Staff Reporter

A discussion meeting and dialogue titled “Role and Protection of Journalists’ rights in Democracy” was held at the Masumpur branch office of NDP in Sirajganj town on Thursday (June 11) afternoon.

NDP (National Development Programme) and the Manabadhikar Shongskriti Foundation (MSF) jointly organized the programme under its “Defending Human Rights through Network Strengthening (DHRNS)” project.

The programme was chaired by NDP’s Executive Director Md. Alauddin Khan, while MSF Chief Executive Advocate Saidur Rahman spoke as the main discussant.

The event was moderated by Kazi Masduzzaman, Deputy Director of the NDP. ‎​

The speakers at the meeting highlighted various challenges of field-level journalists and said that, practicing journalism is not easy at all in the current context. Especially local-level journalists are facing multiple complications including limitations in accessing information, security risks as well as professional pressure. These challenges are not only making the work of journalists difficult, but are also weakening the overall democratic process.

The main discussant at the event, Advocate Saidur Rahman, said, “The main foundation of democracy is transparency, accountability and the rule of law. And the role of journalists in ensuring these three things is immense. When journalists highlight a human rights violation, they do not just publish a news story, but also pave the way for justice in society and the state. Journalists at the field level are the true voice of the people.”

Alauddin Khan said, “It is possible to build a strong and responsible journalist network only through dialogue, exchange of experiences and mutual cooperation.”

He called on everyone to work together to protect the professional safety and realize the rights of journalists.

25 journalists from local media, human rights activists and representatives of civil society were also participated at the event.

In the open discussion, journalists highlighted their practical experience, limitations and security crisis in gathering news at the field level.

The speakers expressed hope that the professional skills and networking of local journalists will be further strengthened through this project of NDP and MSF.

Project Coordinator, MSF Nazneen Shabnam, District Human Rights Monitoring Officer and NDP Deputy Manager Shipon Chandra Nag, and Programme Officer Suresh Chandra Pal have fully supported the program to make it a success.

After detailed discussions at the programme, the 31-member Human Journalist Network, Sirajganj, was formed with the President of Sirajganj Press Club and Editor of The Daily Amar Sirajganj Harun-or-Rashid Khan Hasan as convener and Editor of The Weekly Ganjer Banijyo Hirok Goon as member secretary.