The government will abolish laws that go against the right to information and will amend the Cyber Security Act, Law Adviser Prof Asif Nazrul said yesterday.

He explained that they would not completely abolish the CSA because cyberspace involves two types of offences, one computer-based and the other speech-based.

"Anarchy will ensue if we decriminalise cybercrimes like hacking or blackmailing women or other forms of harassment…"

The laws that oppose the right to information, or those which the previous government planned to enact for such a purpose, will either be cancelled or fixed, he said.

Prof Nazrul said this in a views-exchange meeting on the "Right to Information in Establishing Transparent and Accountable Good Governance: The Supporting Role of NGOs" marking the International Right to Information Day.

The NGO Affairs Bureau and the Information Rights Forum jointly organised the event at the NGO Affairs Bureau's conference room.

"We will not wait for the reports from the reform commissions. Things that can be reformed immediately, like the Cyber Security Act and the Information Commission, will be urgently dealt with," he said in his address as the chief guest.

Law Adviser Asif Nazrul among other speakers at a views-exchange meeting on the “Right to Information in Establishing Transparent and Accountable Good Governance: The Supporting Role of NGOs” at the NGO Affairs Bureau yesterday. Photo: Star

"We will act on whatever is immediately feasible," he added.

He also expressed surprise that The Daily Star Editor and Publisher Mahfuz Anam faced over 80 cases for what he had said at a programme.

Prof Nazrul said he believes that a lack of awareness about the right to information is one of the reasons people have not been able to fully exercise this right.

"If we think deeply, we will realise that every right is meaningless without the right to information…

"We could not turn the right to information into a movement, as our neighbouring country India did," he said, added that withholding information had been a common strategy here for oppression and abuse.

He said if the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary did not function properly, then bodies like the information or human rights commissions would also be ineffective.

Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman questioned whether the country was transitioning from one authoritarian regime to another.

He said people fear that there might be written, or unwritten, instructions sent to the NGO Bureau telling them not to release funds to organisations working on women's rights, indigenous rights, gender diversity, and LGBTQ issues.

Iftekharuzzaman called on everyone to be alert.

He said that people don't ask for information because they know that seeking it leads to harassment. "We must create an environment where ordinary people feel encouraged to seek information."

He noted that the so-called security agencies had previously infringed on people's rights and pointed out that institutional development was still not up to expectations. He also called for amendments to the Right to Information Act.

Iftekharuzzaman said the commissions are stuck in red tape, and they have become rehabilitation centres for former bureaucrats. He urged for reforms to the commissions, including the Information Commission, and suggested that public opinions be considered when appointing commissioners.

Badiul Alam Majumder, head of the Election System Reform Commission, said the ghosts of the deposed autocrat still linger. "Harassment continues in various ways, and this must end quickly. I, too, was once a victim of harassment for seeking information."

He said, "We must take steps to ensure that we can access information from political parties as well. Without democratic political parties, unrestricted access to information cannot be established."

Delivering the keynote paper, Shaheen Anam, convener of the Information Rights Forum, said in the new Bangladesh, they want to ensure that no one faces any issues in obtaining information.

She mentioned poor preparedness of the authorities; inadequate skills of designated officers; and a lack publication and dissemination of information, among others, as obstacles to implementation of the right to information law.

Among others, Md Anwar Hossain, director of the NGO Affairs Bureau; Hasibur Rahman, executive director of MRDI; Mahmudul Hossain Khan, secretary of the Coordination and Reform of the Cabinet Division; and Saidur Rahman, director general of the NGO Affairs Bureau, spoke at the event.