Dhaka Bureau: Journalist leaders have called upon the central leaders of the party, including Jamaat, to apologize within 72 hours for the attack and torture of journalists at the BNP convention. Dhaka Journalist Union (DUJ) President Sohel Haider Chowdhury has ordered the journalists to refrain from collecting and publishing all kinds of positive news from both parties if they do not apologize.
He made this call at a rally organized in front of the National Press Club on Sunday (October 29) to protest the attack on journalists in the name of agitation.
Sohel Haider Chowdhury said that several journalists were injured during the one-sided program of BNP-Jamaat during the fall of the government. Those involved in this attack should be arrested within 48 hours. Besides, if BNP-Jamaat does not apologize for this incident within 72 hours, their news will be excluded.
General Secretary of Jatiya Press Club Shyamal Dutta, President of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists Omar Farooq, General Secretary Dwip Azad, DUJ President Sohel Haider Chowdhury, General Secretary Akhtar Hossain, and others spoke at the rally organized by the Dhaka Journalist Union.
General Secretary of Jatiya Press Club Shyamal Dutta said in the rally, ‘Today we are holding this protest rally with a very heavy heart. 30 of our journalists were injured while covering the political program yesterday. What happened yesterday in Bangladesh is unprecedented. For this reason, I have seen from the experience of conducting unprecedented political programs for a long time that the residence of the Chief Justice has never been attacked. I never saw an attack on a hospital. I have never seen such a big attack on the media at once. This attack was highly planned.
Ten days ago today, we had a dinner with the US ambassador. I was present at that dinner. Prothom Alo editor and Altamas Kabir were also there. We asked Peter Haas what you had to say about October 28. He said there will be violence on the 28th; such a glimpse has been given by BNP. As a result, those who say that the attack on this program was accidental are wrong. Peter Haas had news. At the dinner we had, we were in contact with you, so why don’t you tell them to come out of violence? Then Peter Haas said, They didn’t keep talking. BNP said that they would have a peaceful program, but yesterday saw the level of violence.
Israel attacks hospitals in Gaza, and Jamaat-e-Shabir attacks hospitals in Bangladesh. There is no difference between them. The sad thing is, when a journalist is hurt, there is a tragedy behind it. There must have been some trouble yesterday. However, they failed to do so and carried out this attack. They have to suffer the consequences of attacks on journalists. When journalistic society wakes up, no one is spared from its consequences. BNP should immediately apologize and express sorrow for the attack on journalists.
