Journalists have called a 24-hour strike in all media outlets on March 11 to press for their three-point demands. The demands include holding trials of the killers of all journalists including Sagar-Runi, ensuring safety of the journalists and ensuring freedom of the news media.
The strike will start at 6am on March 11 and end at 6am the next day. All media houses including newspapers, news agencies, televisions, radios and on-line media across the country will remain closed during the strike.
The strike call was declared by Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, president of a faction of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists, at a grand rally of the journalists held in front of the National Press Club.
The journalists will also hold a protest rally in front of the National Press Club at 11am on March 11.
The united platform of the journalists’ organisations, factions of Dhaka Union of Journalists and Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists, National Press Club and Dhaka Reporters’ Unity organised the grand rally marking the first anniversary of the death of journalists Sagar Sarwar and Meherun Runi who were brutally killed on the day at their Razabazar apartment.
Iqbal, who chaired the grand rally, extended support to the youths who gathered at Shahbagh demanding capital punishments of the war criminals but called on the youths to refrain from imposing any ban on any media.
Ruhul Amin Gazi, president of another BFUJ faction, said the journalists are facing repression across the country, but the government did not take steps to stop it.
Shawkat Mahmud, the secretary general of a BFUJ faction, called on the government to arrest the killers of Sagar and Runi and said the journalist community would never accept any arranged drama in the name of trial.
Abdul Jalil Bhuiyan, secretary general of a faction of BFUJ said that they would announce tough movement to realise their demands.
He called on the media house owners to ensure trade union rights of the journalists and stop repression on them.
Riazuddin Ahmed, editor of the News Today and former Press Club president, said the demand for trial of killers of Sagar and Runi now became a national issue.
Press Club president Kamal Uddin Sabuj, general secretary Syed Abdal Ahmed, chief news editor of Maasranga Television Rezanul Haque Raza, DUJ faction presidents Omar Faroque, Abdus Shahid, general secretaries Shaban Mahmud and Mohammad Baker Hossain, DRU president Shahed Chowdhury and general secretary Illius Khan, Nari Sangbadik Kendra leader Nasim Ara Minu also spoke at the rally.
Leaders of different media organisations from across the country took part in the rally.
Courtesy of New Age
