& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

To the Editor
***The following letters and many more, were received by us immediately after the government banned the cable TV channels. Though the government reversed its decision overnight, the views expressed are just as relevant and give an indication of how indignant and outraged people were. We hope that the government has learnt its lesson. - Editor***
Misplaced priorities
The ban on the popular movie channels is no doubt a Jamaat move, and not a populist one as claimed by the Ministry of Information. In a country starved for entertainment, who in their right mind would want movie channels banned?
Bangladesh is once again playing into the hands of our international detractors who would like to portray us as a bunch of fundamentalists. What kind of signal is the government trying to send to foreign investors, who have one foot out the door anyway?
And if the government wants to remove "negative social impacts", I believe the cause of the people would be much better served if they focused on getting the prostitutes, drug dealers, rapists, murderers and extortionists off the streets. Talk about misplaced priorities!
Sadat Omar
Dhaka
* * *
It is pathetic to see what a group of brainless people are ruling the country. If religion is a true thing, then there is no one on this earth to effect it even a bit. Banning a few satellite channels is simply no solution of such problem. It is like cutting a tree as it gets a disease.
We have to go forward. The world is moving forward. Being a man of this century anyone will obviously realise that, we badly need to be linked up with the world by Internet and through all these channels also.
Farhan
On e-mail
I want my MTV
It is so entirely appalling to wake up in the morning and apart from the usual stories of depravity, blood and gore put together in a typical journalese aura, what is it we get? They're now taking away our satellite channels!
Satellite TV was introduced to this country when I was a teenager and I can recall life changing drastically. Whereas before there had been very limited things one could do during pass time, this was a best by far ball game. It was so fresh and appealing after all the years of BTV fed programmes that the whole community welcomed it without a second thought.
I would certainly go against calling channels like HBO, Star Movies, AXN, MTV, Channel V harmful. Believe me nothing can sometimes be as vulgar as some of the movies our very own ATN Bangla has to offer. One doesn't not need to bare it all as Demi Moore does in HBO's recently premiered Striptease, one only needs to check out our very voluptuous obese Bengali movie queens. As per violence goes, these films come with a rating at the start, some newspapers like The Daily Star even take care to publish these ratings. If we are talking about harmful influence then pray do explain the nightmarish cigarette ads on the Bengali channels.
These lawmakers need to find out many things before this country can head for any real development, at least as par attitudes are concerned.
Then should we ask for the Indian channels to be shut down as well? They have their fair and far enough share in obscenity and violence. Can anyone name a Hindi movie minus the obnoxious hip swinging and the part where the men are overwhelmed by the need to beat and bloody? These films are the cheap imitation of the lowly acclaimed western movies. And how immensely they score among our common millions. What sort of a country bans MTV? How long can one be expected watch bland and simultaneously boring nature programmes?
I for one demand these channels back.
Anika Rabbani
Dhaka
Where are we heading?
This is outrageous! I don't understand what prompted the government to ban channels like HBO, Star World, Star Movies and even MTV. What's wrong with them? Do they want to stop alien culture? Are they concerned about social values? They must be joking. Does this government have any values at all?
Where are we heading? Towards Talibanism or towards Stone Age? No wonder Jammat-e-Islam is in the government. They also have recently banned Matir Moina.
Isn't there any end to this banning culture?
MR
Dhaka
* * *
What is the rationale behind the banning of those channels? Where as the world is moving ahead, we do not seem to understand the globalisation process of which we should be a part. Modernisation theorists recognise exposure to modern world is one of the initial steps to become an advanced country. Even if we let those modernisation theorists alone and try to be a little bit rational and democratic we would know that cultural diffusion does not decay culture rather it helps to enrich in many ways.
On the other hand, the government should not impose restriction on such choices, especially when we witness that state is losing its control over civil society. Well, may be this is not the end of the world, but we are left to ponder whether we are going back to primitive era.
Sady Mirza
Lalmaatia, Dhaka
Scary days ahead
So far the BBC has reported on this issue. They end their report with this prophetic sentence: Islamist parties are junior members in the coalition government.
Do you really suppose the Americans will now grant us Duty Free/Quota Free access to their markets now that we have followed the Taliban's example?
What's next? Ban the Internet? Force women to wear the veil?
