Editorial
Police onslaught on journalists
To whom are they answerable?
Brutal attacks on journalists that marked the past month blatantly demonstrate how vulnerable they have become while discharging their professional duties. In the last week, some police personnel attacked and manhandled three photojournalists of Prothom Alo in the line of duty. In quick succession, three court correspondents were beaten up and dragged and bundled into the police vehicle as they came forward to protect a teenage girl and her parents from police harassment. Add to these the attacks on two journalists in Pabna engineered by vested quarters.
When the state of affairs as regards the journalists has taken such a plunge, we are shocked to note that the home minister claimed that the police are doing better than ever before and the state minister had the lack of sense to ask journalists to be at a safe distance from police while at work. Only the other day we commented on this but what now evokes a reaction from us is the delayed expression of regret from the home minister on some police men's conduct. The issue here is not again one of expression of regret but of taking responsibility. What we would like to see is exemplary, punitive action against the offenders without much ado.
First it is the denial mode and then it is the protective attitude from the high authority that give wayward elements in law enforcement agencies a sense of complete impunity.
Journalists work relentlessly to point out anomalies and expose surreptitious, collusive goings-on in different public and private sectors, purely actuated by professional motives and in public interest. This they do only to ensure people's right to know. But when they are attacked while discharging their duties, both freedom of expression and people's right to information come under assault dealing a severe blow to democracy as such.
The culprits are let off with light or no punishment at all. Neither an impartial investigation is carried out, these being invariably departmental, nor is the outcome of such probes followed through. In view of some recent specific instances of police excesses against journalists, we call upon the government to fix responsibility and mete out punishment to those found guilty.
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