It is this smear
campaign – not the substance of the film itself – that I am commenting on in
this article. I have been subject to vicious lies and
defamation, without it should be said being provided a single right of reply.
Not a single one of all these newspapers, online sites and TV stations, which
are repeatedly criticising me and making false allegations, have ever contacted me
before publication, a very basic tenant of journalism.
It should be noted
that this kind of government backed campaign seeking to smear individuals is
far-far from unique. There is a very long list of people in Bangladesh accused
falsely of various things in the media – from Md Yunus in 2011 to Shahidul Alam
in 2018 – because the government, for one reason or the other, wants to
discredit them. Many of them are not just defamed but are subject to false criminal cases. Whilst this government strategy is nothing new – what is perhaps different right now is the extent of the concerted campaign on television,
newspaper and social media – suggesting that the stakes are higher for the government.
The film itself was
made by Al Jazeera. Whilst I played a role in the film, I was
not involved in the filming, editing or production. This is important to
mention as there are some who suggesting in Bangladesh media that the film is my
creation – and indeed, even more absurdly, that I have even paid for Al Jazeera
to make the film. This is totally untrue.
Other claims against me
are also totally false – in particular claims that I have any financial or political connection with opposition parties or politicians, or indeed that I support
these parties. It is a common trope in Bangladesh for the government to allege
that those they consider its critics to be “Jamaat supporters”, “against the
liberation war”, and are “haters of Awami League” – all of which have been
levelled against me – and it goes without saying that all these claims are
false and have no foundation.
Some of these
articles claims that I have been involved in certain meetings taking place with well known opposition politicians, when supposedly various
things were agreed. These claims sometimes include a surprising level of
detail, which make them appear convincing. However, they are all complete
fabrications. Total fiction. If you read such allegations, ask for the evidence
– as there is none.
More recently it is
suggested that I am a director of a well known Bangladesh company. For the avoidance
of any doubt I can confirm I am not a director, officer or owner of any
company, anywhere in the world.
Other articles also
suggest that my family members are somehow involved in the making of the film.
None of my family members had any knowledge about the content of the film which was kept
confidential until its release.
At the centre of this
is a total misunderstanding – almost certainly a very intentional and
deliberate misunderstanding – about the nature of journalism and journalists,
and in particular of investigative journalism. It is assumed by the Bangladesh
government that journalists that investigate or undertake investigations or
assist others in their investigations of Bangladesh have ulterior partisan
motives, are doing their work with malicious or vindictive intent and are part
of some kind of wider conspiracy seeking to bring down or do damage to a
political party of government.
Along with many
journalists in Bangladesh, who are also trying to do the kind of work, all that
I am doing – though my work at Netra News and in other parts of my journalistic
life – is to uncover wrong-doing, corruption, human rights violations and the
like. It does not matter to me which government in Bangladesh is in power. if
they were in government, I would have equally been involved in a similar film
on the BNP or the Jamaat, and my own writing would be focused on the
wrong-doing in those governments.
It is important to
note that the Awami League has been in government since the end of 2008 – a
period of over 11 years. I only returned to journalism in 2009 – when the Awami League
government was in power – so was not in a position to write about any other Bangladesh
government. However, prior to that, I was involved in making in 1994 the path breaking Channel Four, The WarCrimes Files, which accused three UK based former members of the
Jamaat-e-Islami of involvement in war crimes during the 1971 war. Then, of course, as the film served their interests I was celebrated by the Awami League. I did not
work as a journalist between 2000 to 2010.
Much has been written about my work writing about the International Crimes Tribunal. It is very unfortunate that someone writing about due process and fair-trial issues should be portrayed as pro-jamaat or indeed even as pro-war criminal.
It is time for the
Bangladesh government and its supporters to stop shooting the messenger.- and
instead respond by learning lessons, conducting investigations and undertaking
reform. The messages of investigative journalism may be difficult for those in
the government to swallow, and clearly it has the right to rebut any alleged
factual inaccuracies in journalistic reports, but launching a campaign to
impute the motives of those who are involved in producing it is simply wrong,
nasty and does serious damage to many innocent people and their families
In the end, the
government response simply suggests that it has much to hide.