International   

CPJ plea to Khaleda

NEW YORK MARCH 21. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has expressed deep concern over the safety of Shawkat Milton, a reporter for the Bangladesh national daily, Janakantha, who went into hiding on March 14 after learning that police were about to arrest him. The journalist had been covering campaign abuses committed by officials in the run-up to the local elections in Barisal, a city in southern Bangladesh.

The CPJ wrote to the Bangladesh Prime Minister, Begum Khaleda Zia, about the treatment meted out to Mr. Milton and requested her to ensure that Government officials and party activists did not interfere with the right of journalists to work freely.

In the weeks before the elections, the Government ordered the army into Barisal following clashes between armed supporters of rival political candidates. Some candidates also reportedly gave money in exchange for votes. Mr. Milton, a Barisal-based correspondent and outspoken press freedom activist, had been targeted several times for his political reporting. Last year, activists associated with the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party filed a series of criminal complaints accusing him of offences ranging from criminal defamation to possession of explosives. Local journalists say that these complaints are part of a harassment campaign by officials angered by his reporting. Mr. Milton has also been physically assaulted.

In September last, Mr. Milton was seriously injured by BNP activists who assaulted him and other journalists during a meeting protesting the Government's closure of the private Ekushey Television. When the journalists attempted to file a case against their assailants, they discovered that police had already filed two false cases against them in response to complaints lodged by BNP activists.

Fearing arrest or further physical reprisals, Mr. Milton went into hiding for several months. He resumed reporting in Barisal in late November 2002.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

International

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• 3,000 sites in Iraq identified for bomb attack
• U.S. seizes crucial airfields
• Blair admits `deep divisions'
• Allies seek to capture southern oil fields
• Russia warns of global instability
• Arab regimes worried over reaction
• Iraq casts shadow over E.U. summit
• Ricin found at Paris railway station
• Ending infiltration into J&K is our key goal: Rocca
• China renews appeal
• CPJ plea to Khaleda
• Thousands take to the streets in Dhaka
• CPJ seeks clearance for documentary on Gujarat riots
• Chinese trawler attacked off Mullaithivu
• `Water vital for rural development'
• Learn from us, LTTE tells U.S., Iraq
• MMA's anti-war protest call evokes `modest' response

Copyright © 2003, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu