{"id":4545,"date":"2025-11-07T20:31:50","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T14:31:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=4545"},"modified":"2025-11-07T20:31:52","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T14:31:52","slug":"press-freedom-under-siege-anis-alamgir-slams-yunus-regimes-injustice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=4545","title":{"rendered":"Press Freedom Under Siege: Anis Alamgir slams Yunus regime&#8217;s injustice"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In a fiery exchange on journalist Masood Kamal&#8217;s popular YouTube channel &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=n5Rs_bG3_LM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Onno Moncho<\/a>,&#8221; veteran Bangladeshi media figure Anis Alamgir unleashed a scathing critique of the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government&#8217;s assault on press freedom, judicial independence, and democratic norms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Broadcasting on Friday amid swirling rumours of fresh appeals against bail for detained journalists, Alamgir accused the regime of orchestrating a &#8220;complete injustice&#8221; through fabricated charges and relentless harassment, while warning that Jamaat-e-Islami&#8217;s increasingly belligerent rhetoric signals a deeper power vacuum threatening the nation&#8217;s fragile stability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The interview comes at a precarious juncture for Bangladesh. With parliamentary elections tentatively slated for February 2026, the Yunus administration\u2014installed after the dramatic ouster of Sheikh Hasina&#8217;s Awami League government in August 2024\u2014faces mounting scrutiny over its handling of dissent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u09ae\u099e\u09cd\u099c\u09c1\u09b0\u09c1\u09b2 \u0986\u09b2\u09ae \u09aa\u09be\u09a8\u09cd\u09a8\u09be \u0995\u09bf \u09a8\u099f\u09cb\u09b0\u09bf\u09df\u09be\u09b8 \u09b8\u09a8\u09cd\u09a4\u09cd\u09b0\u09be\u09b8\u09c0? \u0964\u0964 \u0986\u09a8\u09bf\u09b8 \u0986\u09b2\u09ae\u0997\u09c0\u09b0 \u0964  \u09ae\u09be\u09b8\u09c1\u09a6 \u0995\u09be\u09ae\u09be\u09b2 | \u0985\u09a8\u09cd\u09af \u09ae\u099e\u09cd\u099a | Onno Moncho\" width=\"1110\" height=\"624\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/n5Rs_bG3_LM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Alamgir, a regular on Kamal&#8217;s platform known for its unfiltered dives into political undercurrents, didn&#8217;t hold back. &#8220;This is a violation of humanity,&#8221; he declared, pointing to the cases of prominent journalists Manjur Alam Panna and Latif Siddique Baly, who were granted bail by the High Court only to face immediate government appeals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kamal, setting the tone early, invited viewers to &#8220;another platform&#8221; for candid discourse, noting that politics, elections, and party manoeuvres would dominate headlines &#8220;until February.&#8221; But he quickly pivoted to the &#8220;very sad incident&#8221; unfolding: a wave of arrests targeting vocal critics under the guise of anti-terrorism laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=4543\">Interview With HT: Yunus is sponsoring extremists, says Sheikh Hasina<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=4534\">Army Pullout: What it means for Bangladesh law and order<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=4498\">Rise of Extremism: Yunus defends dropping music, PE teachers in primary schools<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;We are repeatedly telling this government to criticise us, that journalism freedom is greater than ever before,&#8221; Kamal remarked, echoing the regime&#8217;s own rhetoric\u2014a line he said previous information ministers parroted verbatim. Yet, he contrasted this with the reality: &#8220;Among them, we see that some of our very well-known people are being granted bail&#8230; There are doubts about the case in which they are being accused.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alamgir&#8217;s response was unequivocal. &#8220;I think that it is completely unfair and a kind of injustice,&#8221; he said, slamming the use of &#8220;terrorism and habijabi [subversive] charges&#8221; without substantiation. &#8220;They have not been able to show any reason&#8230; They have not been able to prove anything.&#8221; He likened the process to a farce: lower courts, he alleged, reject bail at the government&#8217;s behest, only for the High Court to step in amid public optimism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But even that, Alamgir warned, is eroding. In Panna\u2019s cases, appeals were filed &#8220;immediately after&#8221; their release, turning judicial victories into fresh battles. &#8220;If the High Court also takes the same role,&#8221; he said, &#8220;and they go to the chamber judge and apply&#8230;that means they must be understood as notorious terrorists of Bangladesh.