I am scared. Really scared.
Peter
Dhaka
Banning habit
Again another news has shocked us. Will the government ever be able to substantiate its move against the cable channels most of which are not only entertaining but also informative?
They have already banned Matir Moina and now the cable channels. What's next?
Mainuddin Mainul Mohammadpur, Dhaka
Freedom of speech
I was stunned by the news of banning the cable channels. I was really dumbfounded at the news.
The cardinal thing about democracy is freedom of opinion. This opts out the freedom of the people of Bangladesh. The Information Ministry and the Minister justifies the action for showing respect to sociocultural and religious respect to the people.
Most Bangladeshis don't have the opportunity of a TV. Of the limited amount I don't believe the action was an outcome of a scientific statistics, where the majority overwhelmingly voted against it. This action is ludicrous and insane. The Information Minister just had the idea and tyrannically is imposing on the people. This is autocracy rather than democracy. If the oppositions not joining the Parliament accounts as an insult to democracy, taking away people's right of freedom of speech or freedom of watching TV channels is a bigger insult.
Rahman
USA
Thank you
Information Minister
I must thank the Information Minister for chopping TV channels like HBO, Star Movies, Star World, Hallmark, etc.
It has been many years that I have not visited the video rental shops to hire uncensored adult movies.
Now the Information Ministry has given us the opportunity to watch uncensored movies easily available on rent.
I may not mention what the Internet offers. What next Mr. Minister?
Ziauddin Ahmed
Gulshan, Dhaka
Chop on TV channels On many occasions I've thought of writing to your Letters to the Editor page but nothing so far has made me so outrageously angry than this ridiculous decision of our government!
Is it to make sure we only watch the state own BTV and see the faces of our Prime Minister and Ministers all the time?
This is insane! How can any body in this age of communication believe in such a dogma that some TV channels pose "adverse impact of alien culture on religious and social values" (of Bangladesh)?
And what do you mean by 'alien culture' anyway? For your information Mr. Minister and our government we, the younger generation believe in no boundary and in no culture. We embrace everybody and we believe all cultures have some good values at least. We do not believe like the Nazis that ours is the superior culture and all other cultures are inferior or devoid of any moral values.
It is up to individuals what one takes and what one learns from something. Besides there are many things to learn from other than TV channels! I am not going in to the debate whether any of our political parties and leaders has ever thought what are our people learning from them? Bribery, party sponsored terrorism, blame shifting, corruption, using students and children as hired guns to achieve narrow focused individual or political interests and all other illegal doings, these are among some of the great values we learn from our leaders.
Shaila Rahman Dhaka * * *
I would like to raise some points based on the news item published on May 20, 2002 in Daily Star titled "Chop on Channels".
1."Many countries including Pakistan, Malaysia and Australia have restrictions on certain channels which go against public values and culture." Has anyone from the incumbent committee, which has decided to chop the channels, has bothered to find out which are the channels have been restricted in the above countries? From the chopping procedure it seems they have only taken Pakistan's example. Pakistan from the very beginning has restricted most of the satellite channels. AS far as I am concerned, back in 1995 they had only two channels, PTV 1 and PTV 2. It seems we are following Pakistan.
2.ATN Bangla assured that it would not telecast objectionable foreign films in future. ATN Bangla's effort is commendable. But did they assure that they would not telecast objectionable Bangladeshi film songs, film clippings, objectionable cigarette advertisements and sometimes dramas using obnoxious language.
3.If the cable operators do not show pictures from VCD, people will borrow them from the VCD clubs, may we, the naive people of this country have the right to know when is the government planning to have a 'VCD club demolishing drives'?
4.Posters of Bangladeshi films as well as foreign porno films hanging on the city walls and in cinema halls publicly are simply obscene. How do they comply with our social and religious values?
Now a days, most of the newspapers in the name of 'freedom of press' gruesome photographs of dead bodies etc. doesn't this have an adverse effect on us?
A citizen
Dhaka
Should we laugh or cry?
Some recent remarks and decisions by our policymakers of the government made us wonder whether we are ruled by people who have any knowledge of the world out side or not.
1. Some English satellite channels have been banned showing reasons of cultural invasion. No Hindi channel has been banned. Because the obscenity shown in the Hindi movies and songs upheld our cultural values (!?)
