The New York Times vs. the facts on the ground

BY hoot desk| IN Media Practice | 22/12/2003

The Hoot Desk

On December 14  the New York Times wrote an eloquent editorial in defence of  Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, a Muslim editor and commentator in Bangladesh. Chowdhury had, been arrested on 29 November as he was about to leave for Israel to take part in a symposium. He had been just appointed to head the Dhaka branch of an Israeli peace organization. He was accused of spying for Israel’s Mossad on the basis of the text of a speech he was to have given on the role of the media in the dialogue between Muslims and Jews. Raising an alarm about his case, Reporters Sans Frontieres said he could be charged with sedition for which the sentence could be death. 

The NYT editorial was titled "The Risks of Journalism in Bangladesh" and said that Choudhury "Had a rare virtue—he champions dialogue and decency in a culture hemmed in by extremism and corruption."  It also observed that  Mr. Choudhury`s mistreatment was not occurring in a vacuum and that  Muslim extremism was growing in Bangladesh with  violence against journalists who stand up to the ruling party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, increasing. Noting that Bangladesh may now be among the world`s most dangerous countries for journalists, the newspaper said, "That makes Mr. Choudhury`s courageous stand for Muslim-Jewish dialogue all the more admirable — and vital to defend."  

For a rather different take on Mr Choudhury and his problems one has to see a feature put out by the Yahoo service of One World.Net. The story originated from Dhaka and was written by the One World correspondent there who is also the chief reporter of the Daily Star. It said, " Given his past background, Choudhury`s new avatar as a pro-peace and pro-Israeli journalist has left the media stunned. For up until last year, he was working as a special correspondent for an Islamic fundamentalist daily called Inquilab, owned by pro-Iraq lobbyist Maolana Mannan.  His writings were reportedly replete with fundamentalism. Later appointed managing director of its television wing -- Inquilab Television (ITV) -- Choudhury was dismissed on charges of graft and involvement in sex scandals." 

It went on to say, "While the journalist`s arrest has not evoked any protest from the local media, which long suspected his dubious credentials, international media organization, Reporters sans Frontieres (RSF) has registered a protest in a letter to Bangladesh foreign minister M Morshed Khan. The letter states that, "While the international community is debating a new peace plan for the Middle East, the government of Bangladesh decides to arrest a journalist who advocates a peaceful solution to the conflict." 

It also gave Choudhury’s version of events "For his part, though, Choudhury protested his innocence in court Sunday, alleging that, ‘Inquilab editor AMM Bahauddin has framed me because of a financial dispute.’ He elaborates, ‘I am a 30 percent share-holder of the ITV. Earlier, Bahauddin sold out my share for US

 $ 1 million without my consent. When I demanded my share back, he influenced the police to arrest me.’ But few are prepared to buy his argument.  Ironically, the Inquilab has also dissociated itself from him, labelling him an Israeli agent who took them for a ride." 

The Hoot ran these contradictions by a veteran journalist and respected press freedom activist in Bangladesh who said that the police case of his being an Israeli spy was probably cooked up. An agent would not travel to a country of origin which has been announced in the peace organization’s website and copied in several listserves and discussion groups manned by Bangladeshi-Americans.

 However, he said, it was also true that there was no protest from media professional’s bodies in Bangladesh. Even the statements of RSF, CPJ, IFJ, WAN respect of this case were not reproduced in the Bangladesh press. However only couple of days earlier all the major dailies had published protest statements of RSF and CPJ on attacks and police harassments on journalists of Jhalakati in Southern Bangladesh.  

This journalist confirmed the One World story with regard to Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury’s record of fundamentalist writings, as a special correspondent of the pro-Saddam Dainik Inqilab, and described his articles against secular personalities in Bangaldesh as "spitting venom." . It is ironic that RSF is fighting his current battle for him, because Choudhury did not hesitate to write a libellous five column article in an  Islamic daily  when the RSF representative in Bangladesh Saleem Samad was arrested last year, after his release, alleging that Samad had confessed to be involved in treason.  So perhaps the NYT’s description of Mr Chowdhury as a victim of Muslim extremism is a bit rich.   

As for his integrity, he confirmed that Choudhury had been tried in a court as an  accused for fraud and embezzlement of money for setting up a satellite TV station,  and had served three months in prison. Thus it was extremely unlikely that he would apply for a license for being a publisher or an editor, and his claims of being the editor of BLITZ are probably false. This weekly tabloid Blitz is apparently being published clandestinely. He applied for a license, but was kept pending for investigation by the Special Branch of police intelligence. This weekly was never found at the news stands, nor did it pursue an independent editorial policy. 

In other words there are several question marks about Choudhury and his alleged Israeli connection. It is most curious to find a journalist being accused of being an Israeli agent and an Islamic fundamentalist at the same time.  The view from Bangladesh is that he has done more to merit the latter label than the former. The view from the lofty pinnacle of the New York Times is that he is a courageous journalist seeking to promote peace and understanding among the Arabs and Israel is disputed by the  media of his home country.  

At present the Bangladesh Government has no diplomatic links with Israel. And its stand on the Arab-Israeli conflict was recently enunciated by the Bangladesh Foreign Minister M Morshed Khan, "The continued illegal occupation of Palestinian land, trampling of human rights, and atrocities perpetrated against the Palestinians by Israel must end immediately. There should be a comprehensive solution to the problem that addresses the legitimate concerns of the Palestinian people."   

The NYT’s advocacy of this journalist’s cause is marred somewhat by his questionable past record. Reporters Sans Frontieres maintains that the intimidation, harassment and torture inflicted upon Salah Uddin Shoiab Choudhury will be protested, no matter which ideology and mindset he subscribes to, which is fair enough. But to editorially hail a journalist convicted of fraud and embezzlement, and known to pen fundamentalist attacks upon secular individuals in his country in questionable publications, suggests that the research done by one of the world’s leading dailies was somewhat inadequate.