Culture of impunity

The culture of impunity against violence on journalists is making this profession increasingly riskier

Three men: an editor, a photographer, and a journalist are covering a political convention in Chittagong. They decide to stroll up and down the Patenga beach during their lunch hour.

Halfway up the beach, they stumbled upon a lamp. As they rub the lamp a genie appears and says "Normally I would grant you three wishes, but since there are three of you, I will grant you each one wish."
The photographer went first. "I would like to spend the rest of my life living in a huge house in Paris with no money worries." The genie granted him his wish and sent him on off to France.
Thomas, the journalist went next. "I would like to spend the rest of my life living on a huge yacht cruising the Mediterranean with financial worries." The genie granted him his wish and sent him off to the Mediterranean.
Last, but not least, it was the editor's turn. "And what would your wish be?" asked the genie.
"I want them both back after lunch," replied the editor, "the deadline for tomorrow's newspaper is in a few hours."
This joke tells us how serious our bosses in the newsroom are about deadlines. While taking a safety training for journalists in London, organised by Reuters Founda­tion, the first lesson we learnt was, “Safety first; because a dead journalist doesn’t meet the deadline.” In Bangladesh harsh reality is, a dead journalist never meets deadline and never gets justice. 
If we look back into 57 months, February 12, 2012, journalist couple Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Nahar Runi was murdered in their bedroom. The various investigation agencies are still groping in the dark over the murder of four and half years on. Besides this much-talked about murder, most of the cases of journalist being murdered or violence against journalists in Bangladesh remain unsolved and the culprits remain untouched and free. 
The culture of impunity against violence on journalists is making this profession increasingly riskier. A dozen people assaulted reporter Shakil Hasan and cameraperson Shahin Alam of Jamuna TV, a private 24/7 news TV channel, last week as they were reporting on illegal polythene factories. The gang, including owners of two polythene factories, also tried to set fire on the reporter with kerosene. Unfortunately we have tons of such examples. 
Committee to Protect Journalist (CPJ), a New York based organization, analysed murders of journalists that took place between 1 September, 2006 and 31 August, 2016. Only those nations with five or more unsolved cases for this period are included on the index — a threshold that 13 countries met this year, compared with 14 last year. In rank order (with the numbers of unsolved murders in brackets) they are: 1. Somalia (24); 2. Iraq (71); 3. Syria (17); 4. Philippines (41); 5. South Sudan (5); 6. Mexico (21); 7. Afghanistan (5); 8. Pakistan (21); 9. Brazil (15); 10. Russia (9); 11. Bangladesh (7); 12. Nigeria (5); 13. India (13).
The United Nations General Assembly, however, adopted 2 November as the ‘International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists’ (IDEI). The Resolution urged Member States to implement definite measures countering the present culture of impunity. The date was chosen in commemoration of the assassination of two French journalists in Mali on 2 November 2013.
This landmark resolution condem­ns all attacks and violence against journalists and media workers. It also urges Member States to do their utmost to prevent violence against journalists and media workers, to ensure accountability, bring to justice perpetrators of crimes against journalists and media workers, and ensure that victims have access to appropriate remedies. It further calls upon States to promote a safe and enabling environment for journalists to perform their work independently and without undue interference.
On November 17, the 39 Member States of UNESCO’s Intergovern­mental Council of the International Programme for Development of Communication (IPDC) will receive/received (if published after November 17, Thursday) the biennial report of the UNESCO Director-General on the Safety of Journalists and the Danger of Impunity. 
Despite all these initiatives taken by the UN body, together non-action for attacks, delays in investigation are reaching chronic levels and the absence of convictions contributes to the continued culture of impunity in Bangladesh that is tragically becoming a harsh reality for journalists.
 A culture of getting away without any legal consequence has only served to embolden state actors, even those outside the remit of law enforcement, such as leaders and violent activists of the political parties.
Our appeal to the government is that it will pay attention to this sector to ensure a secure and comfortable working environment for the journalists. 

