And in the case of today’s Bangladesh, as elsewhere in the world, a free press projecting the wrong-doings of a small segment of the authorities is only promoting the very cause of sound democracy. But we have to always remember what Thomas Jefferson had to say: “No government ought to be without censors; and where the press is free no one ever will.”While government always boasts of providing an environment congenial to free press – somehow that enabling environment is missing in action. In the state’s pursuit of cyber offenders, it happened many a time in the past that innocent people were made victims of cases filed under Section 57. These trends fly in the face of the spirit of the free press helping democracy thrive. Such an environment will only help relief thieves to thrive as the free press is cowed.

Source: Dhaka Tribune May 06, 2020 18:11 UTC