You defeated fascism, now strengthen democracy and freedom of the press

We are proud to open today our photo exhibition entitled 36 DAYS OF JULY – SALUTE BRAVE HEARTS to pay special tribute to the students and people who freed us from the shackles of fascism. We salute Abu Sayed, Mugdoh and all the others who gave their lives to end oppression. We express our solidarity with all those who have been blinded, visually impaired, wounded by bullets, physically disabled and mentally traumatized, as well as all those who have lost their family, friends and loved ones.

The exhibit, which runs at The Daily Star Center until December 7, shows how The Daily Star covered the student-people revolution, the editorial positions we held, and the articles and photos we published. The exhibition will show how our reporters, and especially photographers, risked their lives to tell our readers and the world stories of sacrifice, courage and valor of our students and freedom-loving people. We are proud to say that throughout the movement we have devoted all of our energy and talent to authentically reporting the brutality experienced by ordinary people.

The exhibition will show how sincerely, devotedly and professionally we talked about the events of “36 days of July”. Every day we delved deeper into the stories, found out how cruel and heartless the regime had become, and exposed its brutality.

Our students, with the support of the people, defeated fascism. They opened new doors for people to freedom, democracy, rights and opportunities. They have opened our eyes, our hearts and minds to new realities and potential. New Bangladesh is committed to truth and courage, as well as freedom of speech and media independence. We hope and believe that the new generation will successfully build democracy, create a society based on rights, where there will be no more discrimination, injustice and abuse of power. It may seem too idealistic, but together we undertake to strive for it.

All layers of society are united in efforts to realize this goal. But unfortunately, in the new reality, there are groups that are trying to destroy what the student mass uprisings have achieved. We echo the concerns of the government, student leaders and political parties about the disruptions, chaos and divisions being created. These groups try to impose their will on others and move to extreme positions to create fault lines and thereby weaken the spirit of rebellion. By spreading hatred and false narratives, they are trying to incite violence, and in doing so they are creating a force that is the exact opposite of what the student-people revolution needs now. These groups cloud the future prospects of the new Bangladesh.

In our view, the recent attacks and intimidation against The Daily Star and Prothom Alo are part of this destabilizing process. His blatantly false narrative, ideological focus, extremist tendencies, assertions without evidence and intent to demonize two of the most respected newspapers in the country can only harm the unity and enthusiasm created by the student revolution and further hinder our march forward.

In the new Bangladesh, let us speak our minds, discuss our different views and express our respective philosophical, ideological and fact-based personal views so that we can create a more knowledge-based society. This is what we at The Daily Star have worked for and this is what our journalism is all about.

At this very moment, we are getting some criticism for falsely claiming that this is our partisanship. We welcome them and are eager to listen and learn from them. We must remember that criticism based on facts, sound analysis and sound interpretation serves both the betterment of journalism and the enlightenment of the nation. We are open and eager to learn from our shortcomings to better serve our readers. Any other kind misleads the public, misinforms the audience, creates division in society and leads to hatred and violence.

To pick a story here or an editorial there and focus on just a few lines out of context does not serve the purpose of constructive criticism or knowledge-generating debate.

Word is spreading that we have been working to support Sheikh Hasina’s rule. This is what The Daily Star and its editor-publisher have suffered over the past 15 years.

The editor of this newspaper voluntarily stated in a television program in 2016 that during the 11/11 shift in 2007, this newspaper published several stories provided by the DGFI without independently verifying them. We published 11, while almost all other newspapers printed much more, one even went as high as 29.

Comments made in good faith were used to defame the newspaper and its editor-publisher. Minutes after the program aired, Sajib Wazed Joy, son of the former prime minister, posted a status on Facebook – similar to what is being done now – saying: “The publication of fake news by Mahfuz Anam, editor of The Daily Star led to the arrest of my mother, and she had to spend 11 months in prison. I want justice, I want Mahfuz Anam to be arrested and tried for sedition.”

This led to legal prosecutions and further crackdowns by Sheikh Hasina’s government. Sixteen cases of sedition were brought against the editor, each of which was punishable by life imprisonment or the death penalty. Sixty-eight defamation cases have also been filed, claiming damages of over several thousand crores. The role played by some TV channels and the talk shows they ran were more like a tribute to Goebbels from Nazi Germany than any exercise in honest journalism.

