NN Online:
More than 60 per cent of people in Bangladesh believe that freedom of expression has improved under the interim government, compared to the previous Awami League regime. Additionally, 61.2 per cent think the media enjoys greater freedom under the current government.
The Voice of America (Bangla) conducted the survey between October 13 and 27, interviewing 1,000 people aged 18 and above across all eight divisions of Bangladesh.
Among the participants, 25.2 per cent people said they feel freedom of expression remains unchanged under the current govt.
On the other hand, 14.2 per cent people of the participants said freedom of expression under the interim government reduced, while 0.2 per cent chose not to comment.
Among the younger participants (18-34 years), 57.1 per cent observed increased freedom while 63.8 per cent of those aged 35 and above expressed the same opinion.
The survey found that 61.2 per cent of participants believe the media enjoys greater freedom under the interim government compared to the Awami League regime.
Besides, 18.5 per cent respondents see no difference, and 13.3 per cent feel press freedom has declined.
Urban respondents (73.8 per cent) were more optimistic than rural counterparts (57.1 per cent).
In the survey, 68.2 per cent of male and 54.2 per cent of female respondents reported increased press freedom under the current administration.
Bangladesh ranked 165th in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index, its lowest since the index’s inception in 2002.
Over 15 years of Awami League governance, the country dropped 44 positions due to factors such as repressive laws, partisan media licensing and censorship.
The Awami League government repealed the controversial Digital Security Act last year and replaced it with the Cyber Security Act. But this law also faced severe criticism from various quarters, including journalists.
The interim government recently took a policy decision to repeal the law and decided to withdraw the cases filed under the Cyber Security Act. If anyone is arrested in these cases, they will be released immediately through the legal process, the government said.
On September 17, the interim government formed a Media Reform Commission to ensure an unhindered press environment.
Another part of the survey highlighted public sentiment on banning the Awami League.
57 per cent for allowing AL to do politics
Fifty-seven per cent of the respondents opined for allowing the Awami League to do politics, while 35.5 per cent for banning the party.
Of the respondents, 4.9 per cent said they did not know about it, and 2.6 per cent refused to answer the question.
Young respondents between the ages of 18 and 34 (39.9 per cent) were more in favour of banning the Awami League than other respondents.
54.1 per cent support a permanent ban on AL
When asked how long the Awami League should be banned, 54.1 per cent of respondents who favoured the ban opined that it should be permanent.
Among others supporting the ban, 15.2 per cent suggested banning the Awami League for more than 10 years, 8.9 per cent recommended a ban lasting 5 to 10 years, 11.2 per cent advocated for a 1 to 5-year ban and 3.3 per cent favoured a one-year ban.
Besides, 1.8 per cent declined to answer, and 5.5 per cent stated they were unsure.
