Keep the BBC Bengali Service Free and Impartial

Keep the BBC Bengali Service Free and Impartial
An appeal to Nigel Chapman, Director of the BBC World Service and its Management

We the undersigned appeal to the management of the BBC World Service to keep BBC Bengali impartial and free of political bias. As Bangladesh enters a crucial stage in its democratic history, there could not have been a more urgent need for a media that accurately reports the facts on the ground. At this moment, Bangladeshi politics is extremely polarised with passionate views on all sides.

The BBC Bengali Service has an audience of some 13 million. It therefore is in a unique position to shape the debate, if not influence opinion and indeed affect the outcome of the parliamentary elections. The burden of responsibility on the broadcaster is a heavy one.

We the undersigned demand that this publicly funded body should not become the mouthpiece of any one party, or any one political leaning in Bangladesh. In the last few weeks, the BBC Bengali Service has demonstrated an alarming tendency to represent only one side of politics in that country in this case the Awami League. In one studio discussion, not only were Awami League politicians interviewed, but so too were journalists from pro-Awami League newspapers as well as thinkers and civil society leaders sympathetic to the politics of the Awami League.

We the undersigned demand:

1. The BBC Bengali Service must report facts fairly without due favour to anyone party

2. The BBC Bengali Service must provide space for a robust discourse, and one where the Awami League, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and all its sympathisers get equal billing in news reporting and subsequent studio discussions and analysis

3. The BBC Bengali Service must not become a South Asian version of Fox News. In procuring interviews, the BBC Bengali Service must endeavour to find articulate voices from all sides. If one side of the political divide is allowed to have articulate spokespersons, there must be a level playing field and the opposing side should be given every opportunity to supply articulate spokespersons as well

4. Talking heads and pundits should be scrutinised for their political allegiances.

We the undersigned demand that the BBC World Service take these appropriate steps to ensure a free and fair coverage of the elections. Otherwise, we will see public money directly affecting the outcome of another countrys election.