Good News: I'll be back soon inshallah

Guys, fellow-journos and readers,
I had been occupied with some busy works for a while.
I am back, and will start posting again soon inshallah.
Visit us later.
b

Cartoon: NATO's Afghan mission going where?!

Afghan mission: NATO is riding an unruly bully

This is an interesting depiction of how is NATO dealing with an ever-destabilising Afghanistan.

The country's south has seen an unexpected surge in Taliban insurgency, forcing the alliance troops to hold talks with the fighters.

Daily Times has drawn it well how NATO will rein in a rampant insurgency.

Progress in inquiry into German journalists' killings

Afghanistan reports progress in inquiry into journalists' killings

dpa German Press AgencyPublished: Tuesday October 10, 2006

Kabul- Progress has been made in the hunt for the perpetrators in the killings of two German journalists in Afghanistan, the Interior Ministry said Tuesday, three days after their deaths. Ministry spokesman Semarai Bashari would not disclose what kind of progress Afghan authorities had made.

There have been no arrests in the killings of Karen Fischer, 30, and Christian Struwe, 39, journalists with the German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle who were shot Saturday night in the tent they had pitched near a road in northern Afghanistan.

They were the first German journalists killed there since the fall of the Taliban regime at the end of 2001

end

German journalists shot dead in Northern Afghanistan

Two German journalists killed in N Afghanistan

KABUL, Oct 7 (BBCNews.com): Two German journalists, killed by unidentified attackers in an overnight attack in Afghanistan, have been named.

Karen Fischer, 30, and Christian Struwe, 38, worked for international broadcaster Deutsche Welle.

The pair were shot in the early hours of Saturday while en route from Baghlan province to Bamiyan province in the north of the country.

They were killed in their tent, and were apparently in Afghanistan working on a documentary.

"They were shot dead with AK-47s," Zemarai Bashary, an interior ministry spokesman, told AFP news agency.

Berlin condemned the attack.

"This heinous crime must be solved and the perpetrators brought before justice," Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in a statement.

He said it would strengthen Germany's resolve to support a democratic government in Kabul.

In 2001, German journalist Volker Handloik was killed along with two French colleagues in a Taleban ambush in Afghanistan.

END

Afghan media watchdogs ask for safety

No safety for journalists, says media watchdog

This report was published on 19 Sep 2006, sorry for posting it lately since I got it later.

KABUL, 19 Sep 2006 (IRIN) - Journalists in Afghanistan are facing increasing pressure and threats for doing their jobs, mainly from government authorities and regional warlords, the country’s leading media association warned in the capital, Kabul, on Tuesday.

“It has become very challenging for journalists to report on the realities on the ground while they don’t feel safe and free in the country,” said Rahimullah Samander, President of the Afghanistan Independent Journalists Association (AIJA).“The threats are not only coming from the government side, but also from the Taliban and regional warlords,” Samander maintained.
The Afghan media watchdog has registered nearly 40 cases of violence against journalists over the past eight months of the year alone, including killing, beating and imprisonments. In 2004, there were only 15 cases of violence, while in 2005 those cases reached 30 across the country. Officials of the AIJA said the US-led coalition and troops from the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), who have been stationed in Afghanistan since the fall of Taliban in 2001, were also creating trouble for journalists in reporting on counter-insurgency operations and its implications on the ground.“Journalists have [on several occasions] not been allowed by international peacekeeping forces in southern provinces to report freely on civilian casualties and displacements during their military operations,” Samander remarked.Earlier this month, Mullah Dadullah, a top Taliban military commander in southern Afghanistan, warned that his men would target journalists who reported “wrong information” given by the US-led coalition or NATO forces that more than 200 Taliban had been killed in the Panjwayi district of Kandahar.

Zia Bumai from the Committee to Protect Afghan Journalists (CPAJ) said that violence against journalists was increasing, particularly in the volatile south and west of the country.“It seems cases [of violence against journalists] will double this year if urgent steps are not taken to ensure the safety of journalists in the country,” Bumai told IRIN.

On 22 July, Afghan cameraman Abdul Qodus, 25, working for private TV channel Ariana, was killed in a second suicide attack which took place while he was filming the aftermath of the suicide bomb attack that killed two Canadian soldiers and many civilians in Kandahar city.

Under the hardline Taliban regime there were only a few newspapers in Afghanistan and they were controlled by the state. The only radio station was Radio Shariat, which broadcast mainly religious programmes. Television was banned. But nearly five years after the Taliban's fall, all that has changed. Around 300 publications are now registered with the Afghan Ministry of Information and Culture. There are also 63 radio stations and six private television channels operating across the country.

end item

Taliban threaten journalists reporting "wrong information"

The Islamic Right To Kill

09/06/2006

NATO is "saying that they have killed 200 Taliban but they did not kill even 10 Taliban,'' Taliban military commander said.

