12 nations' statement won't hurt Bangladesh's image: Shahriar Alam
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam said the image of Bangladesh will not be hurt by the joint statement of 12 countries, including the United States, regarding several incidents of harassment of journalists, including a staff correspondent of the daily Prothom Alo.
"I want to say clearly that this [statement] will not even put a scratch on our reputation," he said in response to a journalist's question after an event on Thursday.
"Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will take the country forward with her strong leadership. Comments, statements, and interference have never stood in the way [of development], nor will they in the future," he added.
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The Media Freedom Coalition (MFC) in Bangladesh has expressed concerns about the recent reports of violence against and intimidation of journalists in Bangladesh.
"We, the undersigned members of the Media Freedom Coalition (MFC) in Bangladesh, are concerned about recent reports of violence against and intimidation of journalists, including violence directed at reporters covering the Supreme Court elections, an assault on the brother of a London-based journalist for Al Jazeera, the attack on a Dhaka Tribune photojournalist, and the recent reported detention of a Prothom Alo journalist," reads a press release issued on Thursday.
"We urge the authorities to investigate each of these instances promptly and impartially."
The press release was signed by MFC members – the US, Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
Shahriar Alam said, "There are laws in these countries where people can be jailed for seven years if they stand in front of a car to block its path. People are taking to the streets to change this law in those countries. Everybody has a challenge when it comes to running a state.
"For example, we used to get a fax at the foreign ministry before every execution. And after sending it, they used to tell us, 'It's our compulsion, so we have to send it. We understand your ground reality, though'."
He said, "So, this is our ground reality."
