| dc.description.abstract | The Constitution of Bangladesh guarantees the right to freedom of speech and expression;
freedom of the press is also mentioned but this freedom is not an absolute one, rather
subject to reasonable restrictions imposed by the law on several grounds. Media freedom
in Bangladesh is endangered because the country has both colonial and modern-day laws
often being applied to curtail media freedom and intimidate journalists. These laws and
some regulations are misused to allow the law enforcers and influential individuals to act
against the media when their interests are affected by journalism. Ministers and
lawmakers often criticise the media whenever any news goes against the government or
damages the image of the ruling party. The tendency to sue journalists under so-called
defamation cases filed by pro-government people is alarming. Journalists nowadays face
more direct and indirect threats than ever. Although the government would deny the fact
and say those laws and regulations are intended for streamlining the media, it seems to be
pushing for new legislation to have further grip on the free flow of information through
overt and covert interventions. Old laws that exert influence upon the working of the
media in one way or the other are Special Powers Act of 1974, Official Secrets Act of
1923, Contempt of Court Act 1926, Copyright Act 2000 and the Code of Criminal
Procedure (CrPC). There is a history of misusing these acts.Enacted during the British
colonial era in 1898, CrPC has a provision for issuing direct arrest warrants against
anybody including journalists, writers and publishers of any books or newspapers if they
wrote or said anything considered defamatory. Journalists have long been demanding the
scrapping of the provision, only to be ignored by the successive governments. However,
in 2011 the Bangladesh Parliament passed a bill, scrapping the provision of issuing direct
arrest warrants against journalists, writers and others for writing or saying anything
defamatory. But it did not bring any relief to the media as more stringent laws were
promulgated later. This article explores the balancing of freedom of the press and
reasonable restrictions in Bangladesh under existing national laws and relevant
international policy instruments. Across the globe, there is unending debate as to
indoctrination of free press and reasonable restrictions. Bangladesh is not an exception to
the tussle between these two notions. The free but fair press enables public debates and
creates essential checks on government powers. The question of reasonable restrictions on
press appears at the forefront of discussion as the press is also engaging in serving selfinterest or value loaded vested interests vilifying its objectivity, impartiality, and
accuracy. Though, the press and other media outlets of the country are partly free, the
ongoing restrictions imposed by statutory laws and self-censorship have plunged the
media into a stagnated ditch. However, journalists and media activists are gradually
striving to overcome the hurdles of restrictions foreseeing a silver lining. On one hand,
the country is globally lauded for its exponential progress in terms of economic, social
and international goals and has emerged as an Asian tiger. On the other hand, the country
is struggling to uphold the spirit of the free press in nourishing a healthy democracy amid
good governance that tolerates diverse, dissent, pluralist views and constructive criticism | en_US |
