If we truly want to build a New Bangladesh, we must create a new media environment. I believe this is a remarkably promising moment for BNP’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman—not only to provide new leadership, but because any transition of power naturally brings new challenges.
The challenge we face now is even greater. This is not a situation in which power is changing hands through a particularly smooth or exemplary election. Bangladesh, at this moment, is in a deeply devastated state. Institutions are under challenge and are being dismantled.
Please remember that in Bangladesh’s 53-year history, no media office had ever been set on fire. For the first time, the offices of Prothom Alo and The Daily Star were attacked and set ablaze. Why? What crime did we commit? I urge the entire media community to ask this question seriously.
However, I want to look towards the future. My first request in this regard is that freedom of expression must be the first step—the most important principle for any political party. By freedom of expression, I mean critical freedom of expression. Freedom does not merely mean the right to speak; it means the right to criticise.
Our experience over the past 53 years of politics shows that no government has truly accepted critical journalism. I hope that in a New Bangladesh, you will embrace this critical approach. Critical journalism is not only about press freedom; it is also a pathway to good governance. If you protect and nurture independent journalism, it will serve everyone’s interests.
I will criticise you when necessary, but I will not do so by spreading false information. My criticism will come from the belief that an elected government should genuinely move towards democracy and respond to the needs of the people. This is because intelligence agencies or party colleagues will never come to you with uncomfortable truths. Only an independent media will have the courage to do so—and that is what protects a government from going astray.
I was recently writing that many editors eventually become peers of owners; not all editors remain independent of ownership. I would suggest that your party conduct an independent survey to assess which newspapers and television channels operate independently and ethically. Just as you need good governance, we need ethical journalism. Ethics is the future of journalism.
