(Media Watch/IFEX) – The office of a daily was attacked during a demonstration by the main opposition political party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), held on the evening of Monday 30 August 1999. At least thirty people, including fourteen employees of the “Daily Janakantha”, were injured, two of them critically when dozens of gunshots were […]
(Media Watch/IFEX) – The office of a daily was attacked during a
demonstration by the main opposition political party, the Bangladesh
Nationalist Party (BNP), held on the evening of Monday 30 August 1999. At
least thirty people, including fourteen employees of the “Daily Janakantha”,
were injured, two of them critically when dozens of gunshots were fired at
the daily’s office. According to police sources, BNP supporters attacked the
“Daily Janakantha” office on Eskaton Road in the heart of the capital city
Dhaka. They also damaged dozens of motor vehicles in front of the office and
in different parts of the city during the mass procession held on Monday.
The injured journalists and officials were the newspaper photo-editor, Alhaj
Jahirul Haq, photojournalist Rafiqur Rahman, the secretary of the “Daily
Janakantha” management ASM Nazrul Islam and Abdul Mutalib Khan. Nazrul and
Mutalib suffered bullet wounds. Several others were given first aid from the
nearby clinic.
Witnesses said that several guns were fired while a large BNP procession was
marching towards the Bangla motor crossing. As many as twenty gunshots were
heard at one time.
According to the written complaint submitted by the “Daily Janakantha”
management to the police, a group of demonstrators from the BNP procession
attacked the “Daily Janakantha” building, on orders from BNP leader Anwar
Zahid and others who were sitting on a truck bearing number
Dhaka-Metro-Ta-02-0060. The leaders encouraged the attackers.
Zahid – an eminent former editor and journalist and now the press advisor to
the BNP chairperson – was arrested immediately after “Daily Janakantha”
filed the case with the police. Zahid was the deputy minister in charge of
the ministry for information under former President Ershad’s autocratic
regime.
The home minister and journalists’ union leaders visited the “Janakantha”
office on 30 August.
In another incident, the office of two daily regional newspapers, “Dainik
Janambhumi” and “Rajpather Dak”, was attacked by unidentified individuals on
28 August in Khulna, the southern divisional town. The assailants threw
bombs in front of the newspaper office but the bombs did not explode and no
damage was caused.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to authorities:
newspaper office in Bangladesh
Appeals To
Honourable Sheikh Hasina
Prime Minister
Fax: +880 2 813 244 / 811 015 / 813 283Honourable Mond. Nasim
Home Minister
Fax: +880 2 869 667 / 864 788Begum Khaleda Zia
BNP Chairperson
Fax: +880 2 838 786
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