The writer is the Senior News Editor of Independent TV

 

Culture of impunity

The culture of impunity against violence on journalists is making this profession increasingly riskier

Three men: an editor, a photographer, and a journalist are covering a political convention in Chittagong. They decide to stroll up and down the Patenga beach during their lunch hour. Halfway up the beach, they stumbled upon a lamp. As they rub the lamp a genie appears and says Normally I would grant you three wishes, but since there are three of you, I will grant you each onewish. The photographer went first. I would like to spend the rest of my life living in a huge house in Paris with no money worries. The genie granted him his wish and sent him on off to France. Thomas, the journalist went next. I would like to spend the rest of my life living on a huge yacht cruising the Mediterranean with financial worries. The genie granted him his wish and sent him off to the Mediterranean. Last, but not least, it was the editors turn. And what would your wish be? asked the genie. I want them both back after lunch, replied the editor, the deadline for tomorrows newspaper is in a few hours. This joke tells us how serious our bosses in the newsroom are about deadlines. While taking a safety training for journalists in London, organised by Reuters Foundation, the first lesson we learnt was, Safety first; because a dead journalist doesnt meet the deadline. In Bangladesh harsh reality is, a dead journalist never meets deadline and never gets justice. If we look back into 57 months, February 12, 2012, journalist couple Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Nahar Runi was murdered in their bedroom. The various investigation agencies are still groping in the dark over the murder of four and half years on. Besides this much-talked about murder, most of the cases of journalist being murdered or violence against journalists in Bangladesh remain unsolved and the culprits remain untouched and free. The culture of impunity against violence on journalists is making this profession increasingly riskier. A dozen people assaulted reporter Shakil Hasan and cameraperson Shahin Alam of Jamuna TV, a private 24/7 news TV channel, last week as they were reporting on illegal polythene factories. The gang, including owners of two polythene factories, also tried to set fire on the reporter with kerosene. Unfortunately we have tons of such examples. Committee to Protect Journalist (CPJ), a New York based organization, analysed murders of journalists that took place between 1 September, 2006 and 31 August, 2016. Only those nations with five or more unsolved cases for this period are included on the index a threshold that 13 countries met this year, compared with 14 last year. In rank order (with the numbers of unsolved murders in brackets) they are: 1. Somalia (24); 2. Iraq (71); 3. Syria (17); 4. Philippines (41); 5. South Sudan (5); 6. Mexico (21); 7. Afghanistan (5); 8. Pakistan (21); 9. Brazil (15); 10. Russia (9); 11. Bangladesh (7); 12. Nigeria (5); 13. India (13). The United Nations General Assembly, however, adopted 2 November as the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists (IDEI). The Resolution urged Member States to implement definite measures countering the present culture of impunity. The date was chosen in commemoration of the assassination of two French journalists in Mali on 2 November 2013. This landmark resolution condemns all attacks and violence against journalists and media workers. It also urges Member States to do their utmost to prevent violence against journalists and media workers, to ensure accountability, bring to justice perpetrators of crimes against journalists and media workers, and ensure that victims have access to appropriate remedies. It further calls upon States to promote a safe and enabling environment for journalists to perform their work independently and without undue interference. On November 17, the 39 Member States of UNESCOs Intergovernmental Council of the International Programme for Development of Communication (IPDC) will receive/received (if published after November 17, Thursday) the biennial report of the UNESCO Director-General on the Safety of Journalists and the Danger of Impunity. Despite all these initiatives taken by the UN body, together non-action for attacks, delays in investigation are reaching chronic levels and the absence of convictions contributes to the continued culture of impunity in Bangladesh that is tragically becoming a harsh reality for journalists. A culture of getting away without any legal consequence has only served to embolden state actors, even those outside the remit of law enforcement, such as leaders and violent activists of the political parties. Our appeal to the government is that it will pay attention to this sector to ensure a secure and comfortable working environment for the journalists. The writer is the Senior News Editor ofIndependent TV