EDITORIAL : THE DAILY STAR, BANGLADESH

          

 

End of bin-laden

Will it end extremism?

After nearly ten years of the destruction of the Twin Towers the alleged mastermind behind the attack and indeed behind many other terrorist attacks before and since, mostly against US interest, has been killed. Reportedly, he was taken out from his lair in the town of Abbotabad in Hazara, a border district in the erstwhile NWFP of Pakistan

It was perhaps a matter of time before the Americans caught up with and destroyed the symbol and the motive force behind the spate of religiously motivated terrorist acts in the world. And it is time that we deliberate on the implication of his life and death, both for the world, and, more importantly, the region of South Asia which has been transformed into the focus of the US led war on terrorism.

It is true that for many Muslims bin-Laden was a symbol of resistance against US hypocrisy and double standards. And some may have looked up to him as one that could stand up to the Americans. It was that anti-US sentiments that Laden had so skillfully exploited all these years and no doubt many had become ideologically, if not organically, associated with him. But it is also true that a vast majority of the Muslims did not agree with his method of work. Killing of innocents was abhorrent to the religion that Laden aspired to establish over the world, and yet very few among the vast majority that disagreed with him, picked up the courage to protest.

Physical elimination of a leader is one thing, overcoming his ideological hold, however restricted that may be, is quite another.

Though bin-Laden's methods were violent, an element of his appeal was due to Western hypocrisy in dealing with Muslim issues, especially that of Palestine.

We would like to add that with bin-Laden's death the image of Western hypocrisy will not be erased so the West should work towards eliminating that impressing by striking at the roots of injustices against them.

We in Bangladesh should do everything to eliminate all forms of extremism and religious bigotry. bin-Laden promoted a brand of religious extremism that we must totally abjure and do everything to build a democratic and tolerant society.

World Press Freedom Day

New media for freer democracies

Twenty years into the declaration of World Press Freedom Day, today, the media landscape has been greatly transformed, a change brought in largely by the internet and new media. This year's theme for the day is thus quite rightly, “21st Century Media: New Frontiers, New Barriers”. Yet, the objective of observing the day and of the spirit behind it, remain the same -- the freedom of expression and freedom of the press as a basic human right.

Without a vibrant press there can be no vibrant democracy, as we have seen in the case of Bangladesh which underwent clampdowns on the press from governments and military rulers almost since its very inception. Throughout the decades of democracy too, it has faced many threats, from governments and, increasingly, corporate pressures, to outright closures of television and news channels, newspapers and the blocking of internet sites by the state. Individual journalists have been vulnerable to threats, with several local journalists being killed in the south-western region of the country some years ago, cases in which justice is yet to be served. True, the press in Bangladesh enjoy more freedom than in many other countries in the world, but the culture of impunity of those who pose a threat to journalists and media freedom must be removed in order to ensure freer media, leading to a more transparent and effective democratic state.

The government's commitment to building a digital Bangladesh is in tune with today's global theme but ways to utilise it to its full potential -- such as by providing widespread access to the internet and promoting it and social networks as platforms for democratic discussion and civic participation, the importance of which we have witnessed in the Arab uprisings this year -- must be borne in mind.

On this day, we reiterate our hope that our media will be given maximum freedom to perform its duties -- a freedom which it in turn will exercise with responsibility. The press should be seen not as an opponent but as a partner in democracy and development.