The top Taliban military commander on Monday said that NATO's claims to have killed more than 200 insurgents over the weekend were propaganda and warned that his men would target journalists who reported "wrong information'' given by the U.S.-led coalition or NATO.

"They are saying that they have killed 200 Taliban but they did not kill even 10 Taliban,'' said Mullah Dadullah, Taliban military commander for south and southeastern Afghanistan. "They are just destroying civilian homes and agricultural land. They are using the media to do propaganda against the Taliban.''

Dadullah spoke to The Associated Press in a satellite phone call from an undisclosed location. The reporter has spoken to him in the past and recognised his voice.

"From today, I want to tell journalists that if in future they use wrong information from coalition forces or NATO, we will target those journalists and media,'' Dadullah said. "We have the Islamic right to kill these journalists and media.''

NATO reported Sunday that more than 200 Taliban fighters had died in the first two days of the joint NATO-Afghan operation in Panjwayi. The Afghan Defence Ministry reported 89 militants were killed.
end

Readers Unimpressed by Afghan Papers

The culture of reading newspapers has yet to take root.

Institute for War & Peace Reporting
September 5, 2006

Under Afghanistan’s post-Taleban government the country has seen an unprecedented flourishing of the media, but the apparent choice of print publications belies the fact that no one is actually reading them.
The easiest explanation should be Afghanistan’s high rates of illiteracy, especially but not only among women.
Yet that does not appear to be the main reason - instead, the papers themselves have yet to become attractive enough to win a regular readership in a country where radio has traditionally been the major source of information.
Since first newspaper, called Shams ul-Nahar or Midday Sun, came out in 1863, the press has had difficult time - sometimes censored, rarely independent and in recent decades both actor and victim in a succession of conflicts. That changed after 2001, when international funding for media and liberalised press laws created an explosion in the number of titles.
Mubarez Rashidi, recently appointed as deputy minister for information and youth, told IWPR that there are now 532 newspapers across the country registered with his ministry, 437 of them independent and the rest state-run.
But what these figures do not show is that most titles are based in Kabul, and circulation figures are low - even a prominent newspaper like Arman-e-Milli has a daily circulation of just over 4,000 - and many of the ostensibly independent ones serve as the mouthpieces of the politicians or factions that stand behind them.
Rashidi is optimistic about the increased number of newspapers and the relative freedom they now enjoy, and says the main reason people are not reading them is that the change has been so swift. “It will take some time to boost the culture of newspapers reading," he said.
Fahim Dashti, the chief editor of the independent Kabul Weekly, shares this view.
"Reading newspapers is a cultural phenomenon. In other countries, people are used to reading the paper during breakfast and when they come homes from work – even in their cars. It will take time for this culture to grow in Afghanistan,” he said.
He added that the problem applies particularly to young people, and is also in part a consequence of low literacy rates, which mean radio and television are dominant.
Evidence of low sales was provided by Waliullah, who runs a stationery shop in Kabul’s Da Afghanan area and stocks a range of newspapers, many of which he gets for free from chief editors desperate to boost circulation figures.
Yet he is not selling more than 10 to 15 copies a day.
“Most of the youngsters want magazines with nude pictures. They aren’t used to reading newspapers," said Waliullah. "I haven’t seen any benefit from this business. I’m not going to stock newspapers any more."
Some like Mohammad Jaan Haqpal, a Kabul University lecturer who is also chief editor of the Diwa magazine, said readers still dismiss much of the press as poor quality and irrelevant.
Manija Bakhtari, also a lecturer at the same university, agreed that many titles were ill-conceived and unattractive-looking, with no idea of what potential readers might want to see in them.
"Many newspapers and magazines lack specific aims, not even a publication strategy. They only aim to make money. This means they look bad and definitely won’t attract a readership," she said.
But Bakhtari also noted that readers are wise to - and mistrustful of - papers that are tied to particular political groupings or foreign interests and print whatever their backers want.
Daud Daadras, a student at the university, also sees the low demand stemming from a perception that “most of the newspapers in our country are factionally, linguistically- or ethnically- based, and are not neutral".
In any case, he added, readers will not learn anything they have not already heard on the radio or TV news.
Daadras recalled an amusing incident which showed the lengths publishers - in this case the peacekeeping International Security Assistance Force, ISAF - will go to win people over.
"I saw a few ISAF vehicles outside the foreign ministry handing out copies of Sada-e-Azadi [Voice of Freedom; ISAF’s own newspaper],” he said. “Since people aren’t interested in reading papers, the ISAF forces were giving everyone a banana in return for taking a copy.”
At Kabul University, where literacy and education are certainly no obstacle, this IWPR reporter saw stacks of newspapers by one of the entrances waiting to be picked up for free by students arriving for morning classes. After half an hour, all the students had gone in, but only three had taken copies.
My excitement rose as a man appeared and lifted all the newspapers – could they still be destined for a group of eager readers? Unfortunately not.
Followed into a snack bar, the man explained with a smile, "If they were for reading, the students would have taken them themselves. They’re for wrapping the burgers, chips and sandwiches."

