Bangladesh imposes restrictions on journalists’ access to Secretariat

Bangladesh interim government has cancelled the accreditation card of journalists due to security reasons. As a result, the journalists will be restricted to enter the Secretariat.

Bangladesh home ministry on Friday issued an order to impose the restrictions. The Bangladesh Secretariat is the administrative headquarters of the government of Bangladesh, and houses the majority of ministries and government agencies and bodies, located in Segunbagicha, Dhaka.

Usually, the Press Information Department (PID) issues accreditation cards to journalists to collect news.

“Access to the Secretariate through accreditation cards issued in favor of journalists is hereby canceled until further orders”, a press released from the home ministry said.

On August 5, a student-led movement ousted Sheikh Hasina as Bangladesh Prime Minister, after weeks of protests and clashes that killed over 600 people. Hasina, 76, fled to India and an interim government led by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus was formed.

The office of the Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus has cited safety and security reasons for his decision to restrict journalists’ access to the Secretariat.

“The decision to restrict journalists’ access to the Secretariat was taken in view of the safety and security of the Key Point Installation (KPI), which was hit by a devastating fire this week”, Chief Adviser’s office said in a statement on Saturday.

“The government will soon review the existing press accreditation cards and invite fresh applications from all the local and international news outlets for the Press Information Department to issue new accreditation cards”, it added.

According to the statement, temporary daily access cards will be issued by respective ministries for any press events.

“In the meantime, temporary daily access cards will be issued by respective ministries for any press events. The government regrets the inconvenience and seeks cooperation from journalists”, the Chief Adviser’s office said.