Prothom Alo reporter Rozina Islam was forcibly held inside a Secretariat room for 5 hours before she was taken to the police station and charged under the Official Secrets Act. Police asked for her remand the next day but the court denied it. It was reported that she had stolen documents and taken pics of confidential reports of the government, hence the official reaction. In response there has been massive protest from the public and the media.
It was something that should have been avoided but one is not sure that it could have been. The particular ministry concerned is a very high profile one particularly at this time of Covid. So in a way it has far more clout and influence than others. It’s also the ministry that has more accusations of corruption than most others leveled against it. Rozina had reported on such matters before and was not considered a friend of the ministry.
In making these reports Rozina had used confidential documents before. We don’t know how many of them were gained in which particular way but using secret documents to expose corruption in public interest is not considered a crime by the public. It’s here that the actions of the journalist have not been considered a crime by the general public. She is seen as a public interest champion which is being made to suffer for looking after the interest of the public. It’s certainly less criminal than the way life costing and maiming corruption has been carried out by many.However, till date, very little has been done to reduce corruption. Most likely it won’t be as the health cluster is considered very essential in time of such needs and it’s overlooked anyway.
The hostage and the amla
Rozina has been charged and will be tried but that is another matter. But what won’t go away is the evidence of physical abuse and harassment that she had to face when locked inside the room. Unfortunately for the abuser, seen pushing down Rozina and with a hand on her throat, there are images all over for everyone to see. If the picture was not taken as a trophy moment to capture a great event such as clutching a journalist’s throat then there are problems inside the machine. It means somebody felt safe enough in that room to record the event. But that is not all. It means somebody leaked the picture to the media which means the abusers are not all there together.
This is where the issue comes in of managing efficiency and inefficiency. If the person holding Rozina down is the official reported to be, who may have been at the wrong end of Rozina’s reporting, the matter becomes a personal issue. Locking up reports is the duty of the official and the response to it being seen/stolen/ etc can’t be physical assault if it’s meant to be kept a secret.
Rozina was kept locked up for five hours which is a serious violation of law and a case will cause acute embarrassment for all the parties concerned. It has already mobilized media and public opinion against the GOB in general like rarely before. If the media spends more time tracking corruption in the health sector when the GOB is battling Covid and needs all the support from all, it will hurt the GOB more than hostaging one nosy reporter searching for secret files.
Is immunity enough?
It’s true that the bureaucracy is largely immune from any punitive action and can feel invulnerable but there is a difference between the political and the amla part of the state. Amlas will remain united but the politicians who are directly linked to the people will face questions from unhappy people and angry media who right now seem like everyone. It may not lead to anything much but any unhappiness makes governance that bit more difficult. It’s the last thing a Covid battling government would want.
The amlas are a critical part of the state and they are certainly more functional than politicians as would be expected as society transitions towards a post-political state. There economics and administrative governance matters more. However, to reach that space, efficiency is required and corruption and coercion are no substitutes for efficiency. And that is not much on display now.
The deluge of criticism on social media by almost everyone shows how unpopular the act and arrest has been and there is no turning back from this. The officials who held her down, grabbed her throat and locked her in the room and filed the case after all this has been the cause of ire against the political part of the government.
Efficiency in corruption and flouting all laws and norms including holding a person hostage inside the Secretariat is not the characteristics of a functional and legal bureaucracy. And that is where the problem is. If the amlas are unable to perform in a reasonably legal environment the problem could be bad news for the emerging state and the amlas as well.
Quite unnecessarily and quite brazenly a conflict situation has been created. It won’t make anyone’s future happier, the victims and the victimized.
Afsan Chowdhury is a journalist, columnist and liberation war researcher. He received Bangla Academy Award in 2018 for his contribution to the liberation war literature.
