Index on Censorship weekly round-up
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Friday, 26 July 2024
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The government has deployed riot police who fired tear gas and charged with batons during
student protests that have turned violent. Illustration: Sharahdraws
In the air above Natun Bazaar in Dhaka last Friday, a helicopter swept over protesters. Not to monitor or to film, but to shoot at them. This is according to on-the-ground BBC reporters ([link removed]) , who described the area as resembling a war zone. There is some dispute as to whether the helicopters just fired tear gas, sound grenades and rubber bullets ([link removed]) or whether live rounds were also used.
The freedom of expression implications of the recent violent situation in Bangladesh are numerous, and in some cases pretty obvious. For starters, many young people have been killed for taking part in street protests. Students who set out to raise their voices against a policy from the governing Awami League are facing police and military violence. They have now been put under curfew and police given shoot-on-sight orders ([link removed]) . Emergency rooms are overwhelmed as more and more people have been swept up in the violence with around 200 people reported killed and thousands more injured. Two of the people who died were journalists, Hasan Mehedi from the Dhaka Times and ATM Turab from the newspaper Dainik Naya Diganta.
All the while, another popular weapon in every authoritarian’s arsenal has come into play: the classic internet blackout. A lot can happen when communications networks are closed down and Bangladesh has seen some particularly horrifying examples. The service has now been partially restored, but for five days people were left in the dark. We know from past experience that an internet and mobile shutdown means there’s no way to check loved ones are safe, no way to look at maps to get to safety and no way to call an ambulance. Journalists are unable to report on what is happening and misinformation is given the space to run wild. The excuse for internet shutdowns is always that they “quell violence”, but they make everyone’s lives more dangerous and mean the state can act without oversight or accountability
What is quite incredible is the narrative being set by the Awami League. A side note here: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been in power for four consecutive terms, and the latest election came with a side order of arrests of opposition figures. Bangladesh is also one of the most corrupt countries in the world and getting worse according to Transparency International ([link removed]) .
Anyway, head to the Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) website, the national news agency of Bangladesh (read: propaganda outlet for the government) and the current story has a very different angle. In an article yesterday ([link removed]) , Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina referred to the “anarchists who went on rampage for multiple days” and said she is “seeking justice from the masses”. Just two hours later, another article arrived ([link removed]) — a government minster declared that “Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina would take responsibilities for the families of the people killed in recent nationwide mayhem”. He blamed the “arson terrorism” on the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, the county’s largest Islamist party.
Amid the sparse reports on the violence, there are few photos of the clashes. The Awami League gives a performance of compassion for dead students ([link removed]) , while blaming their deaths on the BNP and Jamaat and not on government action
The leading English language newspaper in Bangladesh, The Daily Star, which is non-partisan, republished chunks ([link removed]) from one of the BSS articles, with no additional context or comment, and then, perhaps bravely, published an opinion piece ([link removed]) calling the excessive use of force against protesters “unconscionable” – published with a delay due to the internet shutdown. Another opinion article describes the protesters as rioters ([link removed]) . Leading independent newspaper Prothom Alo has been covering the violence too, including comments from UN Secretary General spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric ([link removed]) that people must be allowed to “protest peacefully,
regardless of where they are protesting, without fear of arrest, injury or worse”.
There is independent media in Bangladesh. Just don’t look at the TV news channels, because you won’t find it there. But there are several problems. First, according to sources we’ve spoken with, a huge number of people are compromised, with connections either to the Awami League or the BNP. Secondly, journalists who criticise the ruling party put themselves in very real danger. They risk coming under fire from the Cyber Security Act ([link removed]) , facing years in prison for publishing what’s deemed anti-Bangladesh propaganda. And they risk violent attacks from both Awami League supporters and religious fundamentalists. That cannot be a good recipe for media freedom. Third, ordinary people are afraid to speak out.
To that end, finding brave, independent journalists free from political influence is no mean feat. So, if you are in fact a young Bangladeshi journalist, blogger or videographer that is committed to fair reporting, we’d be pleased to make your acquaintance. Please get in touch.
Katie Dancey-Downs, assistant editor
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** Kenya: Young reporters and NGOs targeted as part of clampdown on Gen Z protests
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Kenya has been racked by protests since the introduction of new economic measures in June. Photo: Capital FM Kenya
Budget proposals that would have resulted in the prices of basic essentials such as eggs, cooking oil, bread and nappies going up in Kenya have spawned countrywide weeks-long demonstrations led by the country’s Generation Z mobilising on social media. The protests have left more than 50 people dead, writes Clemence Manyukwe ([link removed]) .
** Ukraine | A chronicle of censorship
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Soviet prisoners of war covering a mass grave after the Babi Yar massacre on 1 October 1941.
Photo: Johannes Hähle (1906–1944)
Oleg Chorny’s small-budget feature documentary From Babi Yar to Freedom tells the story of the massacre through the lens of Soviet defector and writer Anatoly Kuznetsov, who first revealed the full scale of the atrocity to the world when he escaped to the UK in 1969. The film was completed in 2017, five years before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Yet, in an irony that would not be lost on the dissidents of the 1960s, no one can see it because of a rights dispute over the central archive interview in the film owned by the giant US TV corporation CBS, writes Martin Bright ([link removed]) .
** Iran: The ongoing judicial persecution of Toomaj Salehi
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Toomaj Salehi's track Normal, like many of his others, talks about freedom and injustice in Iran
Doughty Street Chambers, Index on Censorship and Human Rights Foundation have jointly submitted a complaint to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) regarding the ongoing detention and mistreatment of Iranian rapper, Toomaj Salehi. The complaint was submitted on behalf of Salehi’s family. Read the details of the complaint here ([link removed]) .
** Belarus | Join us on 5 August for an evening of art, activism and film
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Following a highly disputed election, Belarusian dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka claimed victory in August 2020. Protests erupted and a vicious crackdown ensued. Four years on from the election, there are more than 1400 political prisoners in Belarus. Join Index on Censorship on Monday 5 August at St John's Waterloo for an evening of art, activism and film exploring the true stories of political dissidents behind bars. Book a free ticket here ([link removed]) .
** From the Index archives
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** Seeds of resistance
by He Qinglian
May 2008
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The 2024 Olympic Games start in Paris this week, not with celebration of sporting prowess but with news of arson attacks on the country's rail network. The high-profile nature of the Olympics means they have always been seen as a target for terrorists and protesters. In 2008, at the time of the Beijing Olympics, He Qinglian wrote about the CCP's vain hopes that the Games would pass off quietly ([link removed]) .
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Index on Censorship defends people's freedom to express themselves without fear of harm or persecution. We publish censored writers and artists, monitor and campaign against censorship, and encourage debate.
We rely on donations from readers and supporters. By donating ([link removed]) to Index you help us to protect freedom of expression and to support those who are denied that right.
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