Journos burn copies terming it 'black law'
A section of journalists yesterday burnt the copies of the National Broadcast Policy-2014 terming it a "black law" for the media and demanding its immediate cancellation.
They vowed to stage tougher protests if the policy, which was approved by the cabinet Monday and is feared to curb the freedom of media and rights of journalists, is not scrapped.
The policy imposes a set of restrictions on the contents of television and radio broadcasts over various issues including those involving the armed forces and law enforcement agencies.
Speaking at a protest rally in front of the capital's Jatiya Press Club, Ruhul Amin Gazi, an ex-president of the Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ), said the government wanted to rule like a dictator, so it was going to control the media by imposing an undemocratic policy.
A faction of the BFUJ and another of the Dhaka Union of Journalists organised the programme and announced to hold opinion sharing meetings with media personalities, editors and other stakeholders and stage a month long demonstration to get the policy scrapped.
Describing Information Minister Hasanul Huq Inu as "an enemy of the freedom of the press", Shawkat Mahmud, president of one BFUJ faction, demanded that the authorities bar him from visiting the Jatiya Press Club until the policy was cancelled.
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