Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud has rejected Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF) report on Bangladesh's position on the World Press Freedom Index (WPFI), saying that their report is malicious, offensive and unacceptable.
“The Paris-based organization RSF has always been hostile towards Bangladesh. They also report false and fabricated information about the media in Bangladesh. In the wake of this, as the larger journalist unions of Bangladesh protested, similarly, some Bangladeshi expatriates in Paris had issued legal notices against the RSF through their French lawyers,” he said.
The Minister made the remarks while talking to reporters on Thursday after exchanging Eid greetings at his residence in Chattogram.
“It was stated in the legal notice that they cannot make such remarks about the head of state or government of any country, according to French law. Therefore, they have done so in violation of French law. The report they have published is not acceptable in any way. It is offensive and malicious,” he added.
The Information and Broadcasting Minister said that RSF collects data from all the sources who are constantly spreading propaganda against Bangladesh.
“Last year, various journalists' organizations, including the Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ), publicly protested against the report and made statements. When the same organization talks about the media in Bangladesh again, it is natural to assume that they are continuously publishing reports against Bangladesh with malicious intent,” he said.
Mentioning that RSF has also talked about digital or cyber security law, Hasan Mahmud said that when there was no digital issue, the issue of providing digital security did not exist.
“When the digital issue surfaced in different countries including Bangladesh, different countries enacted laws to provide digital security to the masses. Digital security laws have been enacted in Singapore, India, Pakistan, USA and Australia including Bangladesh,” he said.
He further mentioned that the law is meant to provide digital security to all people and many journalists have taken advantage of the law to sue for defamation.“The law should not be misused against anyone, be it a journalist or a common man. Besides, the European Union is working on a framework law, under which steps will be taken in different countries and legislation will be enacted. France also has similar laws. Since RSF is hostile towards Bangladesh, they have taken Bangladesh down a few steps. We reject this report,” said the Awami League Joint General Secretary.
Regarding BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir's remarks about the nonexistence of democracy in the country, Hasan Mahmud said that the way the people of Bangladesh celebrated Eid in a festive atmosphere this time after the pandemic is unimaginable.
“Not only that, the way the people of the country have shopped this year, all the traders are very happy and the economy of the country has recovered. This time the Eid journey of home-goers in the country was also smoother,” he said.