Two major media outlets in Bangladesh have said in their statements that despite the closure of the newspaper after the journalists were locked in their offices and set on fire, faith in independent journalism has been strengthened.
We use Google Cloud Translation Services. Google requires we provide the following disclaimer relating to use of this service:
This service may contain translations powered by Google. Google disclaims all warranties related to the translations, expressed or implied, including any warranties of accuracy, reliability, and any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and noninfringement.
Bangladesh's two major national dailies, the Daily Prothom Alo and the Daily Star, were forced to shut down their publication and online services on Friday after protesters set fire to their offices. The Prothom Alo was unable to publish its regular issue on Friday for the first time in its 27-year history after the media outlet's office in Dhaka's Karban Bazaar was attacked on Thursday night.
In a statement issued ‘on behalf of the readers’, Prothom Alo stated that the print edition could not be published due to extensive vandalism and arson at the office and that the online portal was also blocked for some time. The newspaper has pledged to restore the damaged technical system soon and resume regular publication from Saturday. In addition, after the incident, the newspaper strongly condemned it as a direct attack on press freedom, democracy and freedom of expression.
‘The Daily Star office was also subjected to terrorist attacks, vandalism and arson along with us. There is sufficient reason to believe that these attacks were carried out in a planned manner by various interest groups using the pretext of the assassination of Sharif Osman Hadi,’ Prothom Alo said in a statement. ‘This was a dark day for independent journalism.’ These incidents were not only aimed at disrupting the upcoming elections but also at tarnishing Bangladesh's image on the international stage.'
Protesters gathered around the offices of these media outlets at around 11 pm on Thursday and set them on fire around midnight. Speaking to Kantipur on Friday evening, a journalist from The Daily Star said that 28 journalists and staff, including himself, were trapped in the office for about four hours and were later rescued by fire brigade and army and returned home safely. He said that it was difficult to breathe after the fire as the smoke filled the building. 'I can't even remember that moment. Suddenly, a large crowd started vandalizing and setting fire to the office,' he said. 'We went to the roof of the eight-storey building to save our lives.'
The Daily Star's Friday edition was closed after the arson and vandalism. The Daily Star journalist who contacted Kantipur informed that the publication will resume from Saturday. ‘There is no way to go to the office, everyone is working remotely.’ Despite such a shocking incident, we are resuming publication from Saturday,’ he said.
According to local media, protests broke out after the murder of 32-year-old young leader Hadi and hundreds of protesters also attacked the media offices. Photos show that a large part of both buildings were burned down due to arson.
After the incident, the interim government of Bangladesh has condemned the attack on journalists as an ‘attack on truth and democracy’. The BBC also stated that it has committed to taking action against the guilty. Prime Minister Mohammad Yunus has met with the editors of both newspapers. The media sector has evaluated this incident as a black day for independent journalism in the context of the general elections to be held in February.
‘They can burn our office but they cannot burn our passion,’ The Daily Star wrote, ‘We would like to assure all our readers, supporters and critics that we will continue to move forward, demanding accountability without any pressure, with a firm belief in democracy and freedom of expression.’
