Bangladesh and Media

25 September 2007
Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed
Honourable Chief Adviser
Non-Party Caretaker Government of the
People’s Republic of Bangladesh
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Fax: 880-2-8113244
Email: info@pmo.gov.bd

Your Excellency,

The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in over 120 countries, is seriously concerned at the jailing of a freelance journalist and cartoonist in Bangladesh and the suspension of the satirical magazine Aalpin .

On 17 September, Aalpin, a weekly magazine of the leading Bengali daily Prothom Alo, published a cartoon showing a small boy calling his cat “Mohammad Biral” (“Mohammad Cat”). The cartoon triggered protests by the Muslim community in Bangladesh. Islamists and Imams from different mosques called for a street protest against the cartoon, stating that it was a deliberate attempt to ridicule Islam’s Prophet Mohammad and harm the sentiment of devout Muslims. On 19 September, police broke up a street march by hundreds of Islamists in the Bangladesh capital Dhaka, who were demanding “death to the Prothom Alo editor” and “hang the cartoonist.”

The publication of the cartoon and the consequent protests led to the arrest of the cartoonist, Arifur Rahman, on 18 September, for deliberately insulting Islam and seeking to provoke violence and disrupt peace in the country. On 19 September, Rahman was sent to Dhaka Central Jail for 30 days. The authorities have also requested Aalpin to suspend publication until the matter is resolved.

Apologising for the cartoon, the publishers of the Prothom Alo have announced that they will no longer publish any of Rahman’s articles or cartoons. The publishers have also dismissed a sub-editor in connection with the cartoon. On 20 September, the e ditors of different Bangladeshi newspapers issued a joint statement urging the country’s Islamic clerics to accept Prothom Alo’s apology.

While Moulana Obaidul Haque, Khatib (“head preacher”) of Dhaka’s Baitul Mokarram Mosque, has urged Muslims to consider the apology and to refrain from pursuing the issue, the Bangladeshi government has given the publishers of Prothom Alo two weeks to explain, “Why, in this circumstance, the magazine [...] shall not be banned and legal action not be taken against the publishers,” according to a statement issued shortly after the cartoon was published.

IPI would like to remind Your Excellency that the state of emergency imposed in January after the cancellation of the general election is not an excuse to restrict press freedom. With a general election planned for the end of 2008, it is vital that the country’s citizens have access to information and that the media is free to report facts and express opinions.

IPI therefore urges Bangladesh’s caretaker administration to immediately free cartoonist Arifur Rahman, to allow publication of the satirical weekly Aalpin and to remove the state of emergency. By doing so, the caretaker government will be fulfilling its responsibility to create a democratic climate for the forthcoming election.

Thank you for your kind attention.

Yours sincerely,

Johann P. Fritz
Director

http://www.freemedia.at/cms/ipi/statements_detail.html?ctxid=CH0055&docid=CMS1190721263476

Source: News Today/UNB: http://www.newstoday-bd.com/frontpage.asp?newsdate=#8133

The same news in The Daily Star: http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=4996  

The government on Tuesday ordered the arrest of a cartoonist and confiscation of the 431st issue of the Alpin, a weekly caricature supplement of the Prothom Alo, for publishing a cartoon “hurting the people’s religious sentiment”.

“The government has confiscated the issue as the cartoon hurts the religious sentiment of the people. Moreover an order was issued to arrest cartoonist Arifur Rahman,” an official handout said.

The Prothom Alo newspaper, however, apologised and announced withdrawal of the cartoon titled “nam (name), it said.

The handout said the government has decided to hold talks with religious leaders on the mater.

“The government expects all concerned will exercise restraint and play a responsible role in regard to this unexpected incident,” the handout added.

Our Staff Reporter adds : Daily Prothom Alo cartoonist Arifur Rahman was handed over to Tejgaon thana in the evening after he was arrested by the Detective Branch (DB) of Police yesterday noon.

Cartoonist Arifur Rahman was shown arrested under the Section-54. DB police picked up him from his Utara residence.

When contacted, Prothom Alo employees said that the authorities sacked the employee responsible. Besides, the Prothom Alo authorities said that in future they would never publish any story writen by Arifur Rahman.

The Home Ministry yesterday ordered to confiscate all the copies of Alpin saying the cartoon story hurt the religious sentiment of the people.

http://www.nation.ittefaq.com/issues/2007/09/19/news0294.htm

Mainul urges all to show restraint: Appropriate measures to follow

BSS, Dhaka

Information and Law Adviser Barrister Mainul Hosein on Tuesday exchanged views with the religious leaders and requested all to show the highest level of restraint and patience to face any conspiracy against Islam.

The adviser convened a meeting at his office to discuss the ways and means to overcome the situation following the publication of a controversial cartoon by the Prothom Alo in its Monday edition of ‘Alpin’ weekly magazine.

“The cartoon has hurt the Muslim sentiment,” Barrister Mainul said at the meeting.

The government has been observing the mater with due importance, the adviser told the leaders. He said appropriate measures would be taken after discussing the issue with the chief Adviser and necessary actions against the persons involved in the mater would follow. He hoped that none would exploit the situation negatively.

He said the authorities of the Prothom Alo have already regreted and apologised for the publication, and withdrew the cartoon. The government has also arrested the cartoonist, Arifur Rahman, and seized the ‘Alpin’ magazine.

Khatib of Baitul Mukarram National Mosque Moulana Obaidul Haque, and Chairman and Vice-Chairman of Islami Oikya Jote (IOJ) Mufti Fazlul Huq Amini and Moulana Mohiuddin Khan, among others, atended the meeting.

Information Secretary Mohammad Didarul Anwar, Home Secretary Mohammad Abdul Karim and Religious Affairs Secretary Mohammad Ataur Rahman were present

The religious leaders urged the adviser to take appropriate measures against the Prothom Alo and bring all concerned to the book.

They said, “The cartoon was arrogance against Prophet Hazrat Mohammad (SM) and it was done under the influence from a certain quarter.”

The religious leaders also urged the pious Muslims of the country to keep patience and face the situation prudently. Otherwise, the conspirators would win, they opined.

http://www.nation.ittefaq.com/issues/2007/09/19/news0295.htm

See the same Report in The Daily Star:

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=4606

   
Dhaka, Sep 2 (IANS):  The Bangladesh government is re-examining existing laws to reduce government control and grant autonomy to the state-run radio network Bangladesh Betar and Bangladesh TV (BTV), similar to that of BBC. The move, decided by the Council of Advisors Saturday, comes six years after the Bangladesh Television Authority Act (BTA) 2001 was enacted by the then Sheikh Hasina government, but generated controversy with elections just a few months away.

Critics had then said that the law ended up tightening state control rather than relaxing them. The Khaleda Zia government (2001-Oct2006) “ignored” the law, The Daily Star said Sunday.

Now the caretaker government of Chief Advisor Fakhruddin Ahmed has initiated steps to enforce this law with necessary amendments in line with the recommendations of the commission formed by the Awami League government in 1996.

Law and Information Adviser Mainul Hosein said the government has decided to amend the existing law to make BTV an autonomous body and asked the information ministry to review the law.

He said credibility of BTV and Betar lies in their freedom and autonomy, on the lines of BBC.

The council of advisers is yet to decide about autonomy for Betar, the radio network.

Three successive governments since 1991 of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of Zia and Hasina’s Awami League had in their election manifestos pledged to give autonomy to BTV.

While radio remains under the state control, the Zia government had allowed a number of private TV channels to operate. Some of them, belonging to politicians and businessmen, have since closed down. 

Source: IANS

http://www.khabrein.info/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5536&Itemid=88