(MW/IFEX) – According to Media Watch, on 12 August 1998, the vice-chancellor of Dhaka University and the President and Secretary of the Chattra League went to the Dhaka University Journalists’ Association office, where the vice-chancellor assured the journalists that they would receive full protection from university authorities to perform their professional duties without incident. The […]
(MW/IFEX) – According to Media Watch, on 12 August 1998, the vice-chancellor
of Dhaka University and the President and Secretary of the Chattra League
went to the Dhaka University Journalists’ Association office, where the
vice-chancellor assured the journalists that they would receive full
protection from university authorities to perform their professional duties
without incident. The vice-chancellor’s assurances followed threats made
against two journalists by some leaders of the Chattra league, the student
wing of the ruling party. Chattra League leaders apologised for the actions
of one of their comrades and assured the journalists that they would take
appropriate action against that leader. The two journalists filed a
complaint at the local police station. Meanwhile, students at the university
staged a march in protest of the incident.
**Updates IFEX alert of 11 August 1998**
Background Information
On 10 August 1998, Kailash Sarker, university correspondent for the daily
“Sangba”, and a correspondent for the daily “Janakantha”, surname Mamun,
were allegedly threatened with death by Ebadat Hossain, a top-ranking leader
of the Chattra league. On both 8 and 9 August, the two journalists, who are
also students at the university, ran stories in their respective
publications on the terrorist activities of the armed cadre of the Chattra
league in some areas of Dhaka University (see IFEX alert).
