Dhaka,(Barta24.com): Publicity Secretary of Bangladesh Awami League and Information Minister Dr. Hassan Mahmud said that for continuous flourishing of the media, accountability must be ensured. Because accountability is connected with freedom, he said.
The Information Minister said this while addressing a discussion meeting organized at the lounge of National Press club on Thursday(May 2)in connection with the observance of World free media day ‘ Scenario of Media: Bangladesh perspective.’
The Information Minister said that, culture of accountability is must for the professional development of the journalists. The arrival of the upstart journalists in our media world are also a barrier to attain accountability. He hoped that National press club, Bangladesh press Institute and the Information Ministry will collectively play an active role for the development of media.
Mentioning that the digital security law is a need of time, the Minister said that to check the untrue and false propaganda against some one through internet or electronic media this law was enacted. Dr. Hassan Mahmud said that in many countries of the world this type of law is being framed to meet the need of time. But it must be monitored carefully that this law is not misused creating sufferings of the journalists.
The Minister referred to the index chart of “Reporter without borders” where the media of UK has been placed at no. 38. Very old news paper of 150 years off age of UK ‘the news of world’ had to make publication stopped for publishing a untrue news, the minister mentioned. A full team of BBC world had to resign for circulating a false news. But there is no such incident in our country. So their judgment of demoting the index number of Bangladesh media more four steps down is baseless and unacceptable.
The discussion meeting presided over by National press club president Saiful Alam was addressed by former VC of Dhaka University AAMS Arefin Siddik, journalist Reazuddin Ahmed, genral secretary of National press club Farida Yasmin, Bhorer Kagaj editor Shaymol Dutta, former president of BFUJ Manjurul Ahsan Bulbul, journalists Qamrul Islam Chowdhury, Parvin F Chowdhury, Omar Faruq Chowdhury and Reazuddin Ahmed Chowdhury.
The Key note paper was presented by journalist Syed Istiaq Reza.