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This pattern, Alamgir argued, exposes a selective application of justice. &#8220;Since August 5, not a single identified terrorist militant in the country is in jail&#8230; They have all been released,&#8221; he noted, referencing the post-Hasina power vacuum that saw hundreds of extremists walk free. In stark contrast, journalists and politicians face &#8220;illegal, false&#8221; cases with no specific evidence. &#8220;You have arrested someone; let him prove it,&#8221; Alamgir urged, decrying the regime&#8217;s refusal to let trials proceed without interference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Their alleged &#8220;crime&#8221;? Attending a program where they &#8220;could not even give a speech,&#8221; he said, emphasising they were &#8220;invited guests&#8221; or mere spectators, not organisers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kamal pressed further, highlighting the irony: The very event drawing fire was meant to commemorate November 7\u2014a date etched in Bangladesh&#8217;s psyche as the 1975 military coup that toppled Hasina&#8217;s father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. &#8220;They were present at the program but could not give a speech,&#8221; Kamal observed, questioning why attendees, not hosts, bear the brunt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=4472\">Even Yunus sympathisers oppose Human Rights Commission Ordinance 2025<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=4466\">Mob violence is encouraged by terming it an expression of anger<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=4458\">RMG leader slams Yunus\u2019 press secy Shafiq as \u2018madman\u2019 for garbage talks<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alamgir concurred, sharing a personal anecdote: &#8220;I was invited to an event. I went, and I became a criminal.&#8221; He revealed that &#8220;you and many others were invited,&#8221; but personal reasons kept him away. &#8220;I don&#8217;t like going to any event&#8230; I have a policy decision. I don&#8217;t believe in activism.&#8221; This confession underscored a broader chill: even passive participation now invites peril.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alamgir didn&#8217;t mince words on the implications. &#8220;This is another proof of the violation of humanity,&#8221; he stated, linking it directly to the government&#8217;s hollow claims of bolstering &#8220;freedom of speech.&#8221; Kamal nodded, adding that the arrests invite &#8220;multiple international organisations&#8221; to issue statements and criticisms. &#8220;If I were to ask on behalf of the government, what is the government&#8217;s number one goal through this arrest?&#8221; Kamal queried. &#8220;Number two, is its image being damaged internationally? Isn&#8217;t the government also realising this?&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alamgir&#8217;s retort was blunt: &#8220;I don&#8217;t think I get it.&#8221; He accused the regime of willful blindness, praising it for not &#8220;directly attacking any newspaper&#8221; but condemning its failure to curb &#8220;parasites&#8221; doing the dirty work. &#8220;The government deserves praise here. But it also deserves condemnation that the government is not even preventing it.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This passive complicity, he argued, extends to broader repression: &#8220;Here they are directly stifling the voices of journalists, interfering with the freedom of expression, and banning the gatherings of freedom fighters.&#8221; The November 7 event, he noted, exemplifies this\u2014banned not explicitly, but through veiled threats that deter participation. &#8220;If they had done that, they would have said it directly, and then people would not have gone. People are obliged to obey the law.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The conversation veered into existential territory. Kamal quipped that critics might call them &#8220;the queen of the mug or the price of the mob,&#8221; but Alamgir saw deeper rot: a regime punishing speech on one side while ignoring mob violence on the other. &#8220;People who speak for them now say that they are speaking for them. Why is this also a fault? God knows,&#8221; he lamented. This, he said, is why &#8220;people don&#8217;t have to be victims of this kind of harassment.&#8221; If commemorating Bangabandhu or freedom fighters is taboo, &#8220;make a law&#8221; outright, he suggested\u2014transparency over ambush.