Reported by Jawed Omid in Kabul

President Karzai gets to cyber

ولسمشر هم انټرنېټي شو

د ولسمشر حامد کرزي له مطبوعاتي سلاکارانو نه هم کله -کله سم کار وشي. دوى ډېر ځله د نورو هېوادونو د ولسمشريزو دفترونو پېښې کوي، خو بيا ډېر سخت پکې تېروځي. ځينې وختونه ډېر چابک وي او مهمو پېښو ته ډېر ژر غبرګون ښيي، خو کله بيا بېخې ويده وي. د دوى د خپرنيزو بيانونو له پرځاى والي او ليکني جوړښت نه د دوى د وړتيا او مسلکيتوب کچه لګېداى شي. کله د خپل هېواد يوې عادي امنيتې پېښې په ځواب کې د غندنې سخت بيان ورکړي او د ستونزې د حل د لټولو پرځاى خپل دښمن په سختو ټکو وغندي، خو کله بيا يوه ډېره ارزښتمنه پېښه ورڅخه هېره وي. همدارنګه په بهرني سياست کې، ځينې وخت په روسيه کې د ګاډي د ټکر پر سر د خواشينى ژوره څرګندونه وکړي او بل وخت بيا په مصر کې د تر سلو زيات کسانو د مړينې په اړه يا په فلسطين او لبنان کې د سلګونو بې ګناه خلکو په وژنه چوپ پاتې وي. دا ټول کمال د ولسمشر د خپرنيز دفتر د کارکوونکو او د ده د مطبوعاتي سلاکارانو دى. په بهرنيو پېښو چې بيان ورکوي په دري يا پښتو ژبه يې ليکي او په کومه کورنۍ پېښه چې څه غبرګون ښيي په انګرېزي يې ليکي. دوى لکه چې نړيوالو ته د خپلې وړتيا څرګندول نه غواړي، هسې نه چې د نظره نه شي. په دې خاورې افغانستان کې هم څښتن بېسارې استعدادونه پټ کړ دي، چې ولسمشر يې له نېکه مرغه په خپل دفتر کې په راټولولو بريالى شوى دى. د ولسمشر مطبوعاتي دفتر ډېره خوندوره او برابره انګرېزي ليکي. د بيانونو جوړښت يې کټ مټ د سپينې ماڼۍ د وياند په څېر وي.

په هر حال، دا وروستى ګام يې نېک دى. وروسته له دې چې د ايران ولسمشر ډېر خلک په خپل لاس د ويبلاګ په پرانيستلو په دې وروستيو کې هېښ کړل او دا کار يې د خبرونو سر ته راغى، د کرزي مطبوعاتي سلاکارانو هم غيرت وکړ چې تر ګاونډي ايران نه شاته پاتې نه شي. ولسمشر کرزي ته يې يو ښايسته وېبپاڼه جوړه کړه، خو بيا يې هم ژبه هغه ماته ګوډه انګرېزي ده. دوى لکه چې ګمان کوي چې په کابل کې د څو زرو بهرنيانو په مېشتېدنې ټول هېواد پرنګي شوى دى. خير، کرزى که زموږ ولسمشر دى، ويبپاڼه خو يې زموږ لپاره نه ده پرانيستې. آخر، دى هم بايد له خپلو بهرنيو يارانو سره د زړه خواله وکړي. احمدي نژاد هم ساده دى، چې په فارسي، عربي، فرانسوي او انګرېزي په ټولو ژبو يې ځان په زحمت کړى. ژبه خو يوه ژبه وي، چې ولسمشر کرزى يې په ګټه پوه شوى دى او د هېواد خواريکښ ځوانان يې هم ښه په کش لګيا دي زده کوي يې. که په هره ژبه وي، خو هيله ده چې د بهرنيو چارو وزارت او نورو وزراتونو په څېر نه وي چې د دوو کلو مخکې معلومات يې تر ټولو وروستي وي.

ولسمشر په وېبپاڼه کې د خپل برېښناليک پته هم ليکلې ده. له بده مرغه د برېښناليک کوربه توب يې خپله وېبپاڼې کړى، که نه د ډېرو انټرنټي ځوانانو هيله خو دا وه چې په ياهو يا MSN کې يې ځان ته ګڼون (حساب يا اكاونټ) جوړ کړى وي تر څو مو هره ورځ له ولسمشر سره نېغ په نېغه چټ کولى. ځه که ولسمشر وزګار شو دا كار به هم وشي !

