HASINA STOPS SHORT OF FULL AUTONOMY FOR RADIO AND TV

HASINA STOPS SHORT OF FULL AUTONOMY FOR RADIO AND TV

In a pre-election bid to fulfil a 1996 election promise, Shiekh Hasina`s cabinet approves laws that redefine government control of radio and television rather than seek to eliminate it. Bangladesh is holding a general election later this year.

The Bangladesh government stopped short of approval for "full" autonomy of state owned radio and television. The present prime minister and Awami League chief Shiekh Hasina, had made an election pledge in 1996 to defranchise the state electronic media. But this year a cabinet meeting on 7 May, presided over by the Prime Minister, decided to decentralise "Bangladesh Betar" and "Bangladesh Television", which are increasingly facing stiff competition with three other 24 hours TV channels in Bangla.

The proposed Bangladesh Television Authority Act, 2001 and Bangladesh Television Authority Act, 2001 mark a substantial departure from the recommendations of the
Radio-TV Autonomy Commission which the government had instituted in this behalf. The
two draft laws actually redefine government control on the state-run electronic media rather
than seeking its complete elimination. Observing this, the Daily Star News published from
Dhaka commented that "Coming as it does at the fag end of the incumbent administration`s
five-year tenure and, needless to say, in the election year, the move appears more inclined to woo votes in the upcoming general election than anything else."

Some members of the Commission regretted that these proposed laws not only came at the fag end of the government `s tenure but also marked a significant departure from the commission`s recommendations. According to the draft bills, the government, and not the President, reserves the right to recruit the chairmen and other members to the separate bodies being envisaged to run the affairs of the two electronic media and also to
terminate their services whenever it deems right. In this way the government can employ its
loyalists to the regulatory bodies, thereby exercising indirect control over the two media. There is also a provision which calls for airing of news and other programmes in line with a policy to be formulated by none other than the government. The draft laws, which will now be sent to the Ministry of Law for vetting, will be tabled in the coming budget session of Parliament destined to be the last sitting during the tenure of this government.

After it came to power in 1966 the government agreed to a private TV channel, Ekushey Television (ETV) which began broadcast through both terrestrial and satellite from
February last year. The government also issued license to operate "Metrowave" in
FM, which also owns ETV, with this the private FM radio stood at three. The private television channel was given permission to air news in Bangla, but was refused permission to allow news and commentary in English. Instead it was asked to simultaneously broadcast English news from the state-run BTV. Last month the broadcast of the footage of the mutilated corpses of Indian border guards who died in the border skirmish between India and Bangladesh troops, has irked the Prime Minister and the footage was withdrawn from ETV news broadcast.

Since independence, successive governments have made commitments to give autonomy to the state media. But none fulfilled their commitments and all of them have used the national hookup as propaganda machinery. In 1990 the mainstream opposition including Awami League, Bangladesh Nationalists Party and other left, democratic parties agreed on principle to several issues, including decontrol of state controlled media. Then the government formed by Khaleda