State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mohammad Ali Arafat called on Deutsche Welle (DW) (Germany’s state-owned international broadcaster) to demonstrate its commitment to human rights and media freedom by producing and airing documentaries on the genocide in Gaza.
The State Minister made this call while speaking as the chief guest at the workshop on ‘Information Rights of Backward, Marginalized and Underprivileged Citizens’ at the conference room of Information Commission Bangladesh at Agargaon in the capital on Tuesday, May 28th.
Information Commission Bangladesh, US Aid, The Carter Center jointly organized this workshop.
Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting said that in the recent past, Deutsche Welle had done a report on human rights, in which Bangladesh was compared with Sri Lanka, a country that faced a civil war a few decades ago. I will not criticize it. I appreciate any organization’s commitment to human rights. All I would ask is that if Deutsche Welle has such a commitment to human rights, they show it. They should make another documentary about the violation of human rights and genocide in Gaza. Through it, let them prove their commitment to human rights and at the same time let them prove how much freedom they have in their media. And if they can’t do that, we’ll assume the Deutsche Welle documentary was an intentional documentary. A special circle has done this as part of an anti-Bangladesh conspiracy. Who do not really talk about the life problems of our marginalized people and their development? This documentary is part of the attempt to downplay Bangladesh in front of the world.
He also said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s commitment to the people of this country is unbelievable. As we move forward under the strong leadership of Bangabandhu’s daughter, as we try to change our position on the world stage, we notice a kind of international and domestic conspiracy.
The State Minister also said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has arranged shelter for the poor people of Bangladesh, especially for the landless people. Arranged their human rights. The Bangladesh of the dream of liberation war, there will be equal rights for every human being regardless of religion, caste and gender. It is guaranteed in the constitution; it is legally guaranteed, now it is guaranteed politically. Socially we want to see its implementation everywhere. That is why the Right to Information Act was enacted.
The Prime Minister has also included the people of the Bede community in the Asrayan scheme, provided them with voting rights, added the State Minister.
Arafat also said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government is working with the highest priority to preserve the human rights of the most neglected people, the landless, preserve their right to vote and preserve their freedom of expression through voting. But these issues do not come up in political forums. The protection of human rights of backward communities was once neglected, they were always deprived. Bangabandhu’s daughter solved these issues.
He also added that the Right to Information Act was passed in 2009 under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. This Act proves the commitment of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government to transparency, accountability, good governance and democracy. There are two sides to this law. One party is the one who will give the information, the other party is the one who will receive the information. The Information Commission is constantly working to explain the Right to Information Act to both parties. One thing that those working at various levels of government must understand is that the people own the information. This law has confirmed the right of the public to seek information. If the media wants information from the public, that information should be given. Those who will give information need to create this sense of place. At the same time those who take the information often do not use this information properly. Exercising rights using the Right to Information Act often leads to the exercise of rights.
Referring to information as power, the state minister also said that information has two aspects. Information is powerful if it is correct. If it’s not right, it can be disastrous. Many of us do not think or talk about the social misinformation that endangers the common people of our country. Not just political disinformation, but disinformation as a whole wreaks havoc. And correct information empowers people. This is why we need to work to prevent misinformation while ensuring accurate information is available.
He said that the right to information is a human right. We want to ensure this in the Bangladesh society after the liberation war. Because the more accountable and transparent this society is, the more we will move forward. Without transparency and accountability, smart society is impossible, sustainable development is impossible. Sustainable development and smart society will be created by moving forward together by including all people keeping the environment in mind. This is the dream of the liberation war; this is the dream of Bangabandhu. We have to move forward by bringing all the people of the country into inclusive development. Otherwise, our development will not be sustainable.
The state minister added that in the last fifteen years, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has proved to move forward inclusively with everyone in the society. By reducing economic disparity, we are moving towards an inclusive development, so we can move towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Chief Information Commissioner Dr. Abdul Malek presided over the workshop as special guests, while Member of Parliament Aroma Dutta; Office Director of US Aid Alena Tanse; Information Commissioner Shahidul Alam Jhinuk and Information Commissioner Masuda Bhatti; Information Commission Secretary Zubaida Nasreen were also present. Sumana Sultana Mahmuda, Chief of Party of The Carter Center delivered her welcome address. Zobaida Nasreen, professor of Anthropology Department of Dhaka University, presented the topic in the workshop.
Later, the Minister of State inaugurated the Information Commission’s Right to Information Newsletter.