Afghan TV coverage gets up MPs' noses

KABUL, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Dozens of members of the Afghan parliament walked out of a session on Wednesday to protest against a television station that has been airing what the politicians regard as unflattering footage of them.

Private Tolo television station has screened pictures of MPs yawning, napping and picking their noses during debates, infuriating some members of the assembly.

"I am leaving the session unless Tolo is sent out of parliament," woman member Safia Sediqi told the assembly. A short while later she and dozens of colleagues walked out.

The parliament, elected in landmark polls last year, is a mixed bag of former anti-Soviet guerrillas, technocrats, women activists, as well as some former communists and former Taliban members.

Tolo is among a handful of private television channels that have sprung up along with scores of radio stations and publications since the overthrow of the Taliban government in 2001.

The popular network, which has in the past been criticised for what conservatives see as its racy programming, defended its coverage of parliament.

"These are public figures at a public place and we have to show what they do," the station's director, Saad Mohseni, told Reuters. "The media has the right to show what they do."

end

Internews radio station torched in Afghanistan

Aug 15: A radio station built by the Internews Network in Logar, Afghanistan, was deliberately burned down over the weekend, but plans are already being made to rebuild.

Annette Makino, senior vice president for communications and corporate affairs for Internews Network, said no one was seriously hurt in the fire that destroyed everything except a generator and a satellite dish.

The station was one of 32 stations Internews established in the country since the fall of the Taliban.

”We have also provided equipment and training to local journalists; produced independent radio content with local journalists; and established a satellite distribution system for radio programming that reaches a majority of the population,” Makino wrote in an e-mail.

In the days before the arson, a “night letter,” or leaflet, was being passed throughout Logar condemning the music the station played and “decadent” Western behavior.

The station manager was sleeping in the station when he heard something and discovered the building on fire.

The station broadcast 10 hours a day. Makino said talks on rebuilding the station have already begun.

”Internews runs a multifaceted program designed to ensure that Afghanistan has an independent, pluralistic and trustworthy media providing accurate news and information on a broad range of issues in both local and national contexts,” Makino said.

end

RSF's open letter to President Karzai

Open letter

Reporters Without Borders/Reporters sans frontières

HE Hamid Karzai
President of the Republic
Kabul

Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

Paris, 17 August 2006

Dear Mr. President,

Reporters Without Borders, an organisation that defends press freedom worldwide, is worried about a recent wave of press freedom violations in Afghanistan, which are unfortunately not isolated acts but rather the work of influential persons of various political views.

The media have a key role in helping democracy to take root in Afghanistan, and our organisation hailed the fundamental role they played in the successful holding of legislative elections in September 2005.

We would therefore like to ask you to firmly condemn these attacks and to take all necessary measures to protect journalists and their news organisations. We also urge you to intercede on behalf of Abdul Qudoos, who has been imprisoned for more than seven months despite clear evidence of his innocence.

The rate of press freedom violations has increased in recent weeks and we would like to draw your attention to some of the cases that are particularly disturbing.

Several gunmen forced their way into the premises of radio Isteqlal in the eastern province of Logar on the night of 11 August, setting fire to the building and causing near 50,000 dollars in damage. The building's guards were injured as they fought the fire. According to the Committee to Project Afghan Journalists (CPAJ), several copies of the Koran were found at the site of the fire and leaflets were circulated clandestinely the same night.

Several members of parliament's lower house, the Wolesi Jirga, verbally attacked the privately-owned television station Tolo TV on 14 August and staged a walk-out from the assembly because it had screened footage showing parliamentarians asleep during debates. Warlord Abdul Rab Sayyaf accused Tolo TV of waging a campaign to smear him and of organising the recent demonstrations against him in the Paghman district of Kabul. Hundreds of people had participated in these protests in July against his illegal appropriation of land. A Tolo TV crew was attacked by 12 gunmen during one of these protests and their camera was stolen. Tolo TV rejects Sayyaf's accusations as unfounded, as does the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), which he has accused of conspiracy.

Abdul Qudoos, a journalist with radio Sada-e-Sulh (Voice of Peace) in the eastern province of Parwan, has been detained for more than seven months without any evidence being produced against him. Parliamentarian Saima Sadaat accused him of being behind an attempt to murder her shortly after the new Afghan parliament's inauguration. But her grounds for making this accusation is simply the fact that his radio station's editor, Zakai Zaki, was her leading opponent in the legislative elections. Sadaat has also tried to close the station, which she regards as a propaganda tool in the service of her political rivals. She had not produced any evidence for these allegations, while several witnesses say Qudoos was attending a workshop organised by the NGO InterNews when the murder attempt took place.

