Shawdesh Desk:

Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud today praised the initiative of obeying the law by the country’s distributors and operators of foreign TV channels, saying the government didn’t shut down any channel and the country’s air remains open.

“At first, we didn’t shut down any channel and also didn’t tell anyone to stop. Bangladesh’s space remains open. Any channel can broadcast here by abiding by the country’s law,” he told newsmen at his office at the Secretariat here.

The minister said the act of broadcasting ad-free foreign TV channels exists in almost all countries across the globe including India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Europe and the United States. And the foreign TV channels are broadcasting by maintaining the existing laws in those countries, he said.

“But the act was not maintained over the years here,” said, Hasan, also Awami League joint general secretary.

He said, “We’ve told the authorities concerned to implement the act before two years ago, requested them for several times and served notice too. And the decision was taken to execute the act from October 1 in the last meeting on August with all stakeholders. We did this. No channel was shut down.”

The minister said some persons had requested to relax the act till digitalization. “India has not become digitalised fully. But the act has been effective there. So, there is no reason to make such excuses without heeding the law in our country,” he added.

He said the cable operators shutdown some foreign channels as they didn’t get clean feed from the concerned foreign TV channels.

“But we didn’t ask them to shut down any channel. Time was given in advance so that they would ask the concerned channels to send clean feed and they could be prepared. They got time for two years. I started discussions with them two years ago. At last, we took the decision after discussing with all stakeholders,” he added.

Hasan said there were some allegations that the operators are not broadcasting about 24 foreign channels including BBC, CNN, NHK, France 24 and Russia Today which come here through clean feed. It is the violation of cable operator’s license and if anyone violates the conditions, he will be charged for the crime, he added.

The minister said the foreign channels have agents in the country and the responsibility of clean feed rests on the concerned channels and their agents. But some cable operators downlink those channels from satellite through piracy and
bypassing the agents and it is illegal to downlink without permission, he added.

Replying to comment over movement, the minister said it is illogical to talk about such movement.

He hoped that no one would involve with such anti-state activities. The government would not bow to any pressure and the government is determined to implement the country’s act, he added.

He said if they want to discuss then it could be done. But the base of the discussion is to obey the law and protect the country’s interest, he added.
Hasan said the concerned different forums including Broadcasting Journalists Forum, Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists, Dhaka Union of Journalists and the artistes congratulated the decision. “We took the decision for the interest of the country, its people, media industry, journalists and other performers who are related with the media.