Khulna: Journalists in Khulna this afternoon formed a human chain protesting the attacks, vandalism and arson at the offices of the country’s two leading newspapers — Prothom Alo and The Daily Star– and demanding an end to harassment of media workers. The programme was held in front of the Khulna Press Club in the afternoon under the banner “Working Journalists in Khulna”.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the event was presided over by writer, journalist, and researcher Gouranga Nandi. Speakers at the event emphasized that the attacks were not targeted at any single media outlet but were a direct assault on independent journalism, freedom of expression, and the country’s democratic framework. They asserted that their stand was for truth, freedom, and democracy, not for any particular newspaper.
Addressing the programme, the speakers expressed that any attack on the media causes deep concern. They stated that the assaults on Prothom Alo and The Daily Star also attack the spirit of the great Liberation War and the Mass Uprising of ’24’. Journalists in Khulna mentioned that they had faced repression repeatedly. Despite the hope that followed the ’24 Mass Uprising’, they noted that oppressive attitudes and practices persist.
The speakers highlighted that fascism is not limited to any individual or group, and wherever such a mindset exists, journalists would continue to resist it, as they have in the past. They demanded the identification and prosecution of those involved in the attacks and called for the disclosure of those orchestrating these actions from behind the scenes.
Abdur Razzaq Rana, general secretary of the Metropolitan Journalists Union (MUJ), conducted the programme. Other speakers included Enamul Haque, convener of the Khulna Press Club, Md Rashidul Islam, president of MUJ Khulna, and journalists Kaushik Dey, Abu Hena Mostafa Jamal Poplu, Md Ershad Ali, Abul Hasan Himalay, Rakibul Islam Moti, Sheikh Al-Ehsan, Kazi Shamim Ahmed, and Ashraful Islam Noor.
Meanwhile, a general diary (GD) has been filed with Khulna Sadar Police Station in connection with an attack, vandalism, and an attempted arson at the Khulna Office of Prothom Alo. The GD was lodged on Tuesday by Prothom Alo’s Khulna correspondent Uttam Mondal.