Another newspaper editor murdered

The killing of Humayun Kabir brings to thirteen the number of journalists murdered in the south-west in the last ten years. In addition to this, forty-two journalists have been seriously injured in the region in that time, and countless more harassed and intimidated. Most astonishingly, the authorities have so far failed to bring even one person to book for these rampant killings. Not one. It seems as though the government is powerless to stop outlaws, gangsters, or any entrenched interest group from enforcing their reign of terror in the region with impunity.

The danger to journalists around the country, and especially in the south-west, is very real. This can only have the effect of silencing the voice of the media and discouraging them from pursuing controversial stories that uncover crime and wrong-doing.

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In short, the laxity of the government means that journalists must think twice or even thrice before uncovering misdeeds, and our entire democracy suffers as a result.

The Press Club has expressed its disgust with the government over the killing of Humayun Kabir and has stated that there is no point to pursuing the matter with the government. We are tempted to share this point of view. The government has shown a marked lack of urgency in the past when it has come to prosecuting such cases, and appears either unable or unwilling to do so effectively.

If one were to assume in light of unresolved murder cases pertaining to journalists that a vested interest is at work to ensure that journalists remain intimidated and do not pursue stories that could be embarrassing to them, would one be too wrong? We fervently pray that the government prove us wrong there by finding the killers of Humayun Kabir.