a special position in regard to defamation of people in government. If a report is published against a minister he cannot right away go for a defamation case without first giving the paper an opportunity to publish his rejoinder. If the newspaper does not publish his version of the story then necessary malice in publishing the news is established for constituting the offence of defamation.
Despite this legal safety for the press to be able to serve public interest an accused journalist will be refused bail without proving malice at the time of trial.
In the context of a lead news item published in an English daily highlighting easy police action against the press freedom and freedom of speech supported by a statement of a large number of eminent persons. The news item gave particulars of police actions of imprisonment, torture including forced disappearances against journalists and others.
We found the facts not involvement of any serious newspapers or known journalists. The report we considered blogger biased .Still we condemned such police actions as uncalled for when much more important job of fighting corona pandemic besieged the government in our commentary on May 8 under the heading “Indiscriminate use of police action against media doing no good.”
Some foreign diplomats stationed in Bangladesh have expressed concern in response to the aforesaid news item. They expected the press freedom to be protected. May be, they also took into consideration the absence of effective opposition in the country.
Strong criticism of government’s failures published in media or voiced through TV talk shows in the past also. Those who did it have to remain conscious of the risk of police actions. Undoubtedly, the press is in a helpless situation. Speaking the truth was never safe.
But the Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen promptly rushed out to criticise such an act of the diplomats. He said it is not done anywhere. The diplomats should have spoken to the government and not to issue a press statement as the matter being internal. He reminded the diplomats that they have acted in violations of diplomatic norms.
Denying press freedom and sending journalists to jail or torture are not tolerated in any civilised country as something normal. So diplomats do not have to remind the importance of press freedom or freedom of expression those countries usually enjoy. In Bangladesh police actions have gone too far when elections has also become a part of police activity. The Foreign Minister cannot deny that.
About the news item published, we also found more on side of exaggeration in the present situation and said so in our commentary.
The press freedom is not only a guaranteed right under our Constitution, it is also a guaranteed right under the UN Charter. So violation of press freedom is also internationally condemnable. Sending a journalist or anybody to jail before finding him guilty of defamation is a violation of our own law and human rights.
The Foreign Minister has not directly contradicted the contents of the news item. He was more anxious to teach the diplomats the diplomacy.
The rights and privileges to be protected and honoured by members of the United Nations are not internal matters and has the legitimacy to comment on such punishment of imprisonment or torture just for saying or publishing something affecting public affairs.
His idea of diplomacy is if the diplomats had to say anything they should said to him. He could not foresee that if the diplomats came to Foreign Ministry and commented on the state of press freedom that would have become a formal diplomatic complaint and a matter of international press. From the government side a formal explanation would have been called for diplomatically.
The rights and obligations agreed to protect as a signatory to the UN Charter is an international commitment that cannot be ignored freely and considered the same as right diplomacy.
Unless we want to remain completely an international outcast we have to remain as the part the international community. We have to abide by our international commitment to the human rights accepted by us and other UN members as a solemn international undertaking.
The truth is the only way to help the government to become active in the right way and do the right things. Lies at a time of national crisis is a disaster for the government and the country.
A journalist of an important daily could not find his way for his mother’s corona treatment for the mismanagement at Dhaka Medical College Hospital. He had moved from one place to another but could not arrange treatment for his mother. She obviously died in terrible pain without medical help.
He was with his elderly mother already in breathing problem. Firstly, he was told he must queue up for his turn to get the ticket. Thereafter he was sent from one place to another. There was no emergency arrangement for receiving immediate attention. It is our slavish mentally that unless one is an official VIP, one has to be extremely lucky to get public services in time. Go to the line, no matter how serious is the condition of the patient.
We know we are not always right when blaming the doctors or nurses because the pressure on them at this time is also inhuman. But they have also to be as human as possible for the human satisfaction that one did not die without medical care.
If an important journalist could not reach a doctor to attend to her dying mother in a government hospital in the capital then what image the government is trying to protect by police actions needs to be explained by the government.
