In a 14 December 1999 letter to Bangladeshi Home Affairs Minister Mohammed Nasim, RSF strongly protested against further assaults on journalists. RSF said it was deeply worried that the government was “unable or unwilling to put a stop to this outbreak of violence, which is extremely prejudicial to press freedom.” RSF reminded the minister that […]
In a 14 December 1999 letter to Bangladeshi Home Affairs Minister Mohammed Nasim, RSF strongly protested against further assaults on journalists. RSF said it was deeply worried that the government was “unable or unwilling to put a stop to this outbreak of violence, which is extremely prejudicial to press freedom.” RSF reminded the minister that “since the end of October, thirty-five journalists had been hurt by activists or policemen during political demonstrations, seventeen of them in December alone”.
According to RSF’s information, on 12 December, twelve journalists were hurt during a demonstration in Chittagong, a town in Ganges delta. Activists of the opposition movement Islamic Oikya Jote attacked the press after their leader, Mufti Izharul Islam, made a hate speech against journalists. Armed with sticks and stones, demonstrators beat the reporters, seriously wounding Rafiquk Bahar, correspondent for “Dainik Prothom Alo”, published in Dhaka, and Helal Uddin, correspondent for “Dainik Azadi”, published in Chittagong. On the same day, Sanaullah Labloo was assaulted in his office of “Dainik Prothom Alo” by activists of the ruling party, Awani League. He was taken to hospital with head injuries.
Members of the league have previously used violence against journalists during the local elections in Kishoreganj, seventy-five kilometres to the north of Dhaka. On 8 December, activists attacked four journalists at the end of the poll. The reporters had recently written articles condemning violations of the election rules. Only the intervention of policemen prevented Monir Haider of “Dainik Janakantha”, Muhammad Alam of “Dainik Ajker Kagoj”, Saleh Uddin of “Manav Zamin” and Alam Dewan of “Bhorer Kagoj” from being injured. The next day, Bahauddin, a bookseller and correspondent for “Ajker Kagoj” in Kishoreganj, was threatened by Awani League activists and his bookstore was ransacked. Fearing for his life, he went into hiding. He had also denounced irregularities during the local election.
