As political negotiations intensify across party lines, the possibility of a national reform consensus—once unthinkable—now appears within reach. Over the past weeks, Bangladesh has witnessed a marathon of political dialogues involving all openly active parties—ranging from allies to adversaries—aimed at reaching common ground on vital constitutional, electoral, and institutional reforms. These discussions,under the aegis of the National Consensus Commission created by the interim government, mark a significant departure from past political norms. Until recently, talks were verging on a deadlock, particularly over key constitutional issues: limiting the Prime Minister’s term, creating a National Constitutional Council, and establishing a second chamber in the Jatiya Sangsad. Encouragingly, parties have begun softening their stances, suggesting that consensus may be possible. Such agreement is essential for drafting what is being called the July Charter—a foundational document bas...

After four years of consultations with UN experts, Law Minister Anisul Haque has now outrightly rejected the most crucial part of their recommendations, saying the government won’t repeal sections 21 and 28 of the Digital Security Act (DSA) . He promised more consultations on amending other parts of the law and stopping its abuse. We learnt of this after the recommendations made by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) were published in the Bangla daily Prothom Alo .  Before delving into the OHCHR’s recommendations , it must be noted here that well before the DSA was enacted, there were widespread concerns about its likely impact on freedom of expression as the proposed provisions appeared harsher than the preceding law, the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Act 2006. Media representatives including the Editors’ Council were at the forefront of demanding amendments in the draft legislation. They identified sections 21, 25, 28, 31, 32 and 43 of t...

Following a social media storm, the Bangla Academy has now explained its decision as to why it barred the publishing house Adarsha from taking part in this year’s Ekushey book fair, the most desired annual book exposition by publishers and readers. The clarification issued by the academy, however, raises more questions than explaining the rationale behind its decision. The worst part in the academy’s attempt to clear the air is the admission in the statement that it had not read the alleged offending book before deciding to exclude its publisher from the exhibition.  The Bangla Academy press release issued on January 21, 2023, and signed by its deputy director Mohammad Akbar Hossain, stated that the academy’s attention had been drawn to news reports published in various media outlets, which claimed that Adarsha ​​was not allotted a stall at the book fair. It noted that the lottery for allocations of stalls was scheduled to be held on January 22, 2023.  Up until this point, it ...

  32 years have gone by since our national leaders made a pledge to make Bangladesh a democracy where the fundamental rights of the people would be protected, and the judiciary’s independence and neutrality and rule of law would be guaranteed. Laws contrary to fundamental rights would be scrapped. Their core pledge was to establish a sovereign parliament elected through a free and fair election.  Those commitments were made in the Joint declaration of three alliances on November 19, 1990, demanding the end of military ruler General HM Ershad’s dictatorial regime and handing over power to a neutral caretaker government. This national accord among all major political parties forced Ershad to hand over power to the nominee of the opposition parties, the then Chief Justice Shahbuddin Ahmed. High hopes and expectations dominated our national psyche for the first few years, but it didn’t take too long for our politicians to start backsliding on the promises they had made.  The ...

Writer Mushtaq Ahmed paid the ultimate price for his freedom of expression, and it’s a matter of shame for us all that it happened in the year of the Golden Jubilee of Bangladesh's independence. Ironically, the law that was applied against Mushtaq in accusing him of harming the image of the country for criticising the current state of affairs, the Digital Security Act (DSA), has itself earned global notoriety. Even in the most cautious diplomatic condemnation of the DSA, the UN Human Rights High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet termed it an ``ill-defined” piece of legislation “used to punish criticism of the Government.” According to the European Union (EU), “some of its provisions risk going beyond the stated purpose of fighting digital crime.” The defenders of human rights, however, were not so polite in expressing their outrage.  Amnesty International said “The Digital Security Act criminalises many forms of freedom of expression, and imposes heavy fines and prison sentences for l...

মতপ্রকাশের স্বাধীনতা যে সংকুচিত হতে হতে একটি বৃত্তের মধ্যে আটকা পড়তে যাচ্ছে এই আশংকার কথা বেশ কয়েকবছর ধরেই উচ্চারিত হয়ে আসছে। এখন মন্ত্রীসভায় ডিজিটাল নিরাপত্তা আইনের খসড়া অনুমোদিত হওয়ার পর আবার নতুন করে এই আলোচনা শুরু হয়েছে। সাংবাদিকতা এবং লেখালেখির পেশায় যাঁরা আছেন তাঁদের প্রতিক্রিয়ায় প্রধানত দুটো ধারা স্পষ্ট হয়েছে।একটি হচ্ছে স্বাধীনভাবে মতপ্রকাশের সুযোগ পুরোপুরি বিলীন হয়ে যাবে এবং ক্ষমতাসীনদের ভাষ্যের বাইরে অন্য কিছু আর প্রকাশ করা সম্ভব হবে না। যাঁরা এমনটি ভাবছেন তাঁদের মধ্যে আতঙ্ক এবং হতাশার ছাপটা স্পষ্ট।   দ্বিতীয় ধারাটি হচ্ছে রাজনৈতিক আনুগত্যের এবং তাঁরা এখনও বিশ্বাস করেন সরকার তাঁদের পরামর্শে কান দেবেন এবং খসড়াটি শেষপর্যন্ত বদলে আইনটি গণমাধ্যমবান্ধব হবে। মতপ্রকাশের স্বাধীনতা সংকুচিত হওয়ার প্রভাব যে শুধুমাত্র গণমাধ্যমের গন্ডিতে সীমাবদ্ধ থাকে না তা আমরা বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের শিক্ষক থেকে শুরু করে রাজনৈতিক কর্মী এবং সাধারণ নাগরিকদের অনেকের দন্ডিত হওয়ার ঘটনায় দেখেছি। কিন্তু, সরকারবিরোধী রাজনীতির দৈন্যদশা এবং নাগরিক সমাজের অগ্রসর অংশের মধ্যে দোদুল্যমানতা অথবা সু্বিধাবাদিতার পিছুটা...