Making Prothom Alo “the enemy” in Bangladesh

It's a rare thing that a country's parliament is told by none other than the prime minister that its top newspaper is the enemy of the people. In utter disbelief, people heard last month that Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh's prime minister and head of the ruling Awami League, told parliament that "the daily Prothom Alo is the enemy of the Awami League, democracy, and the people of the country. I am saying with regret that they never want to permit any stability in this country."

Her unhappiness with the country's lone independent vernacular daily was already well known – she had barred its journalists from her office and public events in 2013, without giving any reason or making it official. Also, since Hasina returned to power in 2009, she and some of her cabinet had made a number of allegations against Prothom Alo – ranging from the newspaper siding with undemocratic forces to it creating instability and thwarting the government's development agenda. But the prime minister's declaration in parliament, on 10 April, was still a first, and marked an unprecedented escalation of her hostility. It also had special significance because of the occasion on which she spoke: a special session of Bangladesh's parliament to mark the 50th anniversary of its founding.