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Shifting Tides: Jamaat-e-Islami&#8217;s Belligerent Turn<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the dialogue shifted to politics, Kamal noted a palpable shift in Jamaat-e-Islami&#8217;s demeanour. &#8220;You have noticed that for some time now, there has been a change in the body language of Jamaat-e-Islami&#8217;s politics,&#8221; he observed. Citing recent rhetoric, Kamal referenced Jamaat Nayeb-e-Ameer Abdullah Mohammad Taher&#8217;s claim of possessing &#8220;phone records&#8221; of opponents\u2014a boast met with widespread derision for its invasiveness. &#8220;Many people said about this, &#8216;How do you have phone records?&#8217; It is wrong to have other people&#8217;s phone records.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=4429\">From Interim Savior to Civil War Architect: Yunus\u2019 deadly dance with ISI and Jamaat<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=4439\">Disappearance Drama: Once used against Awami League, now against Hindus<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kamal then spotlighted escalating threats: Taher&#8217;s vow of &#8220;no hunky-dory&#8221; in fulfilling five-point demands, coupled with warnings of &#8220;fingers broken&#8221; if &#8220;ghee doesn&#8217;t come out.&#8221; General Secretary Mia Golam Parwar echoed this, declaring Dhaka&#8217;s &#8220;face will change&#8221; post-November 11 if demands go unmet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;These are the things that make the talk of Jamaat-e-Islam seem a little unbearable, a little reckless, and a little arrogant,&#8221; Kamal said. &#8220;Why do they assume that they are definitely coming to power, or is there some other reason?&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alamgir pinned the transformation on the Awami League&#8217;s absence. &#8220;The biggest thing is the absence of the Awami League in Bangladesh,&#8221; he replied. &#8220;If the Awami League were [there], there would have been a balance of power here, whether the Awami League was in the government or in the opposition.&#8221; Without it, &#8220;there is no balance of power&#8230; They are fighting among themselves.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This infighting, he argued, is performative: &#8220;If they say Awami League will come today, they will unite again.&#8221; Jamaat and BNP, despite shared &#8220;mentality,&#8221; squabble because &#8220;people want a fair and beautiful election&#8230; An inclusive one.&#8221; Yet, they&#8217;re engineering a &#8220;one-party&#8221; vote, &#8220;one-minded,&#8221; Alamgir charged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The deception runs deep, Alamgir claimed. BNP feels &#8220;betrayed&#8221; by reform commissions: Signed deals morph into &#8220;final reports&#8221; that contradict drafts. &#8220;The distrust that has been created&#8230; Instead of making arrangements to remove the distrust, the government pushed it on the political parties.&#8221; This fuels chaos: &#8220;They are now fighting, making speeches against each other.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jamaat leads the charge, &#8220;attacking more and&#8230; taking to the streets,&#8221; while BNP remains &#8220;restrained.&#8221; Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir&#8217;s recent November 7 remarks\u2014&#8221;a conspiracy is going on to destroy democracy again&#8221;\u2014exemplify this restraint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alamgir called for rationality: &#8220;They have to show a logical reason.&#8221; Their demands\u2014proportional representation (PR) in upper and lower houses\u2014evolve daily, manufacturing crises. &#8220;They are trying to create one issue or another every day&#8230; If ghee is not raised on their fingers, they will bend their fingers.&#8221; This, he said, delays polls: &#8220;The only meaning is that they are postponing the elections. Destroying the environment for the elections.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Referendum Gambit: Legitimising Chaos?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kamal zeroed in on the referendum push\u2014a Yunus-proposed vote on constitutional reforms before elections. &#8220;Why should this referendum be held before the election?&#8221; he asked. &#8220;The nation is not convinced&#8230; Where is the time before the parliamentary election?&#8221; The cost\u2014&#8221;crores of taka&#8221;\u2014seems wasteful when &#8220;parliamentary election&#8230; gives greater legitimacy.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alamgir dissected the ploy: Jamaat&#8217;s retort\u2014that one day&#8217;s &#8220;extortion money&#8221; funds it\u2014exposes hypocrisy. &#8220;If it is possible to hold a referendum with one day&#8217;s extortion, my question is, will there not be extortion on the day of the referendum?