National Press Club president Muhammad Shafiqur Rahman hands over a crest to prime minister Sheikh Hasina at a programme at the club in Dhaka on Thursday.
The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, on Thursday stressed the need for more freedom of journalists instead of the media, claimed that the media was enjoying absolute freedom and urged journalists to go by the ethics.
After laying the foundation stone of 31-storey Bangabandhu Media Complex at National Press Club premises in Dhaka, she also said that her government already initiated a process to form the night wage board for newspapers.
Hasina said that she never did politics only to assume office compromising national interests.
‘As I did not agree to sell national wealth to foreigners, I failed to assume power in the 2001 general elections,’ she said.
Hasina, also the ruling Awami League president, bitterly criticised political parties formed democratically.
‘After capturing state power unconstitutionally, military dictators said that the country was not being ruled properly, but they later started doing politics forming parties,’ Hasina alleged.
Without naming any party, she said that it was unfortunate that the Awami League’s competitors were not formed democratically.
Terming the Awami League media friendly, Hasina said that the country’s founding president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman initiated a move to lease the land to the Jatiya Press Club on June 25, 1975.
Sermonising journalists to go by the journalistic ethics, the prime minister said, ‘As democracy follows a set of rules, journalism has also a set of ethics and the journalists should go by the ethics.’
Stressing the need for more freedom for journalists instead of the media outlets, she said, ‘It is seen that the same individual becomes the owner and the editor of the newspaper. That is why the freedom of journalists is more important.’
She said that there were more than 700 newspapers and 24 private televisions in the country now and 24 more applications for television channels were now pending.
Claiming that the media enjoy absolute freedom, the prime minister said, ‘If there is no freedom, how the journalists criticise the government in talk shows and news stories?’
‘We have implemented the Eighth Wage Board award and also taken steps to form the Ninth Wage Board,’ she said.
About the 31-storey media complex, Hasina said her government wanted to build everything up to international standard and the media complex was not out of them.
The programme was followed by a discussion with the Press Club managing committee with its president Muhammad Shafiqur Rahman in the chair.
Information minister Hasanul Haq Inu, adviser to the prime minister Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, Editor Council president Golam Sarwar, Press Club general secretary Quamrul Islam Chowdhury and Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalist president Manjurul Ahsan Bulbul spoke at the programme.
Source: New Age
