Violence and corruption make Bangladesh one of the most dangerous places to be for anyone working in the name of freedom of action and expression, from humanitarian aid workers, political activists to the media. A report published by the New York based Committee for the protection of Journalists (CPJ), highlights the seriousness of the situation: “intimidation and assaults on reporters are common in Bangladesh, mostly in the rural districts”. “Here, journalists are threatened, beaten up, or even killed for simply doing their job”, says Ann Cooper, director of CPJ’s research group working in Bangladesh. Ann and her colleague Abi Wright, together with two Asian journalists: Iqbal Athas of Sunday Times (Sri Lanka) and Andrea Harsono of Pantau magazine (Indonesia), carried out research in the country, under the constant surveillance of Bangladeshi secret agents. 

Since 1997, 7 journalists have been killed in Bangladesh while many more have been threatened or assaulted . Harunur Rashid was the latest victim. On March 2nd of this year, he was out riding his motor-cycle as normal looking for news in the district of Khulha, when a man shot and killed him. In another case, the author and professor Humayun Azad was more fortunate, as he survived an attempt on his life when he was stabbed on February 27th 2003.  On this occasion, the attack on the intellectual sparked an outbreak of violence. On the same day that Rashid was murdered, hundreds of students organized a demonstration around the University of the capital city Dhaka, against violence and in the name of their professor Azad. The demonstration was disrupted when youth members of the Bangladesh National Party (BNP), the party in power led by prime minister Khaleda Zia, began to attack the demonstrators. According to some local journalists, the police tried to disperse the crowd beating the demonstrators and throwing tear-gas. More than 100 youths are believed to have been injured. It is possible that Azad was attacked for having written a book about Islamic fundamentalism in a country in which Muslims form 90% of the population, whilst the remaining 10% are Hindu.

Another case for which CPJ has requested an inquiry, is that of Tipu Sultan. In 2001 he was working as correspondent from the district of Feni, when he was beaten by an armed gang, probably on the orders of a local politician. Sultan is currently working on a newspaper in Dhako, while the man behind the attack, a member of the main opposition party, the Awami League, has left the country.

Impunity is one of the main problems reported both by CPJ and by the organisation Reporters Sans Frontieres ( RSF). Vincent Brossel of RSF, who has led an inquiry in Bangladesh, explains: “The situation in Bangladesh is rooted in the political violence which touches every level of society. Here you repeatedly find violence directed at journalists, politicians, civil rights activists and religious minorities. Police are incapable of leading inquires. Some criminals even enjoy political protection and judges often are corrupted.” According to the organisation Transparency International, Bangladesh is the most corrupt country in the world.

Even the journalists here are highly involved in politics. In the small State of Gulf of Bengala, a region with one of the highest demographic densities, there are two main parties: the Bangladesh National Party(BNP), conservative and with close links to Islamic fundamentalists and the Awami League (AL), which championed the fight for Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan in 1971. “The militants of both parties – says Brossel – are against the journalists who don’t support their party”.

RSF’s correspondent for Asia and the Pacific continues with his reflections: “Bangladesh was born in violence, with the war of independence in the early 1970’s. At that time the Pakistani Army, supported by radical Muslims, massacred 200.000 people in just a few weeks. The country has still not forgotten this period of its history. The conflict continues with the population divided between those who are pro-Pakistan and those who are in favour of independence from the former “Western Pakistan”, as Bangladesh was called before 1971. One journalist was arrested for having denounced an old Pakistani commander, whilst one woman was injured and subsequently lost a leg after having written an article about someone who collaborated with the Pakistani army”. Any apparent pluralism in the Bangladeshi media is purely a front: “People working in the media are subjected to such pressure that they are forced to censor their own work”, adds Brossel.

Families of persecuted journalists have lost all hope of justice. The situation seems to be worst in the districts which border India where armed gangs are particularly active and corruption of policeman and authorities is rife. The political and social disorder in Bangladesh has increased so much since 2002 that the prime minister Khaleda Zia was forced to launch a huge controversial anti-crime campaign:  the army was called in to help the security forces. 10.000 people were arrested between October and the end of December 2002, 44 of whom died as a result of torture suffered during their imprisonment. According to the opposition leader Sheika Hasina a total of 46.000 soldiers were employed in the campaign, in his words “as if martial law had been declared”. Furthermore, the Speedy Trial Act, a procedure of “fast judgement” which allows a suspect to be detained without an arrest warrant until the court has reached its verdict, is still in place.

In addition to political tension, tension between religious groups has led to several Hindu journalists receiving death threats. In August 2001, for example, a group armed with hatchets and machetes attacked a reporter because of his writings in favour of freedom of expression. A delegation of the Committee for the Protection of Journalists has met with representatives of the local press and also some government ministers. The prime minister Zia, however, refused an audience. The CPJ has left Dhaka asking for freedom to demonstrate, inquiries and trials for those who have committed crimes, an end to summary imprisonments and the re-opening of the television ETV, which was banned in 2002.