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Describing the present situation of Bangladesh media as alarming, newspaper editors and owners on Saturday at a discussion expressed concerns over impediments to the freedom of press that included threats, attacks and harassments.

They came up with the remarks while addressing the discussion ‘A Press for the Planet: Journalism in the face of the Environmental Crisis’, organised by the Editors’ Council at national press club, marking World Press Freedom Day that observed on Friday.

‘Currently, there are nine laws in the country that directly or indirectly affect the freedom of press, while the drafts of three more laws are at the final stage,’ said AK Azad, president of the Newspaper Owners’ Association of Bangladesh. 

The Press Council Act was also under amendment. Despite repeated requests to see the draft of the act, none of the media was allowed to see it, he added.

AK Azad, also an independent lawmaker and publisher of Samakal, said that they could not publish readers-demanded reports, so the newspaper could not get advertisements that cut the income of the industry. 

‘The corruption is increasing in public entities, while there is also a lack of accountability. But when journalists publish reports on these issues, they are being harassed,’ he added.

Presiding over the discussion, the Editors’ Council president and The Daily Star editor Mahfuz Anam said that journalists were worried about the newly enacted Cyber Security Act then that replaced the Digital Security Act, 2018 with most of its provisions incorporated there.

AK Azad said that cases were filed against 451 journalists in five years under the DSA, when 97 of them were arrested.

‘Such a law gives protection to the misdeeds of influential people, but there is no law for the protection of journalists.’

He also criticised the ban on journalists’ access to the Bangladesh Bank, saying such measures at this time would only encourage ‘bank looters’.

‘The environment is being destroyed by mining sand from rivers due to the unholy nexus between politicians and officials of the local administration,’ Azad blamed.

He claimed that his newspaper recently could not publish a report against a regulatory body chairman despite having documents due to a threat from high level.

Amid such a situation, a section of journalists was following self-censorship to protect them, said Azad, asking if journalism was a crime.

Citing data, he also said that at least 290 journalists were victims of torture in 2023, while an environment journalist was facing 13 cases. 

Mahfuz Anam said that those, who do illegal sand business by occupying rivers, were well-established people in society. So, many powerful people would stand against him if he did environmental journalism.

‘Therefore, the media wants to work as a supporting force for the development of the country through environmental journalism only if it gets support from the government,’ said the editor. 

He urged the government to work together to face the challenges of the climate crisis, as it was an existential challenge for the country.

Addressing the event as chief guest, state minister for information and broadcasting Mohammad Ali Arafat, however, assured that journalists had nothing to worry about these laws, particularly the CSA.

‘We strongly believe that if the freedom of press is ensured and flow of information against disinformation increases, the rumours and misinformation will come down in society,’ he said.  

‘I fully believe in the people’s right to information and the authorities are bound to provide information as soon as possible if any journalist seeks it,’ the state minister said about the ban on journalists’ entry into the central bank.

‘We will conduct an orientation programme at various levels of administration to create such a mindset among the officials,’ he added.

Editors’ Council general secretary Dewan Hanif Mahmud conducted the event, while Prothom Alo editor Matiur Rahman, national press club general secretary and Bhorer Kagoj editor Shyamal Dutta, Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association chief executive Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Inqilab editor AMM Bahauddin, and Dhaka Tribune editor Zafar Sobhan participated.