Shaheed Zia brought media to open sky from dark lane: Swapon

Information and Broadcasting Minister Zahir Uddin Swapon on Sunday said Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman had freed media removing all barriers to it.

He said if Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman had not been born, the question would remain in history whether the media would have been able to be brought out of the dark alley into the open sky, in which the country’s media had entered in 1975 through the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution and the black law of June 16 to abolish newspapers.

“The media of Bangladesh should remember Shaheed Ziaur Rahman with respect for ages, because he worked as the main patron of independent media,” he said.

The information minister made the remarks while speaking as a special speaker at a discussion titled ‘Mass Media and Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman’ organised at Jatiya Press Club here marking the martyrdom anniversary of Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman.

BNP Secretary General and Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir addressed the meeting as the chief guest with Jatiya Press Club President Hasan Hafiz in the chair.

Jatiya Press Club General Secretary Ayub Bhuiyan moderated it.

Recalling the historic leadership of Shaheed Zia, Swapon said on March 25, 1971, at 2 am, a 36-year-old Bangali major declared independence against an established military power without any instructions or provocation.