BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Sunday urged journalists and professionals to launch a strong movement against all “repressive laws”, including the Digital Security Act.
“The media in Bangladesh have taken a different character. If you look at print and electric media, you will find them in a sorry state. One or two newspapers who used to write freely, do not dare do so now,” he said.
The BNP leader also said the government has created a terrible situation with various “oppressive” laws to suppress journalists and gag the media. “Let us launch a movement to repeal all repressive laws including the Digital Security Act.”
He was speaking at a discussion organized by Ruhul Amin Gazi Mukti Parishad demanding the release of the journalist leader at the National Press Club.
Police arrested Ruhul Amin Gazi, president of a faction of the Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ), under the Digital Security Act on October 21 last year.
Fakhrul suggested that journalists hold a convention in Dhaka demanding the release of Ruhul Amin Ghazi alongside intensifying the movement to have him freed.
He bemoaned that a group of journalists and media outlet owners have been desperately flattering the government to get its shelter and blessings. “This is the current situation of the country. It hurts me.”
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The BNP leader said the government has taken a stance against the people, independence and the constitution to turn the country into a truly failed state. “The current government has become a subservient and puppet one. So, people now have no freedom of speech and independence.”
He also alleged that the government is taking away people’s freedom of speech by procuring telephone-hacking tools from Israel.
"One thing we have to keep in mind is that there is no alternative to a mass upsurge uniting people to get rid of the current situation in the country. We do not have weapons and we also do not believe in armed struggle. We want to achieve the victory together with the people,” the BNP leader added.
Fakhrul accused the government of politicizing all state and democratic institutions. “The Awami League is a party that never believed in democracy. This is the party that established the one-party Baksal rule in 1975 by banning all parties and shutting down all newspapers.”
He also said the government has failed to deliver on all fronts as it is focusing only on corruption and plundering public money.
Speaking at the program, Nagorik Oikya convener Mahmudur Rahman Manna urged BNP leaders and activists to continue the movement against the current regime. “It may not take a long time to ensure the fall of this regime,” he said.
He said the government’s weaknesses and its problems with the police and administrations are getting exposed before people. “Anger against the government is prevailing everywhere. They [govt] are losing the ground beneath their feet. No one will be able to prevent the fall of this regime.”