Finally, Kamal Sadaat, the BBC's correspondent in the province of Khost, was attacked by 10 gunmen as he was returning home yesterday. His assailants hit him and took his car, camera and laptop as well as other items of value.

Our organisation hopes you will personally look into these cases and will urge your government to work to consolidate a climate in which journalists are not threatened. The Afghan constitution protects press freedom but the climate of violence against the media jeopardises some of the democratic gains and encourages self-censorship.

We trust you will give this matter your careful consideration.

Respectfully,

Robert Ménard
Secretary-General

end

Journalists thrashed in Kabul

KABUL, July 29 -- Three staffers working with a private television channel were beaten by armed men while covering a demonstration against former Mujahideen leader and current Member of Parliament Abdul Rab Rasul Sayyaf in Paghman district of Kabul on Saturday.
Noorullah Rahmani, a reporter with the Tolo TV, said his cameraman Qais Ahmad and their driver were thrashed and their cameras were confiscated by seven gunmen 'loyal to Sayyaf'. Some 400 demonstrators staged the demonstration to protest against illegal grabbing of lands by Sayyaf. Residents of Paghman, west of Kabul and Sayyaf's native district, have held several demonstrations in the past against illegal land grabbing.
Rahmani said they were on the way to the police headquarters of Paghman to get officials comments after covering the protest and taking photos of burnt photos when the gunmen intercepted them.
Confirming the thrashing of the Tolo workers, Police chief of Paghman Abdul Razzaq said the staffers were beaten by some unidentified gunmen. Sayyaf was not available for comment on the incident.
Head of the Afghan Independent Journalists Association Rahimullah Samandar also confirmed and condemned the beating of journalists. He said it was against all international laws and norms and that warlords were still disturbing journalists' works.

(Pajhwok)

Afghanistan Media – a Vision for the Future

(Text of report by US-based Internews website on 24 July)

(July 24, 2006) Afghan journalists expressed confidence in the progress made by the media over the last four years, but more capacity building and support is still needed, they said during a two-day workshop organized by Internews in June.

More than 100 top editors, journalists and media workers participated in a media review and planning seminar hosted June 14-15. Attendees were asked to discuss and draft their views on a variety of topics, from media self-sustainability and donor relations to professional development and content and quality of the press.

Participants expressed frustration with what they called a lack of clear understanding about basic journalism principals and reporting standards. On the same note, attendees said they were impressed with the degree of public support for the Afghan press.

“For the first time, the public accepts and supports the media because they are independent and able to express the truth and the views of the people,” one participant wrote.

Afghanistan had no functioning press when the Taliban were ousted from power in late 2001. For most of its history, Afghan media was state-run and the independent press was censored by various regimes.

Attendees said they were happy with government support for freedom of expression, but they complained about a lack of clarity in the media law and how authorities handle violations.

Journalists also expressed frustration with self-censorship and pressure by the authorities, including threats, harassment and intimidation.

One week after the seminar, the country’s National Security Department issued an unofficial directive of media restrictions, for example, calling on the media not to give coverage to insurgents and not to give bad press to the Afghan national army.

Participants said they would also like to see international assistance to develop copyright laws and more journalism training, including in the area of business development and management.

“This was a good seminar,” said Radio Sharq station manager Shafiqullah Shaiq. “I was glad to take part in planning with other media.”

The event was held at the American University of Afghanistan, who donated use of the premises in support of independent media in Afghanistan.

“The American University of Afghanistan was proud to be hosting an event that will contribute to the sustainability of Afghanistan’s independent media,” said Simon James, Director of the Professional Development Institute at the University.

Additional participants included donors and media development partners.

The results of the workshop will be compiled in a report format and will be made available publicly and for all Afghan media outlets.

Internews' work in Afghanistan is funded by grants from the US Agency for International Development and the European Commission.

END

RSF regrets Afghan cameraman death

Follow-up suicide bomber kills TV employee covering death of two Canadian soldiers

24 July 2006-- Reporters Without Borders voiced deep regret today at the death of Abdul Qodus, a cameraman and driver employed by the Kandahar bureau of the privately-owned TV station Aryana, who was killed when a Taliban suicide bombing in Kandahar on 22 July was followed another in the same place a short while later.

"We voice our strongest condemnation of the use of suicide bombings by the Taliban against civilians," the press freedom organisation said. "The tactic of staging a second bombing in the same place, thereby threatening media employees and others, is especially appalling."

Qodus was helping to film the aftermath of a suicide bombing that killed two Canadian soldiers when - 40 minutes after the first bomb - a second suicide bomber blew himself up in the middle of the crowd that had gathered, inflicting fatal injuries on Qodus and four other civilians and injuring many others. The cameraman died of head injuries after being rushed to Kandahar’s Mirwais hospital.

