A bizarre saga

LITTLE did I expect to come across such furore over a news item in Dhaka on a short trip on my way to China. It felt surreal, a reflection by an editor expressing his regret of publishing some "suspect information" that took  place some nine years ago had resulted in an avalanche of litigations of sedition/ defamation with damages sought in  telephone number proportions .

I wonder if the editor himself reckoned on a "Hadron Collider" of a reaction to be the fall out! I started to dig and what did I find? No one, including the editor of The Daily Star, had any means of corroborating the "missives" handed out to them. This practice of "disinformation" is culturally hardwired into the psyche and is used frequently (past and present).

He quite possibly had an opportunity of not joining the herd at the time. Mr. Anam candidly explained that one or two papers had not published such items of let's say, 'mischievous ' bulletins. Times were difficult and movers and shakers at the time had their own agenda which they kept close to their chests.

Questions have arisen about the timing of this "admission". Putting aside my crystal ball gazing findings, it's quite plausible that the editor had been in a reflective mood due to the 25th anniversary of the paper and thought of unburdening himself of this conscience-pricking act of the past. He appears to have had nothing to gain from a specific timing of such an admission. It is clearly a 'non argument ' when questions were raised by certain quarters about the elapsed period of silence; these are attempts to simply vilify the person by people sans logical objectivity.

It's abundantly clear that the TDS editor certainly didn't expect such a reaction of seeking an "impeachment" of the editor by some ruling party activists acting in the manner of the judge, jury and executioner.

The significant achievements of the government and its leadership are unnecessarily put in a questionable place. Holding a national daily and its editor in such hatred and animosity can hardly be seen as civil.

One can only hope that good sense will prevail and the powers that be would put an end to this extremely sad saga of retaliation, disunity and bad blood.

The writer is a British entrepreneur of Bangladesh origin.