Tuesday, June 25, 2024
Year : 2, Issue: 25
US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller yesterday said his country objects to any efforts to harass or intimidate journalists to prevent them from conducting their important work.
At a department press briefing in Washington Miller was answering a question over the Bangladesh Police Service Association’s (BPSA’s) “threatening” statement on recent news about the police force.
“We strongly support the role of a free and independent media in maintaining effective democratic institutions and promoting government transparency. We object to any efforts to harass or intimidate journalists to prevent them from conducting their important work,” Miller said in reply.
The BPSA sent letters to all media editors, expressing concern, which have been reported by various media outlets.
In the letters, sent on Friday, the BPSA urged journalists to be more cautious and follow the principles of journalism properly while publishing any report about the police force in the future.
The association described the recent media reports, mainly on graft allegations against some former and current officials, as a “smear campaign” by the media. It claimed the reports being run by print, electronic, and social media outlets are “partial, motivated, exaggerated, and misleading”.
Source: The Daily Star