After this double bombing, Taliban spokesman Qari Muhammad Yousaf issued a warning to civilians not to approach the scene of a bombing because a second or even a third one might follow in the same place.

The Afghan Independent Journalists Association (AIJA) said Qodus joined Ariana eight months ago after working for the national radio and TV broadcaster. He is the second journalist to be killed in a bombing in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban regime.

Local photojournalist dies in Kandahar twin blasts

KABUL, July 23: Photojournalist Abdul Quddoos was among the victims died in the second suicide attack that shook the Mirwais Mena area of Kandahar City around 6pm on Saturday.
The deceased was working as cameraman with the Ariana Television in Kandahar. He had gone to cover the first suicide attack that killed two and injured eight Canadian troops.
Abdul Jamil Sapand, Aryana's reporter accompanying him to the site of the first blast, said their team had gone to the area after the first explosion. As they were boarding a vehicle to reach the hospital and interview some of the injured, there was another explosion that critically injured the cameraman. He was rushed to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
Abdul Quddoos, 25, was resident of the southern Helmand province. He was presently stationed in Kandahar in connection with his professional responsibilities. He left behind three children and a widow to mourn his death.
It is pertinent to recall that Pajhwok's correspondent Ilyas Wahdat had suffered injuries in a similar attack in Gardez, capital of the southeastern Paktia province, last week.
(Pajhwok Afghan News)

"القيود" على الصحافة الأفغانية تثير الغضب

ألستير ليتهيد
بي بي سي-كابول

أغضبت أجهزة المخابرات في أفغانستان الصحفيين الأفغان بسبب تسريبها لقائمة من القيود التي تريد فرضها على التغطية الإعلامية للأحداث في البلاد.

وتضمنت قائمة القيود الجديدة حظر تصوير القوات المسلحة الأفغانية بشكل يوحي أنها ضعيفة، والامتناع عن انتقاد قوات التحالف المنضوية تحت القيادة الأمريكية.

وينظر العديد من العاملين في حقل الإعلام إلى هذا التطور على أنه محاولة لقمع حرية التعبير والصحافة في البلاد.

يذكر أن القيود الجديدة ستطبق فقط على الصحافة الوطنية وتستثني الصحفيين الأجانب العاملين في أفغانستان.

"تمجيد الإرهاب"

أما الحكومة الأفغانية فقد أنكرت من جانبها أنها قد أصدرت أية قيود جديدة على الإعلام المحلي، بل اعتبرت الأمر مجرد طلب من الإعلاميين بعدم "تمجيد الإرهاب".

وقد تضمنت الوثيقة الجديدة المكونة من صفحتين قائمة غير عادية من المطالب التي يتوخى من الإعلاميين الأفغان الرضوخ لها وتنفيذها.

ووفقا لقائمة القيود الجديدة، يعتبر انتقاد قوات التحالف، أو بعثة حلف الناتو، من المحظورات التي يمنع على الإعلاميين المحليين التعاطي معها. لا مقابلات ولا تصوير لـ"قادة الإرهاب"

كما يحظر أيضا إجراء أية مقابلات مع من تسميهم الوثيقة "قادة الإرهاب"، ولا يجوز حتى تسجيل أفلام الفيديو أو التلفزيون لهم أو حتى تصويرهم بالكاميرات العادية.

ويعتبر أيضا تصوير القوات المسلحة على أنها ضعيفة محظورا أيضا، وكذلك تكون الحال أيضا بالنسبة لنشر المقابلات الصحفية المناوئة لسياسة الحكومة الخارجية.

كما أخبر المذيعون والمحررون بضرورة عدم تصدر أخبار أنشطة المسلحين كالانتحاريين أو أعمال التفجيرات لنشرات الأخبار في وسائل الإعلام المحلية. ممنوع التوزيع أو النسخ

يذكر أن الرسالة الجديدة، التي حصلت بي بي سي على نسخة منها، قد وضع عليها إشارة ممنوع التوزيع أو النسخ.
إن هذا الطلب متناغم بالمطلق مع مبادىء حرية التعبير والصحافة التي يكفلها الدستور
بيان المتحدث باسم الرئاسة الأفغانية

وأبلغت الوثيقة الجديدة إلى الصحفيين الأفغان من قبل أجهزة المخابرات في أفغانستان بعد أن تم استدعاؤهم إلى اجتماع خاص بالموضوع لم يعرف مستوى ومكانة الشخصيات الاستخباراتية التي دعت إليه أو حضرته.

وأصدر مكتب الناطق الرسمي باسم الرئيس الأفغاني حامد كرزاي بيانا في وقت لاحق يرفض فيه تقارير تفيد بأن الحكومة قد أصدرت تعليمات للإعلام المحلي بغية الحد من أنشطته.

