Hillary Asks Dipu Moni To Let Press Be Free

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina reportedly instructed members of her cabinet at a meeting last Monday that if any newspaper or electronic medium publishes or broadcasts false reports about any of the ministers he or she should file a case against it in the court. Meanwhile, Hilary Clinton, US Secretary of State, has said that the press in Bangladesh should be allowed to work freely. Hilary made the remark to Bangladesh's Foreign Minister Dipu Moni when she met the former in Washington last Wednesday, according to a US government website.





According to the text of the statements of the two foreign ministers it would appear that the focus of the discussion between Hilary Clinton and Dr. Dipu Moni were press freedom in Bangladesh, the independence of Grameen Bank and freedom of NGOs from government control. Hilary Clinton did not mention Nobel Laureate Professor Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank, who has been ousted from the managing directorship of the micro-financing organisation, but referred to it as a Nobel Prize winner. The relevant part of her statement read, We know that governments alone cannot make change, that it has to come from the people. And we urge the Government of Bangladesh to ensure that media outlets are able to exercise freedom of the press and that NGOs have the opportunity to be a vibrant contributor to the future of Bangladesh. And of course, we have expressed directly to the government our concern and hope that the Grameen Bank, which was well recognized by the world, particularly with a Nobel Peace Prize for what it's done to help alleviate poverty, is able to continue to function productively on behalf of the Bangladeshi people.





It is possible that Hilary found it necessary to bring forward the state of press freedom in Bangladesh after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's advice to her ministers to take a hard line about the media. Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dipu Moni, according to the US government website, said in response to Hilary Clinton's observation, Bangladesh, as a secular democratic country, having a very free and robust media, the very vibrant civil society, looks forward to more effective cooperation with countries like the U.S., which is a good friend and partner. And I can assure Secretary Clinton and everyone, friends all over the world, that Bangladesh Government will do and is doing everything in its capacity to uphold all the values that we all cherish of freedom, of liberty, of cooperation, of rights for everyone.





Dipu Moni also said: And with regard to Grameen, as a statutory body enjoying all the rights and privileges that it does, Bangladesh Government is also proud, as a country we are proud, that we have a Nobel-winning institution. And we firmly believe, that it will continue to do the job that it is supposed to do with a lot of success. And we will see cooperation in every sector, including trade and investment, from the U.S. However, from what Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is reported to have remarked to the Washington Post newspaper it does not appear that she is at all appreciative of Grameen Bank's work up to now. Meanwhile, the 70-year old US organisation Freedom House continues to rate Bangladesh's press to be partly free. Overall the Bangladesh government has quite a few problems in its hands which it needs to resolve with the outside world, namely, its ability to deal with corruption in high places, its trustworthiness with regard to respect of administration and development, its willingness to show at least a degree of accountability to the people and its respect for democracy as well as respect for the personal honour of its citizens.





The fresh threat to the press, namely, possible litigation by ministers have added to the anxiety of journalists and editors, many of whom, have been taken to the court by ministers, advisors, and Awami League's supporters on charges of causing defamation to the person or party. None of these cases is anywhere near a conclusion but the accused have to frequently appear in court on dates set for hearing. Also, a number of journalists have been arrested or taken to court on false charges of committing robbery, snatching, rioting or extortion. This correspondent is personally aware of two cases in which the relevant courts have found the accused journalist to be not even involved in the alleged crime. The Prime Minister's advice for suing the press came after two ministers complained to her to deal with newspapers, citing misreporting about themselves. But some other ministers are said to be in a dilemma. They fear that if they file cases against the media then the latter will do its best to prove that it was right, which may lead to embarrassing disclosures and on the other hand if they do file a case then the criticism against them or report about their alleged misconduct would appear to be true. For the press, the greater cause of anxiety however is physical attacks by government party goons, arrest by police and torture while in custody.





Meanwhile, the Prime Minister's reported direction has brought forth the criticism that while she is ready to cut down the press to size nothing has been said by her aides what is she doing or will do when ministers and officials are caught lying. Even she herself is not beyond the charge of making misleading statements.