DHAKA: The curtain finally dropped on country’s one of the oldest newspapers, The Bangladesh Observer, as its journalists and employees were Tuesday given a Tk 10-crore golden handshake after their prolonged sufferings.
Bar the 32 litigants, they all received half their dues under a tripartite deal, before the owners shut the doors of the once-famous English daily on the staff members.
The owners made the deal with the help of Law Minister Barrister Shafique Ahmed and Information Minister Abul Kalam Azad by paying only Tk 10 crore of the total Tk 32-crore dues after 90 months’ back pays on account of salary and allowances.
A group of 32 journalists of the newspaper, however, have sued the owners’ group rejecting the mutual understanding between the two sides and mediated by the government.
Aini Elias, one of the plaintiffs of the case, told banglanews24.com.bd they sued the owners demanding their dues and back payments to be paid by April 24 according to the 7th wage board scale.
Observer Unit Chief of Dhaka Union of Journalists Mobarak Hossain, however, said, “We appreciate the initiatives of the owners. We are satisfied with what we got as the decision came through discussion.”
On the other hand, Secretary-General of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) Altaf Mahmood refused to comment on the issue.
DUJ president Shah Alamgir told banglanews24.com.bd that it was not really possible to get satisfied with the minimal amount the journalists ultimately received.
Immediate-past Observer editor and BFUJ president Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury was phoned several times to know his reaction about the complaints and dissatisfaction of the journalists over the payment issue, but he didn’t receive the calls.
Khaled Hamidul Haque Chowdhury, son of founder of the newspaper Hamidul Haque Chowdhury, and his two brothers-in-law, Manjur Ahmed Chowdhury and Riaz Rahman, former state minister for foreign affairs, earlier took the possession of the Observer building Monday.
Once Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Hamidul Haque Chowdhury founded ‘The Daily Pakistan Observer’ in 1949. Mohammad Shehabullah was the founding editor of the newspaper. Renowned journalist Abdus Salam took over the post later on and the newspaper played a significant role during the language movement in 1952.
Consequently, the Pakistan government had stopped its publication and arrested Hamidul Haque Chowdhury and Abdus Salam in this connection.
In 1954 the ban was withdrawn, and after the liberation of Bangladesh, the newspaper was re-christened as ‘The Bangladesh Observer’ shedding the word ‘Pakistan’.
Bangladesh government took the ownership of Bangladesh Observer in 1972 and designated another distinguished journalist, Obayed-ul Haque, after sacking Abdus Salam from the post. He was in the post till December 1983. Thereafter, Hamidul Haque Chowdhury was given its ownership back during the Ershad regime. KMA Munim got the post of editor that time.
Iqbal Sohhan Chowdhury, however, had played the role of editor of Bangladesh Observer since 1998 till the end of this historical news daily.
BDST: 2000 HRS. June 8, 2010
SF/MMK/SRJ/MUA