Advertising was banned from 50 major international and national advertisers, resulting in a 40 percent drop in revenue. Others followed their example without reporting it, lest they be perceived as helping a newspaper that Sheikh Hasina despised. We were saved by small advertisers who called us and said, “I know my business won’t increase by advertising in your paper, but I’m doing it to keep The Daily Star alive because the country needs an independent newspaper.”

We were also banned from covering events and press conferences of the ex-prime minister. The PMO and AL offices were closed to us.

The former prime minister herself repeatedly disparaged the editor in parliament, at AL meetings and at press conferences as “an enemy of the Awami League, Bangladesh, democracy.”

Along with Nobel Laureate Prof. Muhammad Yunus, the current chief adviser, the former prime minister falsely accused the editor many times of lobbying the US State Department and the World Bank President to suspend the World Bank loan for the construction of the Padma Bridge. During and after the inauguration of the bridge, Sheikh Hasina revived her old allegations and again demonized the newspaper and its editor.

In 2016, many Awami League ministers and leaders publicly ‘walked out’ of The Daily Star’s 25th anniversary program as Professor Yunus was present as the chief guest. They accused the newspaper and its editor of trying to “resurrect” the “enemy of Bangladesh” and of trying to “launch” the Nobel laureate back into the public sphere.

The slander continued until the last day of the previous regime because we never gave up our watchdog role and tried to hold the authorities accountable. It should be noted here that journalism in a free environment and “under fascism” are fundamentally different and must be evaluated differently. Living in constant fear of arrest, threats, accusations, legal harassment, imprisonment, or enforced disappearance has imposed a certain self-censorship on us that journalists in a free environment cannot even imagine, inadvertently softening coverage. We did not succumb to all this, but had to navigate extremely carefully, which created its own burden.

Legal, physical and financial “punishment” notwithstanding, this is what The Daily Star stood for during the 15 years of Sheikh Hasina’s rule.

We have always supported democracy and free and fair elections. We strongly opposed the abolition of the caretaker government system and wrote editorials and post-editorials criticizing the move. On July 2, 2011, after the abolition of the caretaker government system, we wrote – perhaps the only newspaper to do so – an editorial entitled “It’s a mistake”. We opposed the 15th Amendment and the various provisions included in it. When the BNP decided to boycott the 2014 elections, we urged the government to postpone the elections to allow greater dialogue for the participation of the BNP and the Jamaat.

We sharply criticized the 2014 elections, stating in the editorial that it was “all for an empty victory” and that the elections, which give 153 unopposed deputies from the 300-member chamber, cannot but be a sham. We again criticized the ruling party for not leveling the playing field in 2018. The 2024 elections were completely one-sided and cannot be perceived as a manifestation of public will. We questioned the role of the Election Commission in all three elections. We have never given any element of credibility to this controversial and clearly questionable election.

We have always condemned death in custody, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and all forms of torture. Our editorial staff and editors have always opposed such actions. We demanded judicial investigations and criticized the impunity enjoyed by Rab and the “deaths” associated with his activities.

The Daily Star wrote relentlessly against all repressive laws. When the Digital Security Act was passed, our newsrooms strongly condemned it. Every time a journalist or citizen was arrested, we always protested. This newspaper was actively involved in the organization of Sampadak Parishad protests and carried out constant campaigns for freedom of the press.

During the 15 years of Sheikh Hasina’s repressive rule, The Daily Star has been the target of misinformation, false accusations, intimidation and partisan talk that tried to mislead the public with false narratives.

We have suffered from all of the above because we have never compromised on ethical and objective journalism. We held power before power and acted as a watchdog despite the intimidation.

After 15 years of defamation, harassment and intimidation, The Daily Star is under pressure again. This time we are being labeled as those favoring Hasina’s government and this statement does not have an iota of substance. We are confident that this false narrative, like the previous ones, will also be destroyed by the truth, and this newspaper will enjoy the trust and respect of its readers and patrons.

We plan to work with students, people and political parties who are committed to freedom of the press, freedom of speech and a society free from discrimination. This is the Sonar Bangla dreamed of by all the martyrs of our Liberation War and 2024 uprising. In Salute to Brave Hearts, we wish to pledge The Daily Star’s steadfast support for democracy, greater freedom, social justice, social harmony, rights and justice for all communities and to make it a country based on the rule of law, not the state. person or family.