وشدد البيان على أن الحكومة كانت قد طلبت من أجهزة الإعلام مجرد "الامتناع عن تمجيد الإرهاب أو إعطاء الإرهابيين منبرا".

وقال البيان: "إن هذا الطلب متناغم بالمطلق مع مبادىء حرية التعبير والصحافة التي يكفلها الدستور". ردة فعل

ورغم بيان الناطق الرسمي باسم الرئاسة الأفغانية، فقد كانت ردة الفعل في الوسط الإعلامي في البلاد قوية. فقد رأى الكثير في المحاولة الجديدة تقويضا أو محاولة لتقييد حرية الصحافة التي ناضلت وتوسعت في أفغانستان إثر الإطاحة بحكومة طالبان.

فيوجد الآن في أفغانستان العديد من محطات التلفزيون والإذاعة التي أظهرت قدرا كبيرا من الانتقاد الحاد للحكومة في البلاد.

وقال رئيس تحرير إحدى وكالات الأنباء الحكومية إن 95 بالمائة من الأخبار التي تبثها الوكالة ستحظر فيما لو قيض لهذه التعليمات الجديدة بأن تصبح قانونا نافذا.

اخذ من قسم العربية لـ بي بي سي على bbcarabic.com

Afghan intelligence brings back communist-era censorship

Digest of reactions and reports on the Afghan government's order of censorship on media - a setback in journey towards democracy in Afghanistan

1. Media Condemns Censorship Order In Afghanistan

Pajhwok Afghan News

KABUL, June 22 Asia Pulse - Media organisations on Wednesday strongly condemned the censorship directives handed over to print and electronic media in Afghanistan a few days back.

A paper, bearing no signatures and mark of official stamps, was sent to offices of print and electronic media apparently by the intelligence department directing them not to publish statements and interviews of 'terrorists' and their leaders.

In this connection, a meeting comprising representatives of print and electronic media was held here at the office of the Centre for International Journalism (CIJ).

The participants, in a unanimous resolution, condemned the dictation and described it an attack on freedom of expression in the country. The meeting said the 'censorship paper' has no legal status; hence, it was unjustified.

The resolution said it was against the Constitution and the press laws to issue this kind of directives to media. In the resolution, the participants asked the government to clarify its position vis-a-vis the said document handed over to media outlets.

Describing the unnamed paper as intimidation, the resolution said such acts could pose serious threat to freedom of the press.

Pouring scorn over the paper, the resolution said all media organisations would abide by the press laws and would not accept the recent dictation.

Representatives and heads of newspapers, wire services, radio and TV channels and other media organisations largely attended the meeting.
----------------------

2. Media watchdogs 'dismayed' at Afghan government censorship

In a press release dated June 20, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) voices its "dismay" at recent initiatives undertaken by the Afghan government "aimed at imposing censorship and self-censorship about the security situation and the presence of foreign troops" in Afghanistan. The statement says a number of independent Afghan media editors and executives were "summoned" by Hasan Fakhri, an official with National Security Directorate of Afghanistan, and were provided with instructions on June 12 on what not to report; a list of banned subjects was then sent to the editors on June 18. RSF claims the directive orders media outlets not to publish "interviews and reports which are against the presence in Afghanistan" of foreign troops. The directive also instructs the media not to interview or film Taliban members, not to read the "provocative statements of armed organizations," not to demoralize the Afghan military, not to call the mujahedin "warlords," and not to publish "reports and interviews that are against the government's foreign policy." "We call on President Hamid Karzai to have this list of banned subjects officially withdrawn," RSF said in the press statement, adding that criticizing "the Afghan authorities or the coalition forces is not the same as condoning terrorism." AT
--------------

3. Afghan government tries to reintroduce censorship about the security situation

Reporters Without Borders voiced dismay today at recent government initiatives aimed at imposing censorship and self-censorship about the security situation and the presence of foreign troops. News media editors and executives were summoned by intelligence officials and given instructions. Then a list of banned subjects was sent out to editors.

"The media obviously have a role to play in promoting peace, but it is absolutely outrageous that the Afghan authorities should harass the privately-owned media in this manner and tell them what to say and write," the press freedom organisation said. "Criticising the Afghan authorities or the coalition forces is not the same as condoning terrorism."

Reporters Without Borders continued: "We call on President Hamid Karzai to have this list of banned subjects officially withdrawn and to make sure the intelligence services do not interfere in media content again."

The organisation added: "It is not by censoring the press that the Afghan government will resolve the security problems or put a stop to all the criticism of the warlords and corruption."

