European Parliament condemns curbs on freedom of expression, media in Bangladesh

The European Parliament (EP) has adopted a resolution on the state of freedom of expression in Bangladesh and called upon the government to re-open all media houses that have been closed down.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 26 Nov 2015, 01:15 PM
Updated : 26 Nov 2015, 03:40 PM

The resolution condemned the increasing attacks by Islamist extremists on secularist writers, bloggers, religious minorities and foreign aid workers in Bangladesh.

The Euro MPs also expressed their concern at the “growing restrictions on freedom of expression which have accompanied the rise of religious fundamentalism, intolerance and extremist violence in the country”.

It called on the government “to restore the full independence of the media, and to drop all charges against publishers and journalists who have published contents critical of the government”.

The resolution also called on the government to urgently fulfil Bangladesh’s commitments and apply the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity endorsed in 2013.

The non-binding resolution was adopted by 586 votes to 31, with 25 abstentions.

The 28-state bloc is the largest trading partner of Bangladesh where all products, except arms, enjoy duty-free market access.

The lawmakers adopted the resolution to draw the government’s attention to specific issues.

Earlier, resolutions on issues in relation to Bangladesh were adopted in Nov 2013 before the parliamentary elections and in Jan 2014 after the voting.

In September last year, another resolution was adopted on human rights violations in Bangladesh.

A non-binding resolution is a written motion adopted by a deliberative body that cannot be signed into a law.

The substance of the resolution can be anything that can normally be proposed as a motion.

The European Parliament had earlier, through resolutions, called upon Bangladesh’s political parties to engage in dialogue when the BNP boycotted last year’s parliamentary elections.

The EMPs had also urged the BNP to sever its ties with Jamaat-e-Islami following violent political situation surrounding the elections.

But both the government and the opposition did not pay heed to its call.

Thursday’s resolution comes on the heels of murder of secular writers, bloggers and publishers.

It also touched on the issues related to disappearances, Cyber Security Act and Foreign Donations Regulations Act.

It called on the Bangladesh authorities to strengthen their efforts to improve the protection provided to activists and journalists.

The European Parliament urged all political parties and their leaders to “unequivocally and unreservedly” condemn the extremist violence and to support the right to freedom of expression.

The resolution also called on authorities to ensure that independent investigations were carried out and explanations were given with respect to the disappearance of members of opposition parties over the last few years.

The MPs noted the efforts being made to arrest those involved in the murder of Avijit Roy, Washiqur Rahman Babu and Niladri Chatterjee.

The resolution welcomed the progress in the criminal investigations into the deaths of Italian national Cesare Tavella and Japanese citizen Konio Hoshi.

It urged the government to take the necessary measures to prevent further killings by taking effective measures to protect writers, publishers and other people who have received threats.

This is “not only by providing special physical protection to those who are potential targets of violence, but also by opening public debates that challenge extremist views of all kinds”.

It has urged the authorities to amend the Information and Communication Technology Act and the Cyber-Security Act of 2015 in order to make them compliant with “international free speech standards, dropping the criminalisation of ‘anti-state’ publications”.

The Euro parliament was “very concerned” at the recurring cases of ethnic and religiously motivated violence, specifically against women.

It appealed to the government and religious organisations and their leaders to embark on a process of reconciliation.

It also urged the government to try to bring to justice the perpetrators of this kind of violence and to offer sufficient protection and guarantees to minorities such as Shia Muslims, Ahmadiyya, Hindus, Buddhists and Christians, and also Biharis.

The resolution has taken note that the Foreign Donations (Voluntary Activities) Regulation Act of 2014 has in some cases subjected legitimate civil society organisations to arbitrary control by the government.

It called on the authorities to review this legislation to prevent this.