We oppose tele-tapping

The debate over tele-tapping has been going on for some time now. The telecommunications ministry has seemingly been persuaded by the intelligence services to amend the existing telecommunication act to permit electronic eavesdropping. At the behest of the telecommunication ministry, Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission has prepared a draft outline of the changes demanded by the security agencies. The move reportedly has the blessings of the Prime Minister's Office.

When law enforcement authorities are unable to get to the bottom of the biggest arms haul in our nation's history and fail to deter bomb blasts and other forms of crime, they should do some soul-searching to improve their performance, instead of acting in desperation to impinge on civil liberties of people. To amend a law that has been protecting citizens from an invasion of their privacy, personal freedom and right to communications is a regressive step. The sweeping powers being contemplated to be given to the intelligence agencies for eavesdropping and using tapped information in the court of law as evidence will open the door to an abuse of power that is patently repugnant to democratic sensibilities. Are we looking for a police state after treading such a long path of democracy?

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It seems to us that the law enforcement authorities and intelligence agencies are using their lack of eavesdropping powers as an excuse for not performing their jobs better. Even without adopting the proposed eavesdropping measures, there is much room for improvement in how the police and the security agencies operate. It would be a better idea to concentrate on rectifying some of these other shortcomings than to be so quick to surrender our fundamental right to live without undue government intrusion into our lives.