Dhaka, Dec 21: Journalists in Bangladesh staged protests on Sunday against recent arson and vandalism at the offices of prominent media outlets Prothom Alo and The Daily Star, demanding the immediate arrest and punishment of those responsible and warning that ongoing impunity threatens both press freedom and public safety, according to local media reports.

Hundreds of journalists formed a human chain in Gazipur in protest against the attacks on the offices and the assault on journalist Nurul Kabir. Speakers demanded the arrest of the attackers and issued a 24-hour ultimatum, warning of holding tougher programmes if no action was taken within the stipulated time, Bangladesh's leading daily, The Daily Star, reported.

Journalists in Satkhira formed a human chain and demanded punishment for those responsible for the attacks on media outlets and the killing of Dumuria Sholua Press Club President Imdadul Haqueb in Khulna.

The Electronic Media Journalists Association (EMJA) in Sylhet condemned the attacks on media outlets and journalists in Bangladesh. In a statement, EMJA President Ashraful Kabir and General Secretary Sakib Ahmed Mithu condemned the vandalism at the offices of media outlets in Bangladesh, the killing of a journalist in Khulna and the harassment of journalists from 71 Television in Sylhet.

The unrest in Bangladesh broke out following the death of Sharif Osman Hadi, spokesperson of the radical group Inqilab Mancha. Following his death, media offices, cultural institutions, and diplomatic missions were targeted in Bangladesh.

These attacks targeted the offices of the country’s leading newspapers, Prothom Alo and The Daily Star; the national cultural institution Chhayanaut; the Indian Assistant High Commission offices in Chattogram and Khulna; the Indian Cultural Centre; the remaining structures of the Bangabandhu memorial museum—an important symbol of the nation’s history; various other media offices, cultural institutions, and diplomatic establishments across the country.

On December 20, Bangladesh’s Awami League party strongly condemned a series of nationwide attacks targeting media offices, cultural institutions, and diplomatic missions, describing them as a “planned terrorist attack.” The party asserted that such incidents show that the minimum characteristics of a modern, civilised state have ceased to exist in the country.

“These barbaric attacks and killings constitute a direct and extreme assault on Bangladesh’s secular ethos, the ideals of the Liberation War, pluralism, cultural heritage, and media freedom. As an independent, sovereign, and pluralistic state, Bangladesh has been turned into a safe haven for terrorists. Targeting cultural institutions and diplomatic missions of another country is a gross violation of decency and state security, and above all, a blatant breach of diplomatic norms and international law,” read a statement issued by the Awami League.

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Slamming the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government, the party said, “The entire state machinery has sunk into the filth of extremist communal frenzy, with the committee calling itself a government acting as an active patron.”

(IANS)