Paris, February 20 – Allegations of interference in independent journalism have surfaced after a journalist’s accreditation for covering the International Mother Language Day Silver Jubilee event at UNESCO was abruptly revoked on the day of the event. The journalist had received approval for accreditation eight days prior, making the sudden cancellation highly controversial.
The event, scheduled for February 20-21 at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, is being hosted by Bangladesh. The stated reason for the cancellation was a “Limited Number of Places.” However, the UNESCO press registration form remained open until 11 PM (France time) on February 20, raising serious concerns about the legitimacy of the justification provided.
When approached for clarification, UNESCO officials, speaking off the record, indicated that since Bangladesh is the host of the event, all accreditation decisions were influenced by the country. This strongly suggests that the Bangladesh Embassy played a role in revoking the journalist’s access. Sources within the media industry suggest that the journalist in question had previously reported on sensitive issues related to Bangladesh, further fueling suspicions that the cancellation was politically motivated.