The government has decided to withdraw the concession on newsprint, which will significantly increase the cost of production for newspapers. This is a serious blow to the fourth estate and should be reconsidered to ensure the health of our democracy.
The argument put forward by the government is that concession on newsprint import creates an unfair competitive environment for local producers. However, currently the local supply is too little to meet the demands of the newspaper industry. The poor quality of locally produced newsprint also makes it very costly to use.
Moreover, all the newsprint in Bangladesh is produced by a single, financially stable company, which is by no means in need of governmental intervention to ensure its survival. Rather, healthy market competition can only serve to increase the quality of local production.
The most logical way to parse the government’s decision is to view it as indirect regulation of the media. This is very much in line with the government’s recent actions which sought to stifle platforms of dissent, whether it be print media, online platforms or television.
While the government recently appeared to give with one hand by lifting the ban on YouTube, it now seeks to take away with another by choking the life-blood of the newspaper industry.
The information minister recently claimed that the government ensures media freedom. If the government is truly serious about the freedom of press then it should immediately stop these types of sly efforts to indirectly regulate it.