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Chief Adviser of the post-uprising government Prof Muhammad Yunus has said Bangladesh's media are now enjoying unprecedented freedom, but the social media are awash with misinformation and disinformation.
He made the observations during discussion when a delegation from the Open Society Foundations, headed by its chairman Alex Soros along with its president Binaifer Nowrojee, called on him Wednesday and expressed support for reforms undertaken by the Interim Government.
They discussed Bangladesh's efforts to rebuild the economy, trace siphoned-off assets, combat misinformation, and carry out vital economic reforms, said a spokesperson for the CA.
During the meeting, Alex commended Professor Yunus for leading the country at a critical time in its history and shepherding reforms needed to fix the country's institutions and rebuild the economy.
He said the student-led mass uprising has given "great opportunities" to set a new course for the country.
They discussed issues ranging from the July uprising, transitional justice for the victims of struggle, economic reforms, media, recovery of stolen assets, the new cyber-security laws and how to improve them and the Rohingya crisis.
"We will explore ways to support your efforts in these areas," Alex said.
The head of interim government thanked the Open Foundations for its support and urged the organisation to do more to spread the news of the "unprecedented student-led uprising, which has brought down a brutal dictatorship".
"What I witnessed during my visit to Davos was that not many people know about the July uprising," he said. "There is a lot of disinformation."
The CA asked the Foundations to help the country in "asset tracing" in order to bring back some 234 billion dollars siphoned off during Sheikh Hasina's 16-year rule.
He said the Interim Government inherited a "devastated and war-torn" economy, and sought the Foundations' support in the rebuilding process.
The Foundations also expressed its desire to help Bangladesh's crucial LDC graduation-a move welcomed by the Chief Adviser. "We have to think about how to do the transition without any problems," he said.
mirmostafiz@yahoo.com