Journalists under threat
Does not augur well for the media
It is regrettable that journalists have been made targets of attacks by political activists belonging to almost all the major political parties. The list includes journalists from several news agencies and newspapers, including The Daily Star. And in one case in Jahangir Nagar University, two journalists were chased by the police while they were performing their professional duty. The police, reportedly, threatened to shoot them if they did not leave the place. We have also noted with shock the targeted attacks on the media houses during the period of the recent hartal.
The sad truth is violence has come to be an integral element of hartals these days. However, it cannot be lost upon the political parties that journalists have a duty to perform and that is motivated by the need to provide timely, accurate and impartial information to the people. And in most cases the journalists put their lives and limbs at great risk while covering a conflict situation to perform their tasks well. And they can do well without being further targeted by the activists of the political parties and the law enforcing agencies.
While we condemn such attacks in the strongest possible terms, we would like to restate that notwithstanding the hostile environment they face, the journalists will continue to fulfill their responsibility to the people undaunted. However, we urge all concerned to realise that an unfettered press working in a safe environment only can ensure an unencumbered democracy.
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