Govt not behind disciplinary action against journos following press meet: Cultural adviser

The government is not responsible for any action against journalists, said Cultural Adviser Mostafa Sarwar Farooki regarding the recent dismissal of reporters following questions directed toward him regarding the July Uprising.

In a Facebook post yesterday (29 April) Farooki said, "Anyone who witnessed the July uprising would be hurt by the seemingly subtle attempt to deny a mass murder.

He said, "A mother who lost her child just eight months ago, a person who was injured by a killer's bullet, a sister or brother who narrowly escaped death—those journalists' words pierced their hearts like shrapnel. We are standing just eight months away from the incident, and the killers haven't been brought to justice yet.

"So yesterday, when someone questioned whether a murderer can be called a murderer, the public saw it as an attempt to completely erase July from the narrative."

"Though I was shocked by their words at the press conference, I tried to respond with patience," said the adviser.

However, regarding the action taken against the journalists he said, "We have no direct or indirect involvement in their dismissal. If anyone has doubts, they can contact those channels and find out the truth. It's better not to jump to conclusions."

Following the press meet, people expressed their outrage, said Farooki, adding that the next evening he learned the channels had dismissed those journalists from their jobs.

"Every channel has its own editorial policy. What decisions they make based on that policy is entirely up to them," he added.

"Even so, I've seen some people online trying to say that their dismissal was caused by the questions they asked me. That's absurd. The issue is not me—it's July and the policies of the concerned organisations. They seem unable to grasp that."

Allegations have surfaced that two journalists from separate television media outlets have been dismissed from their jobs yesterday (29 April) owing to questions posed to the cultural adviser at a press conference.

In connection with the same incident, another television channel has suspended a journalist from their duties and launched an investigation.

One of the television channels involved is ATN Bangla. A senior official of the channel told BBC Bangla that they felt embarrassed by the nature of their reporter's question at Monday's (28 April) press conference with the Adviser on Cultural Affairs Mostafa Sarwar Farooki.

ATN Bangla's Chief Executive Editor, Moniur Rahman, told BBC Bangla that their channel received threats of being besieged because of the question asked during the press conference. As a result, the reporter in question has been dismissed from their job.

Similarly, a journalist from Deepto TV has also been suspended for the same reason.

In addition, Deepto TV's Head of News, SM Akash, stated that the channel's news broadcast has been suspended indefinitely from Monday.