Govt not to make any act against press freedom: Anisul

Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anisul Huq Tuesday said the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will not formulate any act that can obstruct press freedom in the country.

"The matter of press freedom was not included in the constitution of many democratic countries in the world. But Bangabandhu (Sheikh Mujibur Rahman) incorporated this in the constitution of Bangladesh," he said at 'BSRF Dialogue' on Mass Media Employees Act, Digital Security Act and Data Protection Act at the secretariat.

Organized by Bangladesh Secretariat Reporter's Forum (BSRF), the program was presided over by its president Tapan Biswas and conducted by General Secretary Masudul Hoque.

Reiterating that the much talked about Digital Security Act was formulated to tackle cyber crimes, the law minister said, "The country would have turned into a safe haven for cyber criminals through the misuse of social networking sites in the absence of this law."

Anisul Huq said after their steps, people are not being arrested under this act unnecessarily, adding, if needed this act would be amended.

"The present government did not formulate any act to stop healthy journalism, and will not do it in the future as well. Acts are being formulated to tackle efforts, which are being made to divide society through the misuse of social networking sites," he added.

While talking about Data Protection Act, the law minister said he would ensure arranging dialogues with stakeholders in this regard.