PM in Italy, media team at home
The government is worried about Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's media coverage in Milan as three news agencies could not travel with her for not having visas.
Hasina reached Milan yesterday with a 118-member entourage to attend the 10th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). Bangladesh Ambassador in Rome Md Shahadat Hossain and Bangladesh's Consul General Rozina Ahmed and other officials received her around 3:45pm local time at Milan Malpensa Airport.
The media adviser to the prime minister and Awami League president, four eminent media personalities, special correspondent of the official BSS News Agency, senior correspondents of UNB and bdnews24.com could not go to Italy with her.
The Italian embassy in Dhaka could not process their visas due to late submission of their applications.
Newsmen of BTV and Bangladesh Betar, and a deputy press secretary and an assistant press secretary to the PM went with her.
Sources in the Prime Minister's Office said apart from addressing the summit, Hasina has important bilateral meetings with a number of world leaders, including with her Italian, Swedish, Dutch and Greek counterparts Mattero Renzi, Stefan Lofven, Mark Rutte and Antinios C Samaras.
She is also to attend several events and receptions to be hosted by
Matteo Renzi, Jose Manuel Barrosso, president of the European Commission, and Herman Van Rompuy, president of the European Council.
The PMO officials said it was very difficult to gather news of the events for the two press wing officials who were with Hasina and then relay those to the media in Dhaka.
They were apprehending poor media coverage of the PM's tour.
Meanwhile, the Italian embassy in Dhaka and the media people who could not go with the PM were embarrassed.
Diplomatic sources said five prominent journalists and three senior correspondents of leading news agencies had no fault of their own for not getting visas.
They had been included in the PM's entourage at the invitation of the Prime Minister's Office and they had submitted their passports along with visa applications in time.
Highly placed sources said the main reasons for this problem were that the prime minister was away abroad earlier this month, and when she had returned on October 2, the press secretary failed to get the media list approved by her in time.
Sources said the press secretary did not dare to approach Hasina as she was highly displeased with him for some reason.
An assistant press secretary got the list instantly approved on October 3 by the PM.
Instead of sending officials concerned from the PMO or the foreign ministry, the Press Wing officials sent the official film cameraman of the Department of Films and Publications, who is also attached to the Prime Minister's Press Wing, to the embassy to submit the journalists' applications on October 8.
The embassy could proceed with the visa applications had it gotten the applications with at least 10 working days' time.
The PM entourage includes Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali, three eminent personalities, 11 officials from the PMO, eight officials from the foreign ministry, 17-member security team, seven-members official media team, 71-member business delegation, three officials from Bangladesh embassy in Italy and Bangladesh ambassador to Brussels.
Comments