chtnews.com
News No. 145/2010, October 12, 2010
THE government of Bangladesh has issued an order to the Deputy Commissioners of the Chittagong Hill Tracts to “take effective measures to stop the selling, marketing and distribution of the Jatya Barta (National Call)”, terming it as an illegal and unregistered paper.
The order was issued from Branch Press -1, Ministry of Information on 9 September 2010 and was signed by Senior Assistant Secretary, Farhana Irish. [Please find attached the scanned copy of the order]
The memo No. of the communication is 355.
It alleges that the Jatya Barta is published illegally by the United Peoples Democratic Front (UPDF).
Shanti Dev Chakma, chief organiser of Rangamati District Unit of the UPDF, criticised the government action, saying it is an attempt to muzzle the voice of the Jumma people.
He said the Jatya Barta is unregistered, but not illegal. “It is the order of the government itself which lacks any kind of legal basis whatsoever because the constitution of Bangladesh guarantees freedom of speech of the citizens.” he added.
The Jatya Barta is regarded as an unofficial mouth piece of the UPDF. Since January this year, a total of nine issues of the paper have been published.
The paper has played an important role in defending the rights of the Jumma people and exposing the anti-people policies of the government and the army.
As a result the Jatya Barta has become very popular among the Jumma people in the CHT and internationally.
Shanti said, “The action of the government will prove futile. All attempts in the past have failed to shut the mouth of the Jumma people, and the latest attempt will also fail.”
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