Nahid seeks EU support to stop spreading disinformation about the student uprising

Advisor on Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Md Nahid Islam today (October 27) sought cooperation from the European Commission (EU) to stop the spread of disinformation about the student uprising and the complete trial of mass murderers.

“We want EU cooperation to stop the spread of various disinformation around the world about the mass uprising and actually end the judicial process of mass murder,” he said when an EU delegation led by Ambassador Michael Miller visited him in his office.

He also urged the EU to extend support to the treatment and rehabilitation of people injured during the uprising.

Michael Miller gave support to the interim government, saying he came to talk about basic human rights, digitalization, media reform and the electoral process.

“The interim government will complete all reform processes and end the process of democratic elections,” Miller expressed hope.

The adviser said they are giving priority to the issue of political reforms because if the reforms are not carried out properly, the elections will not be fruitful.

“We want a democratic transformation as quickly as possible,” he said, adding: “Before that, we want to carry out some basic reforms.”

He continued: “Our main challenge now is to manage economic stability and the law and order situation.”

Regarding development projects, Nahid Islam said ongoing projects with development partners will continue but some projects are being re-evaluated.

Mentioning that they are interested in cooperation with Bangladesh in the field of cybersecurity, e-governance, digital infrastructure, data protection, IT, the EU ambassador said that they are ready to provide advice on any technical issue.

He also announced that an agreement had been signed with the ICT department for a project on e-effective management for the amount of EUR 10 million.

The envoy also expressed interest in taking action to prevent the spread of disinformation on social media, as the adviser asked the EU to cooperate on stopping propaganda online.

Nahid Islam said that the issue of improving the quality and professionalism of the media is being considered.

“It is not possible to increase the quality and professionalism of the media by government or law actions alone,” he said, mentioning that professionalism in the media requires training.

He said security and compensation structures are being considered to attract young talent to work in the media.

The adviser said media freedom and reforms were the main goals of the interim government. “A Media Reform Commission has already been formed to ensure media freedom… the outline of reforms will be developed based on consensus and suggestions from stakeholders,” he added.

Secretary Posts and Telecommunications Dr Md Md Mushfiqur Rahman, Secretary ICT Department Shish Haider Chowdhury, Embassy Program Manager Fani Farmaki and senior ministry officials were present.