2. We all know about the fine comments of our Home Minister. Let me highlight one of our Finance Minister's comments. He told the press that Internet access should be allowed more to the people after considering national security of the country. Perhaps the US and the first world should take note of the Minister's comments. Being in more hazardous position about national security than Bangladesh, they are not at all worried about national security invasion by Internet!
I have only one thing to say to the government, the public is watching you; like they watched the previous government.
M. S. Rahman
Dhaka
Ban all channels then
I was just reading your newspaper
and saw the most dreadful news. What was more surprising to me was that the channels that the government intends to ban are all English channels.
It is good to notice that the government is suddenly caring for the culture of Bangladesh after almost 12 years of the broadcast of the English channels, which are watched by merely 10 to 20 per cent of Bangladeshi people.
What is surprising to note that channels that are as harmful that are watched by most of the people of Bangladesh-- the Hindi channels like MTV India, B4U Music, Star Plus, Zee TV, Sony TV etc are not banned.
These channels are Indian channels, at least made inside India. Is that the reason for the government not to take up the decision of not banning these Indian Hindi channels? Because these channels are the mostly watched channels and others are not?
Or, is this a fight against the Westerners - against the Europeans and the Americans? If it is not, then the government should ban the Indian channels as well instead of only some English channels.
F Waliullah
Dhaka
Islam and foreign culture on TV
I think Islam has always encouraged adoption of foreign cultures including religious cultures. Islam itself burst forth in the glorious sands of Mecca, which isn't exactly located in Bangladesh, so in principle there is nothing against foreign culture. By becoming Muslims we have shown that we can adopt foreign faith, cultures and practices on merit. But as good Muslims we demand an end to TV. Showing images of human beings is against Islam. Stop TV totally. In Saudi Arabia, the royal family itself has a martyr who died in an attempt to kill a Saudi prince for allowing TV there. TV is against the spirit of Islam.
We feel that our woman PM should not be shown on TV again and we request the Alliance members to put pressure on her in this regard.
Kh. Hafizul Islam
Dhaka
Protecting Bangladeshi culture!
On May 19 night on ETV, I watched the renderings of the Information Minister over the supposed iniquitous spread of alien western culture through satellite communication supposedly affecting our youth and family values. What would be his next step? Stop people drinking Coke or Pepsi?
Frankly I think we should be more concerned by the disparagement and denigration of our own strongly held culture and system of laws and government then by the chattering of some fundamentalists supporting this view. Culture is not TV shows, magazines and newspapers, although we constantly worry that somehow we can't make it in the wide, wide world without vast expenditures of government money. Culture is a reflection of our core beliefs, values, history, and especially how we incorporate all these things into how we govern our-
selves, our laws and traditions etc. Unfortunately, we have chosen, over the last 31 years or so, to permit our governments to rule us instead of represent us.
We have watched thunderstruck as contrary to the public will and without much resistance, successive governments have destroyed almost every vestige of what was once a free and open society which promised to respected the individual and civil rights. Culture as we knew it and which was essentially Bangladeshi is disappearing very fast.
We now suffer from a series of despotic actions that we can no longer speak freely. Nor we can protest. People are becoming victims under the so-called bureaucratic codes, which can ruin a person financially. The right to be considered innocent until proven guilty is no more. The truth is no defence anymore. Because of the nature of our election process, we suffer through a series of 5-year dictatorships. Our MP's are emasculated.
The Minister must be kidding about "protecting" Bangladeshi culture from globalisation. We the citizens need protection from people like him.
Imtiyaz Husain
Motijheel, Dhaka
TV and our culture
The recent decision of the government to ban all the English satellite channels is a blatant disregard for the people's sentiments. Having said that, I'm sure there are many people who will welcome this decision with glee, but I'm sure there are many others who condemn this decision.
Nowadays people, especially teens have very little to do with all the violence, kidnappings, murders, you name it! In all the chaos TV provided a sort of escape for us, and something to do in our leisure time, and now the government robs us of that right, claiming that they are "respecting the cultural sentiments of the people."
Our society is overrun by murderers, rapists, extortionists and all sorts of people with an in depth knowledge of how to kill and torture other human beings. Now, the question is, how big a role did TV have to play in bringing up such individuals in our society? Most of the criminals in this country have never had the luxury of watching or even understanding any English programs, given their educational background.
