Staff Reporter:
Over sixty percent people in Bangladesh think freedom of expression has improved under the interim government compared to the previous Awami League era.
Besides, 61.2 percent people believe that media have been seeing more freedom under the current gov-ernment.
Voice of America Bangla conducted the survey between October 13 and 27, among 1,000 people aged 18 and above in the country eight divisions.
Among the participants, 25.2% people said they feel freedom of expression remains unchanged under the current govt.
On the other hand, 14.2% people of the participants said freedom of expression under the interim gov-ernment reduced, while 0.2% chose not to comment.
Among the younger participants (18–34 years), 57.1% observed increased freedom while 63.8% of those aged 35 and above expressed the same opinion.
The survey found that 61.2% of participants believe the media enjoys greater freedom under the interim government compared to the Awami League regime.
Besides, 18.5% respondents see no difference, and 13.3% feel press freedom has declined.
Urban respondents (73.8%) were more optimistic than rural counterparts (57.1%).
In the survey, 68.2% of male and 54.2% of female respondents reported increased press freedom under the current administration.
Bangladesh ranked 165th in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index, its lowest since the index’s inception in 2002.
Over 15 years of Awami League governance, the country dropped 44 positions due to factors such as repressive laws, partisan media licensing and censorship.
The Awami League government repealed the controversial Digital Security Act last year and replaced it with the Cyber Security Act. But this law also faced severe criticism from various quarters, including journalists.
The interim government recently took a policy decision to repeal the law and decided to withdraw the cases filed under the Cyber Security Act. If anyone is arrested in these cases, they will be released im-mediately through the legal process, the government said.
The interim government formed a Media Reform Commission on September 17 to ensure an unhindered press environment.
Another part of the survey highlighted public sentiment on banning the Awami League.
57 percent for allowing AL to do politics
Fifty-seven percent of the respondents opined for allowing the Awami League to do politics, while 35.5 percent for banning the party.
Of the respondents, 4.9 percent said they did not know about it, and 2.6 percent refused to answer the question.
Young respondents between the ages of 18 and 34 (39.9 percent) were more in favour of banning the Awami League than other respondents.
54.1% support a permanent ban on AL
When asked how long the Awami League should be banned, 54.1% of respondents who favored the ban opined that it should be permanent.
Among others supporting the ban, 15.2% suggested banning the Awami League for more than 10 years, 8.9% recommended a ban lasting 5 to 10 years, 11.2% advocated for a 1 to 5-year ban and 3.3% fa-vored a one-year ban.
Besides, 1.8% declined to answer, and 5.5% stated they were unsure.
