As an overseas reader of TDS, I am puzzled by the controversy that has been created over the admission of an error of editorial judgement made more than half a decade ago by Mr. Mahfuz Anam. It was a spontaneous admission without coercion which a lesser person might have tried to deny or cover up.  Instead of applauding his integrity for honestly taking responsibility for a past mistake we are clamouring for revenge?!

Mr. Anam is an editor, and editors take positions on various issues all the time.  In the West they endorse candidates and political parties during elections.  Every one of us has a perspective and freedom of the press means one is able to express an opinion on anything including politics.

It is not as though TDS fabricated a report or conspired to bring down a government. The caretaker government was already in office and the newspaper simply published a report of the case someone had already made against a politician.  Why is that such a problem?  It is their job to keep their readership informed and there was no reason to assume that an otherwise credible source was feeding them incorrect information.  Besides, newspapers all over the world have published reports without due diligence under pressures of meeting deadlines and offered corrections to their stories after the fact.  This is a tempest in a teacup.

Do we want to create a culture of denial and cover ups where people refuse to take responsibility or set the record straight for fear of the consequences of acknowledging a mistake? How we deal with this situation will have far reaching consequences for the future of journalism in Bangladesh, and freedom of the press.  It will have a chilling effect on all of us who have at some point in time made honest errors in judgment.

And why is Mr. Anam being singled out for this treatment when other newspapers made the same error?  Is it a case of professional jealousy or personal vendetta? After 25 years of dedicated journalism, surely we can cut him a little slack.

Perhaps the person who is without sin can cast the first stone!

S. Ali
Toronto, Canada