The Sundarbans are alive. It is home to a diverse wildlife. Some are visible, others exist out of our sights. It is like a grand life itself that includes the big and the small, the mobile and the sedentary. Those dedicated to saving this grand life are also, no doubt, very alive.
Ignoring the scorching sun, the downpours, the oppressive heat, and the open skies, the vibrant protests throughout September 24-28, 2013, flowed like a river that turned into a human ocean as it came closer to the grand life that is the Sundarbans.
Women and men, young and old, took to the streets. Life met with life, aided by music, drama, and slogans.
Many of those who could not make it to the long march expressed their allegiances in a number of ways. The majority of the life force of the long march was the youth.
Those groups which seek to profit by introducing drugs to this generation, who turn the youth into criminals to expedite their own looting and plundering, and try to make self-centred consumers out of young people, are daunted by the fire of these protesting youth.
The former’s money-choked eyes and brains refuse to comprehend the urge that harnesses this unstoppable life force.
They fail to understand why people risk lives to join a war of independence. The foundation stone for Rampal that our prime minister laid all those years ago merely worked to reveal our incumbent rulers’ follies in terms of governance.
And this only worked to strengthen popular sentiments against the destruction of the Sundarbans.
The protests on the day of the remote-control foundation of the power plant, the press conference of October 8, 2013, and the country-wide protests on October 9, remained unreported. That is hardly the first time that this happened.
Except for the long march, a number of activities of the National Committee were ignored.
It’s not that the news didn’t get to them. Some online reportage hinted that news writers had submitted their reports, although later they were not to be found.
Newspapers have their rights to prioritise and take a position. Readers equally have the right to express their opinion or ask questions.
Like others, the press also needs to be accountable, especially outlets that boast large readerships, and this has created expectations.
The massive rally and the historical resistance that violated Section 144 invoked by the government, then allied with Asia Energy (GCM) in Phulbari in 2006, was not covered either.
The company is still floating shares at the London Stock Exchange on the basis of the wealth of coal in northern Bangladesh.
A small percentage of that profit is being distributed locally to support ministers, bureaucrats, consultants, journalists, and one ad agency. A press release of that company was published without any accompanying assessment or critique.
The news of the resistance against these kinds of conspiracies were, however, not reported.
Newspapers have failed to publish news of the discussions, press releases, events, and actions organised by the National Committee and various experts that engaged with or critiqued the Rampal power plant as it did with the various other contracts regarding offshore gas exploration in the Bay of Bengal with the help of the Production Sharing Contract 2012.
When reading about the long march, many people have, naturally, raised the question about why the National Committee hadn’t bothered about any of this before.
Our question is, is this all due to the editorial decisions of certain newspapers?
The same way, certain online news agencies seemed reluctant to publish reports on the long march and other resistance-related news.
One can surmise that their editorial position is for the power plant, and that they are interested in garnering public support for it.
They appear unconcerned about the destruction of the Sundarbans. Nor do they seem interested in highlighting the continuing protests despite people’s interest in them.
Does the news of the arguments, information, and popular demands against the destruction of the Sundarbans, the evil treaties around offshore licensing of the Bay of Bengal, and the coal conspiracies not have any value?
Or is there not adequate room for this kind of reportage?
This article was first published on AlalODulal.org, and was translated by Nusrat Chowdhury.