Editorial
We protest media ban by ACC
The arbitrary decision goes against anti-graft mandate
The Anti-Corruption Commission's imposition of restriction on media's access to its offices sends shock waves through the journalist community. When the era is of transparency this comes as a blow to the freedom of the press, right to information and accountability to the public.
Fetters are being put on the media relating to a statutory body whose raison d'etre is in ensuring rule of law through transparency, including its own. This is vital because the ACC is charged with the responsibility of demanding transparency and accountability from other institutions of the government.
The very idea of dishing out filtered information on a regulated format amounts to controlling the free press and is attuned to protecting supplier's interest or that of vested quarter as opposed to catering to demand for information in public interest. It smacks of interfering with the natural flow of information from a body which professedly claims to be in the job of freeing the country of corruption.
The arbitrary nature of the move is clear from the fact that no justification has been provided as to how the media is obstructing the process of investigation into the fresh allegations about suspected corruption in the Padma Bridge Project.
Such stifling of information can lead to speculation that may be the ACC is trying to hide something. This in turn might induce vested quarters into giving spins to unauthenticated stories and narratives derailing the very investigation the ACC claims to be setting on course. Indeed this can prove to be self-defeating. If the media or the public were to look at the ban as acquiescence to influence-peddling by certain quarters would they be remiss?
We think the restrictions will go to curb the freedom of the press which is the guarantor of not only people's right to know but also a helping instrument for good governance based on the principles of transparency and public accountability.
Thus we strongly protest this move and urge the government to liberalise the access to ACC through removal of the restrictions.
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