The Daily Star editor's recent comment revealed that the mass media was forced to publish lies and distorted and partial information during the tenure of the 2007-2008 caretaker government, Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu said yesterday.

“Through Mahfuz Anam's comment, it came out that pressure mounted on the mass media after the 1/11 changeover. It has now become clear how the mass media was forced to publish lies and distorted and partial information and reports on politicians and businesspeople to assassinate their characters,” the minister said at a press briefing at the PID conference room.

At that time, Amnesty International didn't issue any statement criticising the repression on the mass media, said Inu as he slammed the AI annual report released on Tuesday.

The minister said the statements issued by several international organisations, including the AI, on Mahfuz Anam are nothing but crocodile tears.

Terming the AI report one-sided, he said it is motivated and disjointed.

Inu alleged that the organisation has taken a stance against Bangladesh's democratic system and is lobbying for “criminals”.

He came down heavily on the AI for not issuing any statement on the 1971 genocide, the killing of Bangabandhu and his family members on August 15 in 1975, repression during the tenures of the governments of Ziaur Rahman and Khandaker Mushtaque, and the 2004 grenade attack on the then opposition leader Sheikh Hasina.

They (the AI and other international organisations) are lobbying to protect the 1971 war criminals, he said.

The minister ruled out the AI's claim that not even a single person, directly involved in firebomb attacks during last year's anti-government agitation, was brought to justice.

He said 597 criminals were caught red-handed while throwing petrol bombs. They include 363 activists of the BNP and 205 activists of the Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir.

"Not a single BNP and Jamaat leader was arrested for political reasons ... All of them were arrested on the basis of specific allegations," he said.

Like politicians, newspaper editors have to maintain a minimum moral standard. If politicians are criticised on moral grounds, newspaper editors can also be criticised on the same grounds, Inu said.

About the prime minister's comment on Mahfuz Anam, Inu said she made the remark not out of anger. It was about the undemocratic activities of the military-backed 1/11 government, he said.

“There was no personal attack or bad intention in her speech. Her remark rekindled the memories of how the caretaker government took over illegally and imprisoned politicians, businesspeople and others indiscriminately. She didn't speak of taking any political or administrative steps."

What the PM had said regarding the 1/11 was correct, said Inu. “Doesn't the prime minister have the right to tell the truth? he asked.

"Criticism against a certain editor doesn't mean interference or pressure on the media."

Referring to the defamation and sedition pleas against Mahfuz Anam, he said the government itself had not taken any step against the Star editor.

The minister said it is the aggrieved citizens who are filing these cases. "Now the court will decide whether these cases have any merit."

Asked about an alleged directive to private businesses not to give advertisements to The Daily Star and Bangla daily Prothom Alo, he said the government had not issued any such directive.

“The government has no jurisdiction over private sector advertisements. These two newspapers are getting government advertisements regularly.”

The minister also claimed the mass media is now enjoying the highest level of freedom in the country's history. And the government has no intention to control it.

On a query about restrictions on The Daily Star and the Prothom Alo in covering PM's programmes and getting access to the PMO and the Gono Bhaban, the minister said the intelligence agencies determine who would be allowed to enter the PMO and the Gono Bhaban.

"Many times even MPs and ministers are barred from entering the PMO."

Inu said the government does not have any animosity against The Daily Star or the Prothom Alo. "The truth is that important ministers are regularly attending their programmes."

Asked why the government didn't take action against the policymakers of the 1/11 government, he said those who grabbed power illegally and violated the constitution since 1975 would be tried.

The government would consider forming a commission to this effect, added the minister.

NASIM ON JOURNALISTS

Making an oblique reference to journalists, Health Minister Mohammed Nasim said “they are not sent to jail or made to pay compensation” for mistakes, while people in all other professions face jail terms for wrongdoings.

“Politicians, doctors and businesspeople -- all have to go to prison if they make mistakes. But there is a certain community that can resort to character assassination through their writings, but they don't have to go to jail,” said the minister.

