Govt won’t tolerate any attacks on newspapers

The government will not tolerate any attacks on newspapers, said Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam.
“No newspaper, TV channel or news website has been shut since the interim government took office,” he said at a press briefing at the Foreign Service Academy yesterday.
Shafiqul said there had been no phone calls from the government or the intelligence agencies requesting news outlets to take down or upload any news article. They also did not give any directive regarding speakers of talk shows and barring reporters from certain assignments, he added.
“There had been such a practice over the last 15 years, but the interim government did not say anything. If we thought that a news item was wrong, we mentioned it politely.”
The press secretary said some journalists have spread rumours intentionally, but the interim government is not bothered by it at all.
“We are fully committed to the independence of the media. We did not ask anyone not to file a report or why a particular report was published.”
Asked about the removal of 64 district correspondents of Bangladesh Television and cancellation of accreditation cards of some journalists, Shafiqul said the BTV authorities will be able to say about it.
He said accreditation cards are scrapped by the information ministry which will be able to mention the specific reasons.
About threats to some newspapers, Azad Majumder, deputy press secretary to the chief adviser, said the Editors’ Council issued a statement in this regard which is being reviewed by the government.
These threats are being issued by a quarter, and the government has already noticed it, Shafiqul said, adding that they have already provided them with security.