look news india
News India Live, Digital Desk: After the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government in Bangladesh, people were hopeful that now a new wind of “freedom” would blow. Thought that there would be freedom of speech and the media would be able to work without fear. But the news coming from Dhaka is telling a different story. The most prestigious English newspaper there ‘The Daily Star’ Editor Mahfooz Anam’s pain has now come to light before the world.
Mahfouz Anam, known for his outspoken journalism in Bangladesh, has asked a direct and pointed question to the current interim government (led by Mohammad Yunus) and the protesters there. “What is our crime after all?”
“Till yesterday we were together, today we became traitors?”
Mahfooz Anam says that this is the same newspaper which fearlessly wrote the truth even during Sheikh Hasina’s rule. When the students were protesting on the streets, ‘The Daily Star’ stood with them. The newspaper published the stories of martyrs and gave full support to the movement.
But now see the irony! After the change of government, a group of the same students and supporters are now calling the newspaper an “enemy of the country” and an “agent of India”. Mahfooz Anam says that inflammatory posters are being put up outside his office and he is being threatened.
Anam’s pain: ‘What kind of democracy is this?’
Sharing her pain at an event, Anam said that she is being labeled a “middleman” without any evidence. He asked, “We always did independent journalism. We also published the mistakes of Hasina government and even today we are with the truth. Then why this treatment with us? Did the students sacrifice their lives for this change?”
His indication is clear that faces have changed, but “intolerance” remains the same. If any newspaper asks questions, it is being threatened with closure.
Where is Bangladesh going?
This matter is not just about Mahfooz Anam. This shows that “mob system” is currently dominating in Bangladesh. Anyone who questions the Yunus government or the existing system is immediately targeted. Freedom of the press, which is the first condition of any democracy, seems to be in greatest danger at this time.
Imagine, the media which fought for change, today has to fight for its survival. This is not a question of Mahfooz Anam, but a question on the future of entire Bangladesh.
