'Ensure security of journos'
Staff Correspondent
Journalists at a seminar in the city yesterday urged the government to ensure their security in both national and local levels to carry out professional duty smoothly and freely. "We don't want to be a privileged group. We just want the freedom necessary to perform our professional duties," said Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, president of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ). Iqbal, also editor of Bangladesh Observer, said 15 journalists were killed in the last few years while performing professional duty and killers have not been brought to book yet. Criminalisation and politicisation entered every corner of the society, he said adding that it is high time that we established rule of law, eliminated communal politics and ensured transparency and accountability in the society. Bangladesh Centre for Development of Journalism and Communication (BCDJC) organised the seminar on 'Security crisis of journalists at local level' at National Press Club in the city. Repression on journalists has increased rapidly and Bangladesh is already considered as the most vulnerable place for the journalists in Asia, the speakers said urging all journalists to be united against repression. Presiding over the seminar, National Press Club President Reazuddin Ahmed said police atrocity on journalists in Chittagong tarnished the image of the country abroad. "It is time that we established a democratic culture in the society and the journalist community, civil society as well as political parties should be united against the evil force," he said suggesting that a national committee to resist repression on journalists should be formed. The speakers demanded immediate punishment of the policemen involved in atrocities in Chittagong and trial of the killers of the journalists in the last couple of years. The speakers also condemned attack on journalists at Debidwar Press Club on April 13 backed by local MP Manjurul Ahsan Munshi and demanded exemplary punishment. Khondoker Rashedul Haque, Senior Journalist Nirmol Sen, former president of BFUJ Gias Kamal Chowdhury, RTV News Editor Syed Ishtiak Reza, Treasurer of National Press Club Abdur Rahman and Editor of New Nation Mostofa Kamal Majumder also spoke on the occasion.
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