Dhaka Bureau: Journalist leaders believe that the recently appointed American Ambassador to Dhaka, Peter Haas, said that the visa policy of the United States may be applied to the media of Bangladesh as a pressure on independent journalism.
Peter Haas’ statement amounts to undue interference in the media. Journalist leaders said that this statement is a violation of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.
Journalist leaders said these things in a rally organized on Tuesday at the National Press Club of the capital titled ‘Protesting US pressure on media in the name of visa policy’. The organizer of this rally is an organization named ‘Justice for Journalists’. The rally first started at the Press Club premises. However, due to rain, the rally was later held at the Abdus Salam Auditorium, located on the third floor of the Press Club.
In the gathering, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s former information adviser and journalist leader, Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, said that US Ambassador Peter Haas gave an unwanted speech about the independent role and dignity of the country’s media. His speech included undue interference with freedom, sovereignty, and the media. Interference in the name of visa policy will not be tolerated.
Former president of the Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists, Manjurul Ahsan Bulbul, said that Ambassador Peter Haas’ statement puts pressure on independent journalism. It also violates the First Amendment to the US Constitution.
Manjurul Ahsan Bulbul also said that every year, about one lakh people apply for US visas from Bangladesh. But about 27 thousand people got visas. That means the United States has some kind of visa policy. Today, they (the US) want to use the visa policy as a weapon. He said that freedom of the press should be protected from any kind of greed or threat.
Justice for Journalists Vice President Obaidul Haque Khan presided over the gathering. Journalist leaders Abdul Jalil Bhuiyan, Quddus Afrad, Laykuzzaman, Manik Lal Ghosh, Khairul Alam, Abu Saeed, Shaheen Babu, Shahjahan Saju, and others gave speeches.
The United States announced a new visa policy on May 24 to ensure free, fair, and peaceful national elections in Bangladesh. The United States announced on September 22 that the visa restrictions had begun, nearly four months after the announcement. Recently, in an interview with the private television channel 24, US Ambassador to Dhaka, Peter Haas, said that the media can also come under the US visa policy.
