Siddique asks critics to carefully read broadcast policy

Minister Abdul Latif Siddique has urged critics to pore over the National Broadcast Policy and the conditions for getting broadcast media licences before jumping to conclusions.

The minister for posts, telecommunications and information technology has said the policy intends to create a "conscience" and not control the media.

"What sort of freedom do you want in the broadcast sector?" Siddique asked at a media call in Dhaka on Sunday – the one for "owners and looters" or for journalists to be able to report "as per their conscience".

He said many people were criticising the policy without reading it.

"Take a look at the conditions for television licence [before criticising]," the minister said, adding that each licence was given after the applicants accepted the terms and conditions.

The senior Awami League leader stressed that a policy was not an Act.

"You (journalists) will take decisions based on your conscience. We are talking about a policy to create a sort of moral sense in you.”

He said journalists could choose either to obey or disobey a rule. "You won't be punished if you disobey a rule but you will face punishment if you ignore the law."

The Cabinet, on Aug 4, approved the broadcast policy, prohibiting television and radio from broadcasting news that may “taint the image of the country’s law keepers and the armed forces” or spread communal violence.

A gazette notification was published on Aug 8.

A section of journalists have been opposing the policy, saying it aimed at "controlling the media", but the government insists it is "for the welfare of the media".