Belkuchi (Sirajganj) Correspondent:
It has been alleged that the Belkuchi Press Club in Belkuchi Upazila of Sirajganj district has been deprived of the democratic process for more than a decade and is being run by an expired committee. Shahidul Islam Sarkar, Senior Vice President of the Press Club, has claimed that this unelected committee is using the Press Club as personal property through irregularities and opacity.
He made this allegation at a press conference organized in his chamber at the underground of Bright Health Hospital in Sirajganj on Friday (September 5) afternoon.
In a written statement at the press conference, Shahidul Islam, Senior Vice President of the Belkuchi Press Club, said—
“No elections have been held in the Belkuchi Press Club for more than a decade. The Press Club does not even have its own constitution. The current president is occupying the Press Club and exercising sole dominance. He is using it as his family property. Real journalists are not getting access here.”
He further alleged that Belkuchi Upazila Awami League former president and current chief advisor Saidur Rahman has occupied the press club like a dictator. He has turned democracy into a mockery by spreading his single authoritarian influence.”
Senior Vice President of Belkuchi Press Club Shahidul Islam said that the current president has strategically cornered the mainstream journalists of the press club. Especially the young journalists of the new generation are not getting opportunities. Activities are being carried out arbitrarily, ignoring the opinions of the members. As a result, the press club is deviating from its main goal and undermining the dignity of the journalist community.
At the press conference, he clearly announced that the expired committee of the press club must be dissolved within the next 7 days and a neutral convening committee must be formed. Otherwise, he warned that the journalist community of Belkuchi will go on a larger movement.
He said, “The press club is not the property of any individual or party, it is a common platform of all journalists. The democratic process must be brought back through fair elections and the formulation of a constitution.”
The journalists present at the press conference said that a press club is an organization to protect the rights and dignity of media workers. However, there is an attempt to make the Belkuchi Press Club a private property. They demanded that an immediate convening committee be formed and elections be held in a systematic manner.
There is strong dissatisfaction among the journalists regarding the long-standing deadlock surrounding the Belkuchi Press Club. The journalists demand that the press club be brought back to a democratic structure and the rights and dignity of real journalists should be ensured.