Mahfuz Anam honoured for courageous journalism

US-based education and research organisation East–West Center (EWC) honoured the journalists at a conference titled “South Asia Looking East” in New Delhi on September 9. The five other awardees were Rowaida Rhima Folloso Macarambon (The Philippines), Stella Paul (India), Zaffar Iqbal Sheikh (India), Habib Khan Totakhil (Afghanistan), and Lasantha Wickrematunge (Sri Lanka), who was honoured posthumously. Wickrematunge was shot dead in Colombo in 2009. While receiving his award, Mahfuz Anam said "It has been my experience, in any clash between independent media and a powerful government, the government wins in the beginning. It wins because it has all the coercive machinery of state behind it. But the good news is free press wins at the end. It does so because it is energised by the inalienable right of people to freedom.'' More than 80 defamation and sedition cases were filed against Mahfuz Anam after he had regretted in a television talk show in February 2016 the decision of publishing reports based on leaks fed by the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence in 2007 without independent verification. Some 350 journalists, including senior editors of regional newspapers, eminent media experts, media professionals, researchers and representatives of media organisations from more than 40 countries attended the conference in New Delhi.