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Athas in international team probing state of the media in Bangladesh
NEW YORK-- Iqbal Athas, The Sunday Times Consultant Editor and Defence Correspondent, is one of two Asian journalists who will be part of an international fact-finding team to investigate the state of the media in politically-troubled Bangladesh.

The delegation, which is led by Ann Cooper, executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) in New York, will include Andreas Harsono, Managing Editor of the monthly Pantau from Indonesia and Abi Wright, CPJ Asia Programme Coordinator.

Mr. Athas, who is a member of the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), will join the team in Dhaka next week. The one week fact-finding tour begins on Monday.

A regular contributor to the prestigious London-based military magazine Jane's Defence Weekly, Mr. Athas has won several international awards for investigative journalism, including one from the Society of Professional Journalists for the role of mercenary groups around the world.

Last year, he was also a guest speaker at a gathering of investigative journalists in Washington D.C. organised by Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) Inc.

Mr. Wright told The Sunday Times that the CPJ mission will focus on issues relating to the defence of journalists throughout Bangladesh, a country plagued by corruption where reporters frequently face physical assault and harassment.

"In our meetings with journalists and activists, we will hear firsthand about the challenges they face, try to learn more about local efforts to secure journalists' safety, and offer solidarity from the international journalism and NGO communities," she added.

The team will meet with government officials from both the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the opposition Awami League party. "We plan to present compelling arguments in the defence of press freedom, and to provide officials with a list of specific cases for their attention.

In addition, we will attempt to secure a pledge of action in the support of a free and safe media from officials," Wright added. The team is due to hold a press conference to discuss the findings of the trip on Friday March 5 at the Pan Pacific Sonargoan Hotel in Dhaka.
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