While the nationwide Quota Reform Movement is progressively calming down amid uncertainty though, it is none other than our journos and reporters to have come under unrelenting violent attacks, thus turning into helpless victims.
According to Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ), at least 3 journalists were killed in violence involving the Quota Reform Movement this month. Over 150 journalists suffered major to minor injuries mostly in attacks by law enforcers, BCL activists and miscreants during the continuing student movement. Moreover, hundreds of journos have been harassed by police and army members while covering live events in different parts of the country.
However, responding to such unprecedented violent attacks - DUJ, Dhaka Reporters Unity, Law Reporters' Forum and the Editors' Council expressed grave concern over marked vulnerable state of journalists in the country. They have also held a rally in front of the Jatiya Press Club on last Saturday protesting alleged BNP-Jamaat and Shibir led killings, violence and arson during the quota movement.
As a part of the journalists' community we harshly condemn all violent attacks and harassments inflicted on reporters and journalists during the movement. At the same time, we urge the government's judicial committee to include the issue of killing and atrocities done to journalists during the quota movement resulting in countrywide mayhem.
The point, however, our journos are repeatedly being targeted in every major movement and events in recent times. Their professional engagements are frequently interrupted and restricted by political hooligans to law enforcement agency members.
This we take as a dangerous threat poised at freedom of speech and journalism as a profession in today's Bangladesh.
Nevertheless, it is not only seemingly unstoppable violent physical attacks that have perilously overwhelmed our media men and women - now days they are also being pin pointedly targeted with cyber attacks across the country.
Covering major topics such as student movement, government corruption, and crime are often making our journalists vulnerable to aggressive attacks - both online and offline.
Lest we forget, media houses command a significant soft power to retain and spread their influence by advocating their agenda, gathering public opinion and shaping it. They also maintain huge amounts of raw reporting and information acquired from primary and secondary sources.
Thus, it is essential to protect their security in the cyber space.
Deluge of physical and digital attacks on journalists and media houses have alarmingly shot up in the country.
Apart from ensuring physical security while covering risky major events, we call on our cyber security experts to get regularly engaged with media houses to ensure cyber security for all reporters, journalists and media workers.
Last but not least, we are drawing urgent attention of International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), otherwise the largest global union federation of journalists' trade unions in the world.
IFJ must take stock of extreme vulnerable state of Bangladeshi journalists today and take whatever actions required deemed for their safeguarding.