The government's first task is to see to it that this country is on the road to economic prosperity, it must ensure that Bangladesh no longer remains as the most corrupted nation and according to my humble opinion, banning English TV channels will not help the government reach any of these objectives.
MK
Dhaka
Banning of 12 channels
The sudden decision of the government to ban 12 channels was quiet a surprise for all. Now all of a sudden after several years of satellite channels existence the govt. seemed to
realise that our society and religion are at stake.
We wonder are these 12 channels only having adverse effect on our religious and social values? What about other channels like the Hindi channels? Are we to think that the programmes shown on the Hindi channels are better than those shown on these 12 channels? What about Bangla commercial films, film songs being aired by our state owned channels and other private channels? What about CDs, which can be rented with only Tk.10 or 15 not to forget about the Internet.
A citizen
Dhaka
Cable TV and our nincompoops
I was dumbfounded to learn the government decision to ban a number of satellite tv channels. Kudos to our silly decision-makers! In a country with the so-called fledgling democracy, coupled with rampant, overt corruption, soaring crimes of all kinds and needless to say fundamentalism, the government has chosen to axe the only mode of entertainment in the name of arresting alien culture!
Where was their love for Bengali culture when Ramna Batamul or Udichi incident took place?
Mullahs from government mosques yell out so called religious edict and label Bangla Naba Barsha celebration as 'against religion'. What kind of love for our culture is this and why you don't speak out against these heinous acts.
A house with sensible parents is all that you need to screen what our child may watch and what they may not. Initiate social mobilisation to aware them on this and don't put a ban just like that please.
A depressed citizen
Dhaka
Decision indeed!
I really am surprised about the restriction on some cable channels by the Information Ministry. I tried to figure out the reasons behind this ban:
a.Probably the request (suggestion?) came from the cable operators not from the viewers. As far as I know the viewers do love these movie channels and put pressure on the cable operators to subscribe for these pay channels. In turn operators have to subscribe for these channels to keep their clients or else they will switch to other operator who is providing these channels.
b.Again as operators have to pay the extra subscription fees their profit is decreasing, as they can't increase the monthly charge of the clients. And thus the operators might found it a good idea that if they collectively can convince the authority on the ground of vulgarities, they can get a ban certificate on these channels and thus they do not have to pay extra money for these channels.
c.If anything is hampering our cultural heritage that are the Indian channels. But for some reason the operators did not find these channels vulgar at all. This is because these channels cost almost nothing to distribute.
M A Tareq
New DOHS, Dhaka
To see or not to see
On the 20th of May 2002, the government shut down a number of popular satellite channels. Their reason was that it was creating an
'alien culture' as opposed to our religious and social values. I would like to ask the people of this government whether they are going to be dictators or statesmen?
How can a government who till a few months back, when the AL was in power, vowed to restore(?) democracy in this country tell the people what to see or not see? What is the happening to the essence of democracy and the freedom of choice? Are they redefining the concept of democracy?
They are claiming that satellite TV has a negative impact on our social and religious values. This coming from a government who are siding with corrupted criminals. Does this not affect our social values or our ethics?
I would also like to ask our minister, the vulgarity and mindless violence depicted in near Bangla films are more prominent than in any of these channels. How come they are not doing anything about that?
The programmes shown on these channels provided good entertainment, and plenty of wholesome family viewing. By shutting these down, they are taking away entertainment away from the youth who chose to stay home and watch TV rather. What will they do now? This will lead to boredom and frustration, which will drive them to drugs and violence.
This election I had casted my vote for BNP but now I sorely regret it. This is not only about me but the majority of the people feel the same. We all had great expectations for BNP, thus I would request them to first think about the people then take a decision because they are in power because of these people.
Lisa
Dhaka
Where's the opposition?
I am willing to forgive all the transgressions of BNP in the last seven months. But this mad as a hatter government has basically banned everything worth watching on TV.
I think this really does count as a crime against humanity. Sheikh Hasina, where are you when we need you? Now is the chance for the opposition to stand up for freedom of speech and choice. Methinks BNP has shot itself in the foot again.
T Ali
Dhaka