DHAKA: International press freedom group Reporters Without Borders on Wednesday called on Bangladesh’s military-backed government to lift censorship and guarantee the safety of journalists.

The call follows the beating of at least 30 journalists during a curfew imposed last week after student protests escalated into three days of rioting.

Demonstrations and political activity have been banned in Bangladesh since January under the country’s state of emergency.

“The interim government’s record has been badly marred by the censorship and violence that has assailed the press since the start of the student protests,” said the organisation in a statement.

The Paris-based body said government censorship had concentrated on the CSB and Ekushey television stations, which received a press information department order on August 23 telling them not to broadcast “provocative” reports.

Employees of several stations also told the organisation that military intelligence officers telephoned the networks and threatened to prosecute them for violating state of emergency regulations for broadcasting critical reports or witness accounts of the violence.

The television stations were also forced to cancel political programmes, it said.

“We note law and information adviser’s meeting with media executives on August 27 and note the interior minister’s apologies for the many acts of violence against journalists,” the statement said.

“The government should now, as a matter of urgency, heed the media’s requests for more freedom and for guarantees of security for journalists,” it added.

The government lifted the curfew on Monday night. The mostly night-time restrictions had been in force in six cities including the capital Dhaka.

The curfew was imposed last Wednesday in an attempt to quell the riots, which began at Dhaka University following the manhandling of students by army personnel and spread to other colleges.

The government accused politically motivated-thugs — acting on behalf of the country’s ousted politicians — of hijacking the demonstrations in an attempt to bring down the government.

The new government has promised to clean up Bangladesh’s corrupt politics before holding fresh elections by 2008.—AFP