By Ashish Singh
In this interview, I asked the Bangladeshi-Swedish writer Anisur Rahman about the extent freedom of speech and expression are being controlled in Bangladesh.
Has Bangladesh been a liberal state in terms of freedom of speech and expression?
It is difficult to recognise Bangladesh as a liberal state in terms of freedom of expression. Over fifty years of country’s independence, the state witnessed comparatively liberal environment in the 1990s following the fall of a military autocrat. Under the unconstitutional Yunus regime, the state is now experiencing absolute autocracy along with mobocracy. The words from the country’s adviser of Information and Broadcasting sound threatening to writers, artists and journalists. Muhammad Yunus appointed a Hizbut Tahrir element called Mahfuz Alam. Hizbut Tahrir is a globally banned terrorist organisation. Mahfuz’s appointment is a visible threat to progressive free expression.
It is concerning as the authorities have arrested a number of veteran intellectuals, artists and journalists for instance author Shariar Kabir.
What are the legal provisions on freedom of speech and expression? Have they changed with time?
The Constitution of Bangladesh guarantees the right to freedom of expression. However, it is not reflected in practice. It is subjected to reasonable restrictions imposed by the law on several grounds. Most of these laws were made during the colonial era.
These laws are the Special Powers Act of 1974, Official Secrets Act of 1923, Contempt of Court Act 1926, Copyright Act 2000 and the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). There is a history of misusing these acts. Enacted during the British colonial era in 1898, CrPC has a provision for issuing direct arrest warrants against anybody including journalists, writers and publishers of any books or newspapers if they have written or said anything considered defamatory.
The Bangladesh Parliament passed a bill in 2011, scrapping the provision of issuing direct arrest warrants against journalists, writers, and others for writing or saying anything defamatory. However, it turned out not to be a cause of relief because the Information and Communication Technology Act (ICT) of 2006 was amended in 2013, making offences under the Act non-bailable and cognisable with a minimum prison sentence of seven years. Under this law, over twenty journalists were sued only in 2017. Additionally, there are some other laws such as special power acts and broadcast laws that are used to disturb professional news media.
What is the current status of freedom of speech and expression in Bangladesh?
The administration as well as law enforcement agencies have a record of harassing journalists by filing criminal charges against them. This ’unconstitutional’ regime led by Muhammad Yunus has filed murder cases against over 30 journalists in less than six weeks.
Most major media outlets are now featuring a series of propaganda. Visible, invisible, self, and imposed censorship are obvious. The media is expected to expose the truth. But they are now in most cases doing the opposite. Media in Bangladesh is now the champion of media trials. Following the regime change, many media houses have removed key people from their management without any professional consideration but to draw the goodwill of the elements in the new administration. A number of editors have been removed. Some were forced to do it, others did it as an outcome of fear of power players having a connection to the new regime. This is the worst in the 50-year history of media. Several media houses have a record of giving undue space to the leaders of banned Islamist forces’ leaders. They do it on their mission to favour this unconstitutional military-Islamist friendship regime.
Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus’ press wing is playing a controversial role as if it were a ’propaganda wing’ or ’wing of threat to press’. It has now been in the midste of controversies. For instance, it provided diverted facts to the media following Yunus’ meeting with the editors of the country’s major media outlets. Later on, the Editors’ Council came up with a counter statement following this incident.
The role of Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam, formerly a AFP journalist, in the context of filing a murder case against ZI Khan Panna, a senior advocate at the Supreme Court should also be questioned. Advocate Panna was vocal against this regime’s anti-progressive moves. Shafiqul Alam’s role in connection with the case against Panna needs to be investigated.
Facts surounding the movement and/or conspiracy against Sheikh Hasina’s regime extended a space for both democratic and anti-democtic elements. Among others, globally banned or identified terrorist organisations like Hizbut Tahrir and Islami Chhatra Shibir are notable as anti-democratic groups in this context. Both the AFP as well as French authorities concerned do need to investigate Shafiqul Alam’s possible connection and collaboration with Hizbut Tahrir during his service at the AFP.
It is also a reminder to the offices concerned as the role of a press wing or press secretary is not to instruct or threaten the country’s media on how to write or feature a report.
Five music artists and Karate professionals have been arrested on the charge of featuring Sheikh Hasina’s name in a song recently. It is a practice by the media now to kill many important news reports and articles every day. The media in Bangladesh never witnessed such an environtment in the past. Meanwhile, the authority has cancelled accreditation cards of some 20 senior journalists.
International advocacy platforms for freedom of expressions like the International PEN and others so far are silent. This silence sounds confusing to me. It helps growing anti-democrating forces.
What options are there left with those who want unrestricted freedom of speech and expression?
The only option is to restore democracy and a political government at the earliest in line with the existing constitution. It is urgent to rescue politics from NGO executives and retired bureaucrats. The Military needs to go back to the barracks. Extremists and terrorists involved in attrocities in recent months must be curbed.
(Ashish Singh is a social and political scientist.)
