Concert cancellations may involve security concerns, not government policy: minister

Information Minister Andaleeve Rahman has ruled out any government reluctance to back cultural events, insisting that security concerns, not policy, lie behind recent concert cancellations. 

He brushed aside talk of a deliberate clampdown on the arts.

At a government progress conference at the Secretariat on Tuesday, the minister said security concerns or other factors could lead to concert cancellations.

“Not necessarily,” he said when asked about recent cancellations. “A cancelled concert doesn’t mean the government hasn’t cooperated. Maybe there was a security issue or other factors. 

“We’ll find out after speaking to the relevant ministry.”

He went on to stress that Bangladesh continued to host plenty of concerts, including several large-scale ones, and that any restrictions in specific cases stemmed from security apprehensions rather than a policy stance. 

"We don't hold any mindset against cultural activity, any intent to obstruct or disrupt it. We simply don't share that kind of thinking," he said.