Bangladeshi State Minister for Post and
Telecommunications Tarana Halim confirmed the government’s decision to
Xinhua news agency.
The decision to lift ban on all social
media platforms came hours after the Bangladesh Telecommunication
Regulatory Commission’s (BTRC) new instruction to block three more
online voice and messaging services — Twitter, Skype, imo.
The BTRC on Sunday night asked all of
the country’s cell phone operators and telecom service providers to
suspend the three popular services — Twitter, Skype, imo — immediately.
“All social media have been opened. They are now available across Bangladesh,” Halim said.
“Directives have already been sent to
the relevant authorities for taking necessary steps to unblock all
social media platforms including Skype, Twitter, WhatsApp and Viber,” he
said.
BTRC on November 18 blocked Facebook,
WhatsApp and Viber for security reasons shortly after the country’s apex
court delivered verdicts upholding the death penalties of two
influential opposition leaders — criminals Salauddin Quader Chowdhury
and Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed — for war crimes.
For the first time in its history, the
Bangladeshi government reportedly on that day also temporarily shut down
the internet in the country for over an hour.
The shutdown affected businesses and services heavily dependent on the digital networks.
Ban on the social media have been
imposed on security grounds, Halim said, adding, “We’ve decided to open
all social media platforms as there are no more security concerns now.”
Halim earlier said Facebook and other
social networking platforms will be opened after directives come from
the home affairs ministry once ensuring the security concerns of the
country and its people.
Earlier on Monday, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said there are no existing threats to Bangladesh.
Source : IndianMediaBook - Current Affairs
