Editors Council shocked at Naem Nizam’s resignation

Editors Council President and The Daily Star Editor Mahfuz Anam has expressed shock at the resignation of Naem Nizam, editor of the daily Bangladesh Pratidin, from his post of the council’s secretary general.

"I am shocked and saddened by the news of Naem Nizam’s resignation from the position of Secretary General of Sampadak Parishad [Editors Council], about which he informed me yesterday [Tuesday] night over the phone from New York, but I am yet to receive his resignation letter," Mahfuz Anam said in a statement issued on Wednesday.

He further said he would consult with the members of the council to formulate their response.

"However, it may be mentioned that the policy of the Parishad has always been to operate on the basis of consensus and there has not been a single occasion otherwise," the statement said.

"I would like to emphasize here that I had a wonderful working relationship with him and we never had any differences of opinion in running the organization," the Editors Council chief added.

Two newspapers, Bangladesh Pratidin and Kaler Kontho, and an online news portal, Banglanews24.com, published reports on Tuesday stating that Editors Council Secretary General Naem Nizam had resigned from his post in protest against what he termed the council chief Mahfuz Anam's "unethical" activities.