Journos' sit-in before home ministry Apr 8
Journalists will observe a sit-in programme in front of the home ministry on April 8 to press home their four-point demand including the immediate arrest of the killers of the journalist couple Sagar-Runi.
Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) president Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury announced the programme at a grand rally of journalists in front of the National Press Club in the city yesterday.
Ruhul Amin Gazi, also president of BFUJ, chaired the rally and announced to lay siege to the home ministry and the offices of deputy commissioners (DC) across the country on the same day.
On February 11, Sagar Sarowar, news editor at Maasranga TV, and his wife Meherun Runi, senior reporter at ATN Bangla, were found murdered at their West Rajabazar house in the city.
The rally was jointly organised by the BFUJ, Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ), National Press Club and Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU).
However, the time of April 8 programme was not fixed yet.
The other demands include trial of all the killings of journalists in the past, stopping oppression on them and ensuring freedom of the press.
"We want to observe our programmes in a disciplined manner. If it crosses our tolerance level the home ministry, administration and law enforcers will be responsible for that," said Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury.
Journalists also sharply reacted to a High Court directive to the media regarding reports on the murder of the journalist couple, saying that it was interference in the freedom of press.
An HC bench, on February 28, directed the information secretary to take steps within 24 hours to ensure the media does not publish any speculative news report on the incident.
About the HC directives, he urged the chief justice to remain alert about those judges who issued such directives so as to avoid a face-off between the media and the judiciary.
Addressing the rally, Ruhul Amin Gazi said if the government fails to arrest the killers, journalists will find them out through an investigation committee formed by themselves.
BFUJ secretary general Shawkat Mahmud claimed the journalist couple were killed because they had a lot of information.
Senior journalist Reazuddin Ahmed, another BFUJ secretary general Abdul Jalil Bhuiyan, DUJ presidents Abdus Shahid and Omar Faruque, general secretaries Baker Hossain and Shaban Mahmud, DRU president Sakhawat Hossain Badsha and general secretary Sajjad Alom Khan Topu, among others, spoke there.
A few hundred journalists working in the capital and many in other parts of the country took part in the rally.
They also demanded immediate resignation of the home minister for her failure to arrest the killers after 38 days of killing.
Earlier, on February 27, journalists across the country abstained from work for one hour and on March 1 observed a six-hour token hunger strike at the Jatiya Press Club to press home the demands.
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