Dhaka, May 3 (bdnews24.com) – Law adviser AF Hassan Ariff Saturday stressed the reinforcement of Bangladesh Press Council in an effort to protect the rights of the media.
"The 1974 Press Council Act should be modified so that the council can discharge its responsibilities properly," the adviser said in his speech to a seminar at the National Press Club.
Bangladesh Press Council was established to preserve the freedom of the press and improve the standards of newspapers and news agencies in the country. Critics say the council has never been able to play an effective role.
The adviser said: "The media work as a mouthpiece for society that reflects people's desires and expectations. Sometimes newspapers publish confusing reports, which hurts people's democratic rights."
"Journalists should be responsible and careful enough to keep up the freedom of the press," the adviser said.
Ariff asked journalists to arrange public hearings at grassroots level. "That will help us know whether people's expectations are reflected properly," he said.
Dr Mizanur Rahman Shelly, founding chairman of the Centre for Development Research, read out the keynote paper at the seminar.
Dr Shelly also suggested the Press Council Act, made in 1974, should be reformed and modified.
A number of proposals raised in the keynote paper include recruiting the chairman and members of the Press Council through parliament, balance in service terms of the chairman and members and increasing the number of members.
It also recommended publishing interim reports alongside annual reports on the activities of the Press Council.
Dr Shelly said: "It has been three decades since the formulation of the Press Council. The law should be modified."
"The freedom of the press does not refer to indiscipline and misuse of power. The rights of the people cannot be ensured unless the freedom of the media is ensured," he said.
Press Council chairman Justice Kazi Ebadul Haque said: "The Press Council cannot fulfill the expectations of journalists and people due to legal barriers, although the organisation has been running its activities over the two decades."
"Many doubt whether the organisation is being able to play its role properly in the backdrop of socio-economical and political changes," Haque said.
He stressed the expansion of the jurisdiction of the Press Council to ensure the code of conduct for journalists.
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