Role of the media
When the BNP's front organisations (JCD, JJD, etc.) started extortion, encroachment on public and private property, tender manipulation, etc., all the pro-AL papers carried huge editorials calling for an end to such misdeeds. Similarly, when those crimes are committed by the AL's front organisations (BCL, JL, etc.) all the pro-BNP media go on an overdrive to inform the nation how unholy and destructive it is and why it should be stopped. Sadly, these demands for the culprits to be “brought to book” are actually short-term solutions. No matter what “disciplinary actions” the ruling party takes, we know that next time when another party goes to power its front organisations will do the same and we will all be reading the same editorials again. It happened many times in the past and it will certainly happen in the future. Surely, a more effective solution would be to outlaw all these trouble-making fronts.
If our media genuinely wants an end to all the extortion, gang raping, encroachment, tender manipulation, etc., by the ruling party-men, then all of them would have put a lot more pressure on our political parties (and we know our media is capable of doing that) to immediately dissolve their ugly front organisations. But they always shy away from that. Why? Because they know that without these “rowdy” elements their beloved party will not have enough muscle power on the street to fight with their opponents. That is why many of our newspapers are willing to look the other way, willing to accept all the heinous crimes committed by these front organisations.
We are not saying that our newspapers never criticise their chosen parties. They do, they do that a lot, in fact. But each criticism is quickly dampened by lots of 'ifs' and 'buts' at the end of the paragraph. Sometimes within the same sentence! If some elements of a political party are involved in wanton destruction of our country and our culture then we need to condemn them and tell it the way it is. Why use ifs and buts?
It is time for our newspapers to stop pretending to be our friends. Stop printing sugar-coated articles and editorials to give the impression that they are speaking for our cause. They are not. They are simply playing party politics with a dash of journalism and a perceived intellectual and moral high ground. Deep down, they always put the interests of their chosen parties before the interests of the people.
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