Collusion of business and politics is affecting media freedom: Iftekharuzzaman
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Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), has commented that the growing collusion of business and politics in Bangladesh is not only damaging good governance, but also affecting media freedom.
Iftekharuzzaman commented that freedom of media is not an isolated issue, it is deeply related to the overall political and governance system of the country. He said, the more democracy, accountability, freedom of expression and civil rights are curtailed, the more the media will be under pressure.
বিজ্ঞাপন
The Executive Director of TIB delivered the opening speech at the second session of ‘Bangladesh Journalism Conference 2026’ at a hotel in the capital on Saturday morning. The topic of discussion in this session was ‘Politico-Governance Ecosystem and Free Media’. The session was moderated by Shakhawat Liton, Executive Editor of Business Standard. The two-day international conference is organized by the Media Resources Development Initiative (MRDI).
Iftekharuzzaman said, businessmen have no problem in participating in politics. But problems arise when business becomes a vehicle for political influence and politics itself becomes a business investment. He said, “When politics becomes business and when business merges with political power, it undermines accountable governance.”
বিজ্ঞাপন
Iftekharuzzaman said media is not able to work independently like state institutions. As the reason for this, he said, the political and governance system of the country is being managed mainly by the influence of some forces like capital, money, religion, patriarchy and majoritarianism. As a result, the media is not able to work independently like the state institutions. Political and economic interests are increasingly influencing media ownership, policy-making and reporting.
Iftekharuzzaman said that the culture of ‘Zero Sum Game’ (loss-win game, one person’s gain, another person’s loss) has been going on in the politics of Bangladesh for a long time. This has resulted in a tendency to monopolize political power, control dissent and limit the flow of information.
Iftekharuzzaman also said that because of the tendency to monopolize political power and control dissent in Bangladesh, disclosure and criticism are often seen as threats. Due to this, various pressures are created on the media.
Pointing out that the politicization of state and professional institutions has increased in the last two decades, TIB’s executive director said that with the change of government, the trend of changing the leadership and position of various institutions has become clear.
Media freedom is not just about journalists; Iftekharuzzaman mentioned that it is related to overall human rights, freedom of expression and democratic accountability. In his speech, criticizing the use of strict laws like Bangladesh’s Digital Security Act against journalists, he said that there have been cases against hundreds of journalists in this law, many of whom have been harassed just for performing their professional duties.
The executive director of TIB said that if the mindset of revenge and party control is maintained in the political culture, it will be difficult to establish true media freedom.
Daily Star’s Consulting Editor Kamal Ahmed, Pakistan’s Dawn Editor Zafar Abbas, former BBC journalist Anwar Shakeel, Samakal Editor Shahed Muhammad Ali also spoke in the discussion.
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