From London a gentleman informed that his relation went for a test centre in Dhaka. After a few days he was told the results were negative. But his condition was worsening and he went again for a second test. This time he was told machine was not available. He met his death without any treatment.
Both the news are bad for the image of the government. But not to publish such news of mismanagement for fear of police action will not help the government efforts to save lives. Such bungling to save lives should duly be enquired only to improve conditions in hospitals and testing centres. Instead, the government is encouraged to take police actions for defamation on ground of harming its image.
The defamation case is bailable and not “jailable”. It is known to police as well the court that defamation is to be entitled to bail and not be sent to jail before he is found guilty. This is the rule of law. Lawlessness of the government. This we call police justice. The government that defies law sends also the message that law is no protection for the people.
The press is in a special position in regard to defamation of people in government. If a report is published against a minister he cannot right away go for a defamation case without first giving the paper an opportunity to publish his rejoinder. If the newspaper does not publish his version of the story then necessary malice in publishing the news is established for constituting the offence of defamation.
Despite this legal safety for the press to be able to serve public interest an accused journalist will be refused bail without proving malice at the time of trial.
In the context of a lead news item published in an English daily highlighting easy police action against the press freedom and freedom of speech supported by a statement of a large number of eminent persons. The news item gave particulars of police actions of imprisonment, torture including forced disappearances against journalists and others.
We found the facts not involvement of any serious newspapers or known journalists. The report we considered blogger biased .Still we condemned such police actions as uncalled for when much more important job of fighting corona pandemic besieged the government in our commentary on May 8 under the heading “Indiscriminate use of police action against media doing no good.”
Some foreign diplomats stationed in Bangladesh have expressed concern in response to the aforesaid news item. They expected the press freedom to be protected. May be, they also took into consideration the absence of effective opposition in the country.
Strong criticism of government’s failures published in media or voiced through TV talk shows in the past also. Those who did it have to remain conscious of the risk of police actions. Undoubtedly, the press is in a helpless situation. Speaking the truth was never safe.
But the Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen promptly rushed out to criticise such an act of the diplomats. He said it is not done anywhere. The diplomats should have spoken to the government and not to issue a press statement as the matter being internal. He reminded the diplomats that they have acted in violations of diplomatic norms.
Denying press freedom and sending journalists to jail or torture are not tolerated in any civilised country as something normal. So diplomats do not have to remind the importance of press freedom or freedom of expression those countries usually enjoy. In Bangladesh police actions have gone too far when elections has also become a part of police activity. The Foreign Minister cannot deny that.
About the news item published, we also found more on side of exaggeration in the present situation and said so in our commentary.
The press freedom is not only a guaranteed right under our Constitution, it is also a guaranteed right under the UN Charter. So violation of press freedom is also internationally condemnable. Sending a journalist or anybody to jail before finding him guilty of defamation is a violation of our own law and human rights.
The Foreign Minister has not directly contradicted the contents of the news item. He was more anxious to teach the diplomats the diplomacy.
The rights and privileges to be protected and honoured by members of the United Nations are not internal matters and has the legitimacy to comment on such punishment of imprisonment or torture just for saying or publishing something affecting public affairs.
His idea of diplomacy is if the diplomats had to say anything they should said to him. He could not foresee that if the diplomats came to Foreign Ministry and commented on the state of press freedom that would have become a formal diplomatic complaint and a matter of international press. From the government side a formal explanation would have been called for diplomatically.
The rights and obligations agreed to protect as a signatory to the UN Charter is an international commitment that cannot be ignored freely and considered the same as right diplomacy.
Unless we want to remain completely an international outcast we have to remain as the part the international community. We have to abide by our international commitment to the human rights accepted by us and other UN members as a solemn international undertaking.
The truth is the only way to help the government to become active in the right way and do the right things. Lies at a time of national crisis is a disaster for the government and the country.
