Canadian University of Bangladesh protests report, bdnews24.com responds

The Canadian University of Bangladesh has sent its statement on a report run by bdnews24.com on irregularities in the allotment of a plot at Purbachal in Dhaka to the institution.

The private university’s Acting Vice-Chancellor Nazrul Islam claimed the report is “imaginary, baseless, and intentional” in the statement.

bdnews24.com, however, has failed to get the points raised in the statement despite carefully going over it. It beats the news publisher why the university is calling the report “imaginary, baseless, and intentional”.  

The bilingual internet newspaper carried the report “Canadian University gets Rajuk’s Purbachal plot ‘in breach of rules” and “পূর্বাচলে ‘নিয়ম ভেঙে’ কানাডিয়ান ইউনিভার্সিটিকে প্লট” in Bangla on June 10.

In the beginning of the statement, the university says: “There has been a bid to belittle Dr Chowdhury Nafeez Sarafat, the founding chairman of the Canadian University of Bangladesh, in the report irrelevantly.”

It questions the use of Sarafat’s photo twice in the report and says: “The photos of the university and chairman have been presented very negatively in the report which is tantamount to libel.”

It is relevant that the name of Sarafat will appear in the report because he is chairman of the very institution that received the plot through irregularities alleged by the housing and public works ministry.

bdnews24.com published the report considering public interests; it did not intend to belittle any individual, nor did it try to protect someone’s goodwill. It simply revealed the truth.

Chowdhury Nafeez Sarafat.

Before releasing the report, bdnews24.com had spoken to Sarafat following the norms of journalism. Given the importance and for the presentation of the news report, photos of Sarafat were used twice along with two images of the plot.

The photos of Sarafat were published without any modification and one of the Bangla captions read: “Canadian University of Bangladesh Trustee Board Chairman Chowdhury Nafeez Sarafat is also chairman of the Padma Bank (formerly Farmers Bank)” while the other read: “Chowdhury Nafeez Sarafat claims everything has been done transparently”. The English version of the story used this caption in one of the photos: “Chowdhury Nafeez Sarafat is the chairman of the university’s board of trustees” while his other one bears only his name.

It is not clear which of the captions presented Sarafat “very negatively”. The university did not specify how the very mentioning of his name, comment, and key post in a bank “defamed” him.   

The statement says: “The names of renowned teacher and honorary adviser involved in the university’s academic activities were mentioned in the report intentionally which is totally unacceptable.”

bdnews24.com has not mentioned in the report anyone involved in the academic activities of the university, not even the VC or acting VC. The names of the Chief Adviser to the university’s Trustee Board Mohammad A Arafat and Honorary Adviser Atiur Rahman came in the report, which is not based on its academic activities directly, as they hold important positions in the running of the institution.

A view of the 171-Katha Purbachal plot allotted to the Canadian University.

The statement describes how the university was allotted the plot and said: “Rajuk, the authorised agency of the government, completed the process of allotting the plot in compliance with all the laws and guidelines.”

Sarafat made the same claim and his comments were published in the report. It has also been mentioned that the ministry, under which Rajuk operates, had questioned the allotment of the plot and was not happy with the agency’s answer.

The bdnews24.com report named all the Rajuk officials, including a former chairman, who were involved in the process leading to the allotment of the plot.

Acting VC Nazrul remarks in the statement that the allegation that the allotment of the plot by changing its category was incorrect.

“The fact is, it can never constitute a change of category if a land for secondary school is given to a university because both are educational institutions,” he says in the statement, which later says the university will not bear responsibilities for any change of rules by Rajuk.

Canadian University

According to Rajuk documents, Sarafat applied for changing the category of the plot No 60 at Sector 9 of Purbachal on Dec 4 last year.

On Dec 26, Rajuk board of directors approved a proposal to change the plot’s category from ‘secondary school’ to ‘college/university’.

Rajuk presented the same argument – both secondary school and university are educational institutions – in its reply to a letter of the housing and public works ministry that had asked for the agency’s explanation about change of the category of the plot.

Housing and Public Works Secretary Md Shahid Ullah Khandaker told bdnews24.com that the ministry was not satisfied with Rajuk’s reply.

The High Court in a verdict instructed Rajuk not to modify the category of Purbachal plots mentioned in the masterplan, except for a proposed 142-storey tower. The ministry said in its letter to Rajuk that the modification of the plot allotted to the university was made after the court had delivered the verdict.

Nazrul, the acting VC, has demanded in the statement that the “imaginary, baseless and intentional” report on the allotment of the plot be withdrawn and the university’s statement is published with “due importance”.

A bdnews24.com spokesman said: “The news is based on all essential information and evidence. It has been published following the norms of journalism with the comments of the Canadian University authorities, Rajuk and the ministry. So, withdrawing the report is out of the question.” 

The university, in its statement, has also threatened bdnews24.com with “legal steps” if the story is not retracted. 

To which, a spokesman for Bangladesh’s first internet newspaper and the largest news publisher said: “In line with the rules of journalism, it is a matter of public interest when the Supreme Court of the country and the highest relevant level of the executive raise objection to something.

“And we consider the manner in which the threat has been made on behalf of the Canadian University for publishing the piece of news that serves public interest a clear threat to the freedom of mass media.”