Since August 2024, Bangladesh’s media landscape has undergone a profound transformation. In the midst of the political uncertainty and chaos that followed, right-wing Islamist forces, who found a new lease of life, sought to capture the media space.
TV news channels such as DBC, followed by Boisakhi TV and RTV, swiftly changed ‘colours’. The Jamaat-e-Islami already operated a relatively smaller channel, Diganta TV. There are other big players such as Islami TV and Gazi TV. The S Alam Group, led by Saiful Alam, who absconded long before last August’s student’s upheaval that unseated Sheikh Hasina as the prime minister, is waiting in the wings, seeking an opportune moment to launch Star TV.
But the case of Mohona TV stands out. In December last year, the A B Party took control of Mohona TV by elbowing out Chairman Kamal Majumdar, a former minister in the Awami League government set up after the general elections in 2018.
On December 11, A B Party’s Vice Chairman Major (retd) Abdul Wahab Minar, whose younger brother Dr Mohammad Atharuddin took control as Mohona TV’s chairman. He was previously a director (with nominal shareholding) on Mohona TV’s board.
A B Party General Secretary Asaduzzaman Fuad, a lawyer, is said to hold very strong anti-India sentiments. In a video clip that was released about a month ago, he was seen protesting on the streets of Dhaka, shouting invectives at Bangladesh’s President Mohammad Shahabuddin Chuppu and Army chief General Waker-uz-Zaman.
At that time, Northeast News had sent Fuad a questionnaire to respond to. After initially agreeing to speak with Northeast News, he declined to be interviewed in the matter surrounding his use of abusive language in respect of the Bangladesh president and the Army chief.
The following questions were posed to Fuad:
1) What led to your outburst against the army chief and the president, especially in the backdrop of the two students’ coordinators’ meeting with Gen Waker-uz-Zaman?
2) Did the Army chief actually meet the president?
3) Do you think that the students have now piped down from their initial position to attack the army chief?
4) If yes, what could be the reason or reasons?
5) Which way is Bangladesh’s domestic politics headed? When do you see elections taking place?
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Besides heading Mohona TV, Dr Atharuddin is also the chairman of Azmat Garments, said to be a company with a turnover of about Taka 1,000 crore. Insiders said that A B Party is funded by Dr Atharuddin.
