Prime Minister Hasina asks journalists to be fair

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has urged journalists to work impartially.

“I want fairness from you. Nothing else,” she said at an Iftar at the National Press Club on Wednesday.

She also called them to be vocal against terrorism, militancy, drugs and the ‘burning of people alive in the name of politics’.

“I urge you to create public awareness in these regard,” Hasina said.

The Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) and the Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ) organised the Iftar.

Hasina came to the press club and exchanged greetings with the members.

BFUJ President Manjurul Ahsan Bulbul chaired the programme. 
 
Prime Minister’s Information Affairs Advisor Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, BFUJ General Secretary Abdul Jalil Bhuyian, DUJ President Altaf Mahmud and National Press Club President Shafiqur Rahman were among those who addressed the function.

They spoke about their demands for an increase in the size of the welfare trust for journalists, housing arrangements, a new wage board, and for help to improve the Press Club.
 
“You don’t need to demand anything. We’ve made the welfare trust voluntarily,” the prime minister said.
 
“The Awami League always thinks about welfare of journalists. And they criticise the Awami League a bit much. That’s also true,” she said.”
 
She also spoke about her government’s initiatives for socio-economic development, reduction of poverty, development of infrastructure, education, health, and other sectors.
 
“We will be able to take Bangladesh more towards progress if we get more help,” she said.
 
Hasina mentioned that the first private TV station was opened when an Awami League government was in power.
 
“Just think how many jobs were created because of this,” she said and referred to the launch of radio stations, including those based on communities.
 
The prime minister said her government had changed the law pertaining to the arrest of journalists.
 
She urged them to donate to the welfare trust themselves without relying on government help alone.
 
“Please donate at least Tk 1 to the trust,” she told journalists and the owners of news outlets.

The prime minister said she thought ‘discipline would return to journalism’ once the National Broadcast Policy was formulated by the commission set for it.
 
She also said her government had taken step to prepare guidelines for online broadcasting.
 
“This will raise the level of excellence of this profession. We don’t want to control anything. But everything should follow a guideline so that society does not get dirty.”
 
Hasina said she would see if journalists could be given flats instead of plots.
 
“We have distributed plots. We don’t know what the owners did to them. 
 
“If we had arranged multi-storey apartments for you by joining those plots, many journalists would not have faced housing problems. We’ll see if this can be done,” she said.

Hasina also spoke on the demand for a new pay scale for journalists to help them cope with rising costs of living. 
 
 “We’ve already made the Eighth Wage Board. Some have implemented it while some others have not. 
 
“We’ll form a new wage board in the future.”
 
“There should be something for those working in the electronic media, too. We’ll look into the matter.”
 
The prime minister also pledged government help to modernise the Press Club.