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Press freedom falters for DSA: Experts

Published : Saturday, 27 February, 2021 at 12:00 AM  Count : 384

Journalists have been expressing their reservation about the Digital Security Act (DSA) ever since it was enacted. They say the DSA is incompatible with the press freedom.
Last year Bangladesh fell down one notch in the World Press Freedom Index prepared by Reporters Sans Frontiers (RSF). The index assesses the condition of journalists every year in 180 countries and territories.
The Daily Observer sought to know expert opinion centring the issue over the past weeks.  
Media experts and human rights activist think that the freedom of expression has fallen in the index due to several attacks and arrests of journalists, bloggers, protesters, human rights defenders across the country under the DSA.
 And many experts think that by the DSA is being used even to limit the access the information particularly during protest events and elections and such actions are creating a climate of increasing fear and frustration.  
The recent arrest incident of photo journalist Shafiqul Islam Kajol and cartoonist Ahmed Kabir Kishore are burning examples of such an atmosphere.  
Media experts, human rights defenders, civic representatives and intellectuals said that freedom of expression is not possible
keeping DSA intact.
TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman think that it is impossible to protect the freedom of expression under this DSA as it prevents development of the strong media. It also halts protest, causes non-implementing social media councils and bars mass people from using right to information.
Such halt and attack on journalists happen when media worker expose the abuse of power of some politically powerful lobby or individuals.
They take various measures as an attempt to silence communicators and media outlets with invasive surveillance, vexatious lawsuits and judicial harassment.
Asked why freedom of expression matter, responding to this query he said that without the freedom, we cannot speak, so, in this way we cannot exercise our rights.
Similarly, when we are prevented from scrutinizing their abuse of power, we can no longer hold them accountable. Losing our freedom of expression means we can no longer stand up for ourselves or defend those who face brutal treatment.  
Such ill treatment and the use of arbitrary power are found among sections of politicians, high government high officials and law enforcers.  
Echoing Dr Iftekharuzzaman, eminent human rights activist  Sayed Abul Maksud, shortly before his death, shared some fearful situation of media workers, where they have to work for days, months and even years across the country.
Sharing the intensity of horror incidents of many districts and upazila based reporters, he said that reporters are asked to meet local police high-ups.
Sometimes, even police officials visit the house of journalists and send few words like be " careful " or even politically linked local criminals tell the journalists that "your day of reckoning is coming" then it is understandable in what situation our journalists work and  how freedom of expression is being violated, he said.
According to the latest findings (2020) of Global Expression of ARTICLE 19, a UK-based media watchdog, there has been a severe deterioration in three areas namely journalist's safety and security, rights in digital space and right tools of dissent.
The report also reveals that the world's biggest and most influential countries where democracy space is shrinking and freedom of expression is declining according to GxR measures -China, India, Turkey, Russia, Iran and Bangladesh are all rated in crisis.
Whereas one of South Asian countries like Sri Lanka has achieved the greatest democratic space and freedom of expression.
The report also states that last year two journalists were killed, 78 were seriously injured and 166 received threats ranging from death to kidnapping to harming the family and to being implicated in false cases.
It shows that long-term declines in freedom of expression scores tend to be in countries with democratically elected leaders who have used their tenure to concentrate power and limit oversight.  
There were a total of 35 cases involving 58 journalists. 12 criminal defamation cases filed involving 20 journalists. 31 journalists had their equipment broken.
However, referring to the latest controversial Al Jazeera's latest report, Professor Sirajul Islam Choudhury, Emeritus Professor of the University of Dhaka, said that only people keep busy criticizing the report but we do not see journalists are able to produce better investigative stories and to tell the public what is being hidden from them.
" Moreover, we do not see any reports to hold the accused persons to account. Because to do that our journalists need to raise some questions to the people in authority for their actions and to make policy makers answerable to the people," he said.
Our journalists also cannot delve deep into why projects get delayed and their costs multiply three-four times their original cost, investigation into incidents of money laundering, not following up Panama Papers investigation report and its accusation of the involvement of a few people, not raising questions about the owners of black money who are allowed to whiten, not taking  initiative to dig out the reason behind extending deadlines for paying back default loans and lower interest and  illegal investment  in 'Begumpara' in Toronto and illegal second-home owners in Malaysia, he said.  
"The journalists cannot prepare investigative report on the above issues because people who are involved in it, are very powerful both financially and politically so our journalists dare not nudge them," he added.  
Now a question may come why are we in this state of 'see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil and the answers are legal constraints under the Digital Security Act (DSA), which has brought us to the present situation.  
The number of media has increased but what is the benefit if freedom of speech is shrinking day by day, freedom of expression is being taken away, he said.
We are witnessing the authorities are stigmatizing and criminalizing protesters and media defending journalists, often maiming and killing.
This atmosphere of uncertainty and insecurity faced by journalists when such actions as 'spreading rumors' hurting religious sentiment, tarnishing the image of the country and damaging the reputation of persons and so on, then how do we expect a free media will prevail in the country? he asked.  
Criticizing the current trend of news media, Sohrab Hassan, the joint editor of Bengali Newspaper Protham Alo, said that situation leads us to a situation where each story we publish, our correspondent risks an element of personal safety. Each editorial we write, there is a hidden fear as to how it will be interpreted, he noted.  
We have witnessed journalists are being arrested for questioning the quality of personal equipment (PPE), as an excuse of spreading rumors, when reporting theft of rice and reporting a bus owner was operating his vehicles despite a total lockdown ordered by the government that was constructed as defaming, leading to a defamation case under DSA, then how could we expect a journalist will work with the free flow of information, he said.  
Referring to the Article 19  report last year (2020) report, he said that when people were turning to the media for information in regards of Covid-19  virus related information, that time the use of the DSA was the highest ever-198 cases against 457 individuals, compared to 55 cases against 63 Individuals in 2019.
Besides in the same time we also had received a kind of prohibition in regards of free information from the several government institutions, such as the Directorate General of Nursing and Midwifery, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, the Health Ministry and the Ministry of Public Administration all issued notices banning staffers to talk to the media without permission.   
"These all are the testimonies of preventing people from enjoying free and independent press.  Such circumstances are being created because of the DSA. And its provisions have become challenging for journalism in Bangladesh," he said.  












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