An organization called Press Five, which works with journalists from five upazilas of the northern Mofussil, has condemned the attack on Prothom Alo, Daily Star, and editor Nurul Kabir. They have also expressed concern about the journalists of the Mofussil. And they have demanded that the media work as they want.
On Saturday (December 20), the committee held discussions with the organization's advisor BSS and News24's Rangpur Bureau Chief Rezaul Karim Manik. After that, the convening committee held urgent discussions on these issues with senior journalist Altafur Rahman, the convener of Press Five.
A statement signed by the organization's joint convener Faruk Alam was released on this matter. The statement was given in full:
Prothom Alo and Daily Star were attacked. The two offices suffered extensive damage in the infernal attack. The journalists in the office took refuge on the roof, unable to find a way out. When several organizations were working to free them from there, they were blocked. In such a situation, the well-respected and renowned editor Nurul Kabir appeared there. He went there out of his sense of responsibility. This visit was always an inspiration for journalists who are "in danger". But he was also harassed.
Apart from everything, when journalists of Prothom Alo and Daily Star formed a human chain in front of their buildings, incidents like blocking still occur. We do not know the right words to condemn such heinous acts.
We want to say in a voiceless voice that a journalist feels the same pain as any living being on earth, starting from humans.
We do not publish what we see. We publish only what is publishable. This is not our crime, but rather professional ethics. This ethics is connected to the responsibility of the country and the people.
Attacks on journalists and the media community hurt us. We only want to do our job. For that, we are very worried about the journalists working in the "village". The state should take measures to quickly remove this fear.
We believe that an independent media is one of the main pillars of freedom. Otherwise, the state becomes ineffective. We demand that the media be allowed to work as it needs to.
