Human Rights and the Media in Bangladesh

Democracy is a process, not an event”
– Rt. Hon. Don McKinnon, Commonwealth Secretary General

With a long history of autocracy and military rule, Bangladesh finds itself striving to portray a positive image to the world as a restored democracy under the rule of the BNP party, led by Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. In the midst of international censure over the presence of terrorism and abuse of human rights within its borders, the Bangladesh Government is feeling the pressure and is presenting a united rhetoric of a vibrant democracy that is meeting the challenges faced by all developing countries.

Indeed, it points with pride to its successes of progress with some justification: the growth rate has held at a steady 5% over the last several years and recently it attracted praise in the 2005 Human Development Report, showing impressive human development gains. In particular, for the first time ever, Bangladesh has overtaken its large neighbor, India, in achieving a lower child mortality rate and is continuing to reduce this by 5% annually. The report notes that Bangladesh demonstrates it is possible to sustain strong human development across a broad front even at relatively modest levels of income growth.

However, this is not all the report has to say about Bangladesh. It also emphasises that “if Bangladesh is to maintain its impressive progress up the human development index, political parties need to seek common ground for effectively addressing issues of human security”.1 One of the main issues of human security is that of journalists and media persons, who have become a target for systematic abuse by those who want to silence the voice of independent media.

Several high profile NGOs have documented the human rights violations faced by the media over the years since the BNP gained power in 2001. Examples include:

In response to these concerns, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh attempted to defend the state of affairs by arguing that journalists are damaging Bangladesh’s image at home and abroad by publishing false information. Whatever the argument, the abuse being faced by journalists in Bangladesh is contrary to the explicit protections in the country’s Constitution. Article 11 of the Constitution establishes a democratic republic enshrining democracy and upholding fundamental human rights standards. Article 39 guarantees freedom of thought and speech, including a direct guarantee of freedom of the press. These give expression to the international obligations Bangladesh has agreed to. The prevention of such abuses is therefore not merely a subject of international concern, but of international and domestic law. The time is well overdue for the BNP Government to meet its domestic and international obligations to implement and actively protect the rights of the domestic media.

The media plays a vital role in an active democracy. As the “fourth estate”, it provides a check on the role of government and is a voice of the people - freedom of expression is the lifeblood of democratic growth. The current abuse of the media and governmental complicity in Bangladesh is a block to the path of democracy. For Bangladesh to progress as a democratic nation, it must recognise this and restore protection to the media.