The parliamentary standing committee on information ministry at a meeting at Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban observed that high duty on newsprint import has been creating troubles for the newspaper industry.

It also urged the government to formulate recommendations for the sixth wage board and to implement those without delay, chairman of the committee, Ebadur Rahman Chowdhury, told reporters.

Referring to the meeting decisions, the committee chairman said it also urged the government to pay off all due bills for advertisements to different newspapers and to raise the present advertisement rates that were fixed a decade ago.

The committee also asked the ministry to submit a report in the next meeting after investigating allegations of discriminations in distribution of direct advertisements.

Ebadur Rahman, also a BNP lawmaker, said the committee expressed regret about yesterday's attack on journalists' leaders in Khustia. Apart from the committee members and ministry officials, a number of editors of leading dailies and leaders of journalists' unions were present at the meeting on special invitation.

Editors at the meeting said publication cost of newspapers have gone up due to an increase in newsprint price. They said the existing duty on imported newsprint in Bangladesh is 29 percent whereas the duties in neighbouring countries like India, Nepal and Pakistan are below five percent. They alleged that the government has imposed high import duty on newsprint to provide business facilities to two local newsprint manufacturers.

Awami League (AL) lawmaker Asaduzzman Noor supported the editors and said newspaper is not a luxury commodity. "So, why the government should impose such a high duty on newsprint?" he questioned.

The editors also placed demands for immediate enactment of the Right to Information Act and for amending the century old press laws that have been hampering freedom of the press.

They also urged lawmakers to stop making gross accusations in the parliament against editors, journalists and newspapers, and said if there is any allegation against the press, it should have the opportunity to defend it.

The editors and journalists' leaders observed that the Press Council in Bangladesh has become an inactive organisation due to politicisation. They suggested the government to form a Press Commission that will act to resolve problems in the newspaper industry.

The daily Prothom Alo Editor Motiur Rahman told the meeting that only eight newspapers have implemented the fifth wage board.

"Newspapers which have failed to implement the fifth wage board have no right to enjoy facilities from the government," he said. "Please don't take the editors as your opponents," he said referring to gross accusations made against the media in the House.

The Daily Star Editor Mahfuz Anam told the meeting that aggrieved editors should have the opportunity to explain or defend themselves regarding allegations against them at least in the standing committee meetings.

Monjurul Ahsan Bulbul, executive editor of the daily Sangbad also president of the Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ), said lawmakers should not treat the media as an opponent of the government and the parliament.

Reazuddin Ahmed, president of the National Press Club also editor of The News Today demanded to form a parliamentary inquiry committee to investigate yesterday's attack on journalists in Kushtia.

But, the committee did not accept his proposal and its chairman said, "Only the parliament has the authority to form such a committee."

Editor of the daily Jugantor Golam Sarwar, Editor of The Bangladesh Observer Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, BSS Chief Editor also Managing Director Gaziul Hasan Khan, Editor of the Amardesh Amanullah Kabir , Chief Editor of the daily Manavjamin Motiur Rahman Chowdhury, Editor of The Independent Mahbubul Alam, Editor of the daily Dinkal Kazi Sirajuddin Ahmed, Editor of the daily Bangla Bazar Md Zakaria Khan, Editor of The New Nation Mostafa Kamal Majumder, Chairman of the daily Ittefaq's Editorial Board Mainul Husein, Deputy Editor of the daily Samakal Mozammel Hossain Monju, and BFUJ Secretary General Abdul Jalil Bhuiyan were also present.