New offensives to counter dissent
Copy Edited by Adam Rizvi: A little over hundred days ago, on Aug 5, 2018, press freedom in Bangladesh had taken a tumultuous plunge. The state offensive to crush dissent witnessed a recent tragedy, when a renowned photojournalist Shahidul Alam, was taken into custody. This action is symbolic of a paradigm change in the government’s attitude towards tolerance of free expression. Perhaps, the loyalists of Prime Minister Hasina Wajed had overreacted to deliver a wrong message of contempt, to the working journalists of Bangladesh.
Hostility towards privilege of expression is fast spreading globally, from dictatorship to democracy……drawing the nod, or a quiet consent from many global leaders. Sporadic incidents have included assaults on journalists that range from verbal taunts to incarceration to murder. A shocked global media had gasped heavily as it witnessed one of the worst ‘mishaps’ in Bangladesh.
Law Enforcement officials in the capital, have taken the liberty, to interfere with and compromise the enshrined values of human dignity and freedom, after independence. Something, that has been cherished by this nation, in the aftermath of a bloody War of Liberation. A scholar, teacher, journalist, photographer and the country’s friendly face, Shahidul Alam was hurriedly placed behind bars, for an alleged crime of writing ‘provocative comments’, on the Facebook.
Street demonstrations are an acceptable feature of life and politics in the country. In August of 2018, public protests had initially surfaced to draw attention to road safety, in the wake of a road accident in the capital. Later, this anger was fueled by issues of corruption and the city administration’s ‘gagging’ of the print and electronic media. Out of sheer panic, Government crackdown in Dhaka had (senselessly) deployed the use of tear gas and rubber bullets on the protesters. The government also implemented the notorious section 57 of ICT Act, against the popular ‘Shahidul’ Bhai.
This unfortunate action prompted journalists around the world, to voice loud grievances. Over time, they have continued to carry on the work and mission of their incarcerated colleagues, who are spread around our world. A silver lining to this tragic event had been: all those who had attacked journalists, ultimately discovered…….that the fraternity of the fourth pillar of the state, (the Press), cannot be silenced. Time-tested, routine and vicious methods of political control cannot be chiseled into effective deterrents, or weapons of assault anymore.
Shahidul Bhai’s contributions to photography has been phenomenal. He founded Drik, the country’s first picture library, followed by a global agency that promoted the work of photographers from Asia, Africa, and Latin America. He had trained hundreds of photographers from South Asian countries. A fact that is little known is that he is also a visiting Professor at the University of Sunderland. Shahidul Alam is the personification of human grace, in whose defense, lies the defense of journalists and immunity of expression in Bangladesh.
Taking into consideration, his history of activism, now pitted against the discomfort of the rulers and the Awami League, something that remains to be seen, is the extent of its full impact…..measured, in terms voter confidence or the country’s human rights record. Shahidul Alam who is reportedly self-effacing and even funny is also genuinely devoted to the pursuit truth. Unfortunately so, the influential elite of the country had preferred to remain silent of this tragedy, even during Dhaka’s recent Literary Festival.
Tracing back to the turbulent days of the War of Liberation in 1971, War photographs that moved our conscience, were the ones mostly taken by the illustrious western photographers. Shahidul Bhai proved every bit that a skilled Bangladeshi photographer, could do the same, or perform even better, to rouse human emotions. Provided of course, the camera clicks are executed at the right moment of time.
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Throughout his career as a photojournalist, he has remained in total control of his camera. His shutters have decided how a story needs to be told in the media. A catchphrase invented by him is the ‘Majority World’, that grasps the global reality of human population. Where every color other than white always depicts the ‘majority’. He is by far, a photographer in action, at strange places a witness to many global events, and also a great storyteller, with an attentive audience. He has transmitted to us, deep messages via his pictures.
When he unfolds his stories through his ‘clicks’, he blows up the nuances and throws light on the subject that is reflected back to the masses, spread across this small world. Shahidul Bhai has remained faithful to his beliefs as well as his politics. He is honest about his stories, which relate to human values including humility, pride, fascination, dreams, prejudices, monolithic monuments, and buildings. He is the master craftsman, the weaver, the Imagineer and the sweet storyteller!
The optics of his arrest continue to haunt us. He was dragged by two dozen policemen in plain clothes, then roughly taken into formal custody. Reportedly, the contingent of law enforcement had forced their way into his apartment, in the morning and culpably, destroyed evidence contained in the building’s surveillance cameras.
Shahidul Alam’s work over the decades has captured some of the most important political and ecological questions in Bangladesh, as well as the region around it. Western media bloggers remember waking up to the tragedy of the Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar (former Burma), and seeing an exhibition of Alam Bhai’s photographs in New York. Indeed his pictures captured the realities of experience and expression. Four years ago, he was awarded one of the highest honors for the artists, in his own country.
In his themes, the iconic Shahidul Alam has narrated the story of official corruption in his country, the ongoing, bad political governance, suppression of dissent, disappearances and the extrajudicial killings that prevailed under the watch of a towering Prime Minister Hasina Wajed. Unfortunately, the government action against the photojournalist was executed in haste and led to his imprisonment for nearly three months. This fact has simply proved his point.
A recent Op-Ed article in the New York Times has highlighted that the Prime Minister of Bangladesh does not want to lose time. General elections may be announced any moment now. The government is certainly stepping further to continue with her tirade against those people who oppose the government in power. In the social media, he has reportedly been the target of character smears. The rumor mills have moved full speed in an effort to defame or tarnish images of political opponents, including Shahidul Alam.
The despised Mills continue to churn out unclean stories. Sometimes, a journalist or photographer who has won laurels is the object of ridicule, when he is painted as a ‘habitual pedophile’. The Human Rights Watch has actively monitored the ongoing events in Dhaka and also the major cities of Bangladesh. Given the state of hostilities that exist, I apprehend that If the current government is elected to power, our friend Shahidul Alam may well face a long sentence in prison. It is easy to declare someone like a state enemy in Bangladesh.
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While most of us bear a grudge against journalists for a lack of trust, many of us are still under the illusion that we have a free and independent press in Bangladesh. The truth is that we really don’t. Let us look around, and analyze:
Whoever owns the newspaper or the TV Channel, enjoys the exclusive privilege of shaping the stories that are covered in media, and also how these are to be projected. Since we, in Bangladesh still have an ill-constructed structure of ownership, therefore, have a long way to go in this direction!
There has always existed in our domain, a lack of true editorial independence. Which is perhaps self-explanatory, when we discuss Dhaka’s Prime newspapers. The owners of the media units, as in all countries of South Asia, can and do interfere with what is published in their publications. And, of course, we cannot deny the leverage that is held by a few ‘bosses’, to hire or fire editors. Or, to which political party the paper or media channel must extend its support.
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As long as this business continues, we will keep winning or losing great journalists. Or, a great photojournalist like Shahidul Alam, who is blessed with the gift of conviction. Indeed he is passionate about the professional work he undertakes and has faith in his ability to convey timeless ideas. No one, absolutely no one can tell what heights the journalists are capable of achieving in today’s world.
For now, the stories are not much different in the ways freedom of expression is managed in Dhaka, Delhi, and Islamabad!