&#8221; He mocked: &#8220;You yourself get the license for extortion&#8230; You give the license for extortion to one group.&#8221; Multi-party shakedowns cripple business; a single-party monopoly might stabilise, but &#8220;is that what we want?&#8221; People want to give extortion to one group.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The true aim? &#8220;A constitutional legitimacy&#8230; If it wins, it will say that the people have given legitimacy to all the activities that this government has done&#8230; Let this government complete its term&#8230; For a few more years.&#8221; Alamgir drew historical parallels: Ziaur Rahman and Ershad&#8217;s referendums &#8220;took legitimacy&#8221; during military rule; Khaleda Zia&#8217;s didn&#8217;t need one. &#8220;Using the example of these two referendums, they will say that we have now gained legitimacy&#8230; Let this government continue.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This buys time for vendettas: &#8220;More accusations against BNP bring BNP down further&#8230; Create instability.&#8221; Threats to paralyse Dhaka on November 11 (Jamaat) and 13 (Awami League sympathisers) exemplify this. &#8220;Why will Dhaka suffer so much?&#8221; Alamgir pleaded. &#8220;People wanted a regime change&#8230; Why are you obstructing it?&#8221; The fallout: a stagnant economy, halted investments, and a &#8220;miserable lifestyle.&#8221; &#8220;People are very upset&#8230; Their source of income has decreased.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alamgir advocated early polls: &#8220;If this election is held in January, it would be better.&#8221; Let parties &#8220;quarrel&#8221; over power; &#8220;people vote&#8230; Let the people like it.&#8221; But the regime&#8217;s &#8220;patches&#8221;\u2014shifting deadlines, new demands\u2014breed doubt. &#8220;There was a firmness&#8230; We will hold elections in February,&#8221; but handing reins to parties unleashed &#8220;loosening.&#8221; Nine months of talks derailed by &#8220;new issues.&#8221; Without order, elections become &#8220;sitting at home and sharing.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even Yunus faces betrayal: &#8220;They are telling him to stay&#8230; Put a stone on your head, we will eat.&#8221; The referendum? A &#8220;safe exit&#8221; for him, per Alamgir, via July Charter endorsement. &#8220;Dr. Yunus will then happily say&#8230; We have received legitimacy.&#8221; But it risks &#8220;majesty&#8221; for all: &#8220;Enjoy it more the way they are enjoying it.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>A Call for Clarity Amid Shadows<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kamal wrapped with gratitude: &#8220;Thank you very much, Mr. Anis Alamgir. You talked a lot today&#8230; We learned a lot in very small pieces.&#8221; Alamgir&#8217;s analysis, laced with sarcasm and urgency, resonates as Bangladesh teeters. With Yunus&#8217;s referendum looming and Jamaat&#8217;s threats amplifying, the interim era\u2014meant for transition\u2014risks entrenching division. Alamgir&#8217;s verdict: Without inclusion, no election holds meaning. &#8220;That&#8217;s all for now. Allah preserves,&#8221; Kamal signed off, leaving viewers to ponder a nation at the brink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As Dhaka braces for November 11, Alamgir&#8217;s words echo: A regime born of chaos cannot birth stability without accountability. Bangladesh&#8217;s democracy hangs in the balance\u2014will it fracture under mob rule, or rise through genuine reform?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a fiery exchange on journalist Masood Kamal&#8217;s popular YouTube channel &#8220;Onno Moncho,&#8221; veteran Bangladeshi media figure Anis Alamgir unleashed a scathing critique of the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government&#8217;s assault&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":4546,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,101,42],"tags":[1003,77,46,517,51,913,50,54,205,56,272,64],"class_list":["post-4545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","category-interview","category-politics","tag-anis-alamgir","tag-awami-league","tag-bnp","tag-democracy","tag-election","tag-election-commission-ec","tag-interim-government","tag-jamaat-e-islami","tag-masood-kamal","tag-muhammad-yunus","tag-press-freedom","tag-yunus-gang"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4545"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4545\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4548,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4545\/revisions\/4548"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4546"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}