“They think it is enough to say sorry…,” Nasim, also presidium member of the ruling Awami League, said at a programme at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in the capital yesterday.

Bangladesh has made significant progress over the years. But the country could have done a lot better if its democratic journey continued uninterrupted.

Unconstitutional forces came to power several times, and various quarters had their roles in that, he said.

“It is for the people to decide who will form the government. Why should there be seminars and symposiums to facilitate the change of a government? he asked.

“A spade has to be called a spade. None should be belittled,” said Nasim.

There will be political crisis in democracies, but that doesn't mean unconstitutional forces will be brought to power, he added.

Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu today hinted at forming a new wage board for journalists of the electronic media and televisions.

"The wage board we formed had prepared a report. It was sent to the Cabinet ... The report has an important directive for providing wage board for electronic media [journalists]," he said in a dialogue with Bangladesh Secretariat Reporters Forum in Dhaka.

"I hope the electronic media workers will get a new wage board in the new year," the minister said.

Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu today said a special tribunal will be formed after Eid-ul-Fitr for speedy disposal of cases against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia for instigating arson attacks during the BNP-led alliance’s agitation since January.

“Khaleda recently led the arson attacks which killed more than 140 people... She is accused of mass killing. A tribunal will be formed after Eid to try Khaleda,” the minister made the comment while talking to reporters after inaugurating a new building of a school in Mirpur upazila of Kushtia this morning.

“If Khaleda Zia is able to prove her innocence, she will remain in politics, if not, then she must quit from politics,” Inu further said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said a special tribunal would be formed for the quick disposal of cases against Khaleda for instigating arson attacks during the BNP-led alliance's agitation for three months since January.

"There is a provision under section-27 of the Anti-Terrorism Act 2009 for constituting anti-terrorism special tribunals. The government has plans to set up such tribunals in line with the provision,” Hasina said in parliament in response to a question from a lawmaker.

It can seem a bit self-righteous when journalists write about the importance of freedom of the press, a bit like a chef celebrating the virtues of a fancy meal or a hairdresser extolling the importance of a new haircut.
But the public's right to know what is really going on in their country really is the cornerstone of a free society.
Without free access to information, backed up by journalists who are willing to dig down and get to the truth, all the other liberties celebrated in democracies are endangered.
That's why the world should be worried by the concerted attacks on one of the leading newspaper editors in South Asia, Mahfuz Anam of Bangladesh's Daily Star.
The Daily Star is the most popular English-language newspaper in Bangladesh.

READ more: Summons, not arrest warrant

It was launched as Bangladesh returned to parliamentary democracy a quarter of a century ago, and has always had a reputation for journalistic integrity and liberal and progressive views - a kind of Bangladeshi New York Times.
That's why it is so shocking that Anam now stands accused of treason, no less.
Sajeeb Wajed, the son of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has described him as "completely unethical" and a liar, and has demanded he be thrown in jail.
I will go into the details of the allegations against Anam in a moment, but first it is important that the claims are set in context, because it is hard not to see this as the latest line of attack in a concerted effort to gag one of the last independent media organisations in the country.

Incomes hit

The Daily Star and its sister publication Prothom Alo - the most widely read Bengali newspaper in the country - are already the subject of a clandestine attempt to undermine their finances.
The BBC understands that since last summer businesses, including some of the largest telecoms and consumer goods companies in Bangladesh, have been ordered to restrict their advertising in the two newspapers by the country's military intelligence agency.
The Norwegian company that owns Grameen Phone, Bangladesh's largest mobile phone operator, has admitted as much to Al Jazeera. Telenor's head of communications confirmed that, "along with several other large corporations, [it] received an instruction from the authorities to stop advertisements in two leading newspapers in Bangladesh".

The Daily Star and Prothom Alo are reckoned to have lost about a third of their income.
Yet the order has no basis in law, according to the leading commentator on Bangladeshi politics, David Bergman.
"It is simply 'enforced' through the authority that comes from being the country's most feared intelligence agency," he argues.
But its intent is clear: it is about bringing independent media into line and stifling dissent.
The message is "cross the line and we'll take action", but since no clear line has been drawn it is up to the media to police itself.
And it seems to be working.

