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Salah
Uddin Shoaib Choudhury was imprisoned for 17 months after
being charged with sedition on November 29, 2003. The
Bangladeshi journalist put himself in a highly precarious
position by openly advocating relations between Israel and
Bangladesh, along with all Muslim nations.
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By Salah
Uddin Shoaib Choudhury March 28,
2008
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They have proved it again.
Prestigious newspaper The Wall Street Journal has published an
editorial titled 'Bangladesh on Trial' on March 27, 2008.
Earlier, it published a powerful opinion editorial by
celebrated journalist and my brother Bret Stephens in 2006
titled 'Darkness in Dhaka'.
In this opinion editorial,
Bret wrote: "Welcome to Bangladesh, a country the State
Department's Richard Boucher recently portrayed in
congressional testimony as "a traditionally moderate and
tolerant country" that shares America's "commitment to
democracy, human rights and the rule of law." That's an
interesting way to describe a country that is regularly ranked
as the world's most corrupt by Transparency International and
whose governing coalition, in addition to the ruling
Bangladesh Nationalist Party of Prime Minister Khaleda Zia,
includes two fundamentalist Islamic parties that advocate the
imposition of Shariah law. There are an estimated 64,000
madrassas (religious schools) in Bangladesh. The Ministry of
Industries is in the hands of Motiur Rahman Nizami, a radical
Islamist with a reputation of a violent past. In March the
Peace Corps was forced to leave the country for fear of
terrorist attacks. Seven other journalists have also been
brought up on sedition charges by Ms. Zia's government, most
of them for attempting to document Bangladesh's repression of
religious minorities."
He wrote, "Here's an answer:
Bangladesh does not mean much strategically to the U.S.,
except for the fact that it is home to some 120 million
Muslims, many of them desperately poor and increasingly under
the sway of violent religious notions imported from Saudi
Arabia. The Bush administration, which every year spends some
$64 million on Bangladesh, has made a priority of identifying
moderate Muslims and giving them the space and cover they need
to spread their ideas. Mr. Choudhury has identified himself,
at huge personal risk, as one such Muslim. Now that he is on
the run, somewhere in the darkness of Dhaka, will someone in
the administration pick up the phone and explain to the
Bangladeshis just what America expects of its "moderate and
tolerant" friends?"
Last year, when I visited United
States in October, Bret Stephens very kindly gave me the
precious opportunity of visiting their office in New York
along with my brother Richard Benkin. I witnessed with great
admiration, the huge office of this prestigious newspaper, met
its excellent members and above all, Bret interviewed me for
the video site of Wall Street Journal. In Bret Stephens, I
have found a very loving brother and a caring colleague, who
finds time in defending and fighting for a rather unknown
journalist like me in a less known country like Bangladesh.
Just few days before I visited the Wall Street
Journal, globally known media tycoon Rupert Murdoch bought
this newspaper with few billion dollars. Bret did not forget
to show me the office chamber, which was prepared to
accommodate Mr. Murdoch. He also took me to the memorial space
in memory of internationally known journalist Daniel Pearl,
inside the WSJ building. Daniel Pearl was killed by nasty Al
Qaeda goons. Right at that moment, my entire entity was
thrilled to be there to show my highest respect for a true
hero, a journalist and a fellow brother. Sacrifice of Pearl
shall tell the world, people who work in Wall Street Journal
do not fear in telling the truth or exposing evils in the
world.
When I went to United States again in November
last year, Bret Stephens walked out of his office in the
extreme peak hour of his work, and met me right in front of
the New York Stock Exchange Building [adjacent to Wall Street
Journal building] and hosted me and brother Benkin in a nearby
restaurant. This time too, he was trying to know about my
situation in Bangladesh and the status of the false case
Bangladeshi Islamist coalition government did bring against me
in 2004 [24th January]. When Brother Richard told him that
Prince Albert of Monaco was going to give Monaco Media Award
to a journalist for 'courage in journalism', Bret could very
quickly guess who the potential recipient of this award is.
Whenever I am in United States, I have the rarest
opportunity of picking my cell phone to call Bret Stephens, as
to me, he is not the celebrity journalist, or someone holding
extremely important position in world's largest newspaper. To
me, he is a loving brother and someone, who cares about me.
Although my case was first brought to global attention
in 2003, when The New York Times published an editorial
describing my arrest and repression, in subsequent years, Wall
Street Journal, New York Sun and Washington Times have been
closely monitoring my case and published a number of
editorials and opinion editorials demanding dropping of the
false charges and ending harassments. Voice of America has
also played important role in my defense.
The latest
editorial in Wall Street Journal starts saying "Bangladesh's
military caretaker government says it is serious about
restoring democracy and the rule of law to the country. But
Dhaka's escalating harassment of one of its most prominent
journalists suggests otherwise."
It further said, "The
world can't afford for Bangladesh's transition to democracy to
fail, and Mr. Choudhury's case is one test of the government's
commitment to keeping the influence of Islamists in check."
Since the incident of March 18 [Tuesday] in my office,
there are numerous reports and articles already published in
international media, including the recent editorial in Wall
Street Journal, Bangladeshi administration is very reluctant
in investigating the matter and taking actions against the
culprits. Such silence of the government is giving
encouragements to Rapid Action Battalion [RAB] and other nasty
elements in continuing threatening me and members of Weekly
Blitz of dire consequence, if our protests do not silence.
Even on Friday morning, someone called our office and
threatened of further harassment. Members of my newspaper are
worried. Members of my family are worried as well. But, I am
continuing to give them confidence by telling, if we stop,
devils will become victorious. Under any circumstance, we
shall not become silent. I am ready to die in the hands of
Islamists. Daniel Pearl is my model. Fear or retreat is not in
my vocabulary. Let my enemies take note of it.
Views expressed by the author do
not necessarily reflect those of israelinsider.
    
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