For more than three decades, the Bengali-language daily Dainik Dinkal has been a vital source of news and information for supporters of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). However, the only newspaper of the main opposition party has recently been forced to halt printing after a government suspension order was upheld by a watchdog. This has raised serious concerns about media freedom in the South Asian nation.
The Dainik Dinkal covers stories that are rarely reported by mainstream newspapers, which are mostly controlled by pro-government businessmen. These include frequent arrests of BNP members and what the party claims are thousands of false cases against its supporters. On December 26, the Dhaka district authorities issued an order to shut down the publication, which was later upheld by the Press Council.
Managing editor Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas said that Tarique Rahman, the acting chief of BNP and publisher of the newspaper, had submitted his resignation and appointed a new publisher, but the authorities had not accepted the changes. He believes that this shutdown is part of a government crackdown on dissenting voices and freedom of speech.
The government has not commented on the closure, but two Dhaka-based journalist unions have released a joint statement condemning it as a “reflection of the repression of opposition voices”. In response, journalists and campaigners have staged small street protests.
Foreign governments, including the United States, have long expressed worries about Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s efforts to silence criticism and what they see as creeping authoritarianism. Last month, her government ordered the closure of 191 websites it accuses of publishing “anti-state news”, citing intelligence reports. The Digital Security Act, under which hundreds of people have been arrested since 2018, has caused particular alarm.
The 2022 World Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders ranked Bangladesh at 162, lower than Russia (155) and Afghanistan (156). This latest shutdown of Dainik Dinkal has only added to the concerns about media freedom in Bangladesh.