'Intimidation'

"There is not a single newspaper or TV editor in this country who does not know about the blockade," writes Bergman, "yet not one of the nearly 30 TV stations, nor one of the countless newspapers has reported about this intimidation of the Daily Star and Prothom Alo."

Also READ: This is no way to strengthen democracy

When I spoke to Bangladeshi information minister Hasanul Haq Inu, he denied that he knew of any such order.
He told me that if the newspapers or any of the companies involved register an official complaint, he would be happy to investigate, and said that if any illegal restriction is being imposed on businesses in Bangladesh, he will take action.

READ more: It was brave of him to admit mistake

While the restrictions on advertising in the Daily Star are not getting much attention in the Bangladeshi press, the allegations of treason by Anam are getting plenty of publicity.
That is because Anam has admitted he has made mistakes.

'Bad judgement' - but treason?

In a television interview earlier this month, he conceded that reports published in the Daily Star in 2007 alleging corruption by the woman who is now prime minister were based on uncorroborated leaks from the then military government.
He said he was wrong to have published them.
"It was a big mistake," he said during the interview. "It was a bad editorial judgement, I admit it without any doubt."

But whether his mistakes constitute treason is another matter entirely.
The prime minister's son claims that the articles were an attempt by Anam and the Daily Star to "support a military dictatorship in an attempt to remove my mother from politics".
That is something Anam vigorously denies, with justification.
He points to 203 editorials published during the period of military rule demanding that democracy be restored. That amounts to one every three days of the so-called "emergency government".
He also points out his newspaper was very critical when Sheikh Hasina was arrested in connection with the corruption charges.
"To us Sheikh Hasina's arrest is totally misconceived and smacks of arrogant use of power without due process of law," his editorial thundered, the day after the arrest was made.

Court decision

What is more, none of the allegations against Sheikh Hasina and other party members was ever tested in court because all charges were dropped by executive order when her Awami League assumed power in 2008.
By contrast, similar claims of corruption made against the main opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), were allowed to stand. Many BNP politicians are still technically on bail from the charges.
Haq, the Information Minster, denies there is any campaign against the Daily Star.
He says the complaints against Anam are being made by individuals and are not being co-ordinated by the government. "A judgement on whether he is guilty will be made by the courts on the basis of the merits of the case," he told me.
But Bergman has no doubt about the real significance of these attacks on Anam. He believes they are "an attempt to crush independent media".
He is convinced that government loyalists want "to close down, or at least subdue, any influential independent media or dissent that is not within their control".

'Legal harassment'

That would represent a very sinister power grab in an already fragile democracy like Bangladesh.
Since Bangladesh's media appears too cowed to speak out, it is time the rest of the world does.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has condemned what it calls the "legal harassment" of Anam. Now governments must do the same.
And where better to start than the UK government?
A few weeks ago Alison Blake, the new British High Commissioner to Bangladesh, was celebrating how "as two Commonwealth countries, we share a set of core values, including a commitment to Parliamentary democracy and a tolerant and pluralistic system with a commitment to protect and uphold human rights".
It might be time Blake challenges the Bangladeshi government to deliver on that commitment.

Though there are many private television channels in the country, 83 per cent television viewers still watch Bangladesh Television (BTV), Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu told Parliament today.

"There're many private TV channels in the country and there're huge viewers, too. But there's no reason to get worried that BTV has lost its viewers," he said while responding to a starred question from independent MP Abdul Matin (Maulvibazar-2).

The minister further said, "BTV is still the most favourite channel as it has 83 per cent [of the total] viewers."

He said BTV is now airing more pro-people and popular programmes than any time in the past.

Inu also said BTV is also telecasting many time-befitting programmes dropping many old ones which helped increase popularity of the state-owned television channel.