Executives and editors of some 10 Afghan news media, including Kabul Weekly, Kilid, Sibat and Tolo TV, were summoned by Hassan Fakhri, an official with the National Security Directorate (NSD) to a meeting at its Kabul headquarters on 12 June. After making a few general remarks about the role of the media, Fakhri distributed a list of bans and restrictions for the media that was signed by NSD director Amrullah Saleh. Fakhri said it could not been copied or circulated.

The media representatives present refused to accept the directive, describing it as a violation of the constitution. As a result the NSD sent a new version - with a few minor changes and no signature - out to the news media on 18 June.

The list of bans and restrictions - a copy of which has been obtained by Reporters Without Borders - deals above all with security matters and could be a result of a special meeting which President Karzai held with his security advisors on 29 May, following anti-foreigner riots in Kabul. Karzai wanted to tell the media that they should not endanger national interests.

The directive begins by ordering the media not to publish "interviews and reports which are against the presence in Afghanistan of the troops of the International Coalition forces and the ISAF [the NATO International Security Assistance Force]." It also tells journalists not to interview or film Taliban, not to read the "provocative statements of armed organizations," not to demoralize the army, not to call the Mujahideen "warlords" and not to publish "reports and interviews that are against the government’s foreign policy."

As well as issuing bans, the directive calls on the media to disclose " of the real face of terrorists" and to promote the "spirit of resistance and the bravery of the armed forces in the capital and provinces and particularly in the country’s border areas."

Reacting to media criticism, President Karzai’s spokesperson yesterday said the government had no intention of restricting the media and only wanted to "prevent the glorification of terrorism."

The Association of Independent Afghan Journalists is planning to stage a protest against the directive on 21 June. Its president, Rahimullah Samander, told Reporters Without Borders that the constitution and the press law in no way allowed such censorship. "Afghan journalists have been covering recent events in Kabul and the rest of the country very well, without sensationalism," he insisted.
-----------------------

4. Remove restrictions on media: HRW

Thursday, June 22,2006
NEW YORK: The Afghan government should immediately revoke a recently promulgated directive restricting the freedom of the press, Human Rights Watch said Thursday. On June 12 and 19, Afghanistan’s intelligence agency, the National Security Directorate (NSD), distributed a list of restrictions to Afghan journalists demanding that they curtail their reporting on the country’s deteriorating security situation. The NSD directive states that “[I]t is important that the media must ban or restrict broadcasting those materials which deteriorate the morale of the public, cause security problems and which are against the national interest.” “The intelligence service's restrictions are a blatant intrusion on the freedom of Afghanistan’s fledgling media,” said Sam Zarifi, research director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia Division. “These directives are an insult to the hard work and personal sacrifice of Afghan journalists who try to get the truth out to the public.”

Afghan journalists told Human Rights Watch that the NSD directive was a form of intimidation and would have a chilling effect on reporting the news.

On June 12, representatives of Afghanistan’s major media outlets were summoned to a meeting at the NSD where they first received the list of press restrictions, signed by Amrullah Saleh, the head of the NSD. On June 19, the same list was delivered to journalists’ homes and offices. This version lacked a personal signature and was accompanied by a demand that it not be copied or distributed.

The two-page directive restricts, among other things, “Those reports that aim to represent that the fighting spirit in Afghanistan’s armed forces is weak,” and “Negative propaganda, interviews and reports which are provocative or slanderous and which are against the presence [in Afghanistan] of the international coalition forces and ISAF [International Security Assistance Force].” The document also told radio and television broadcasters that “News of terrorist activities must not come as the lead story of the news.”

“The Afghan media is reporting on serious security problems facing the government and the Afghan people,” Zarifi said. “The government should be coming up with real solutions to the problems, not trying to sweep problems under the rug.”

On June 19, President Hamid Karzai’s office issued a statement denying that the government has issued restrictions, instead characterizing the directive as a “request” reflecting “the need to help the nascent media sector in Afghanistan to approach the complex issue of terrorism and terrorist activities in a principled manner.”

Human Rights Watch called on President Karzai to clarify the situation by retracting the NSD directives and reiterating the right of Afghan journalists to report the news freely, as guaranteed under international law and the Afghan constitution.

The end
-------------------

Afghan Commentators Reject Alleged Government Restrictions on Media

BBC Monitoring

Text of report by Afghan independent Tolo TV on 19 June

[Presenter in Dari] A number of political analysts in the country have described National Security Directorate's package of media regulations as against the constitution and freedom of speech. The National Security Directorate circulated this package to the media today.

[Correspondent in Pashto] Some analysts say that the package proposed by the National Security Directorate is against the Bonn Agreements, the constitution, the media law and freedom of speech. They say proposing such regulations at a time when Afghans are enjoying freedom of speech would mean a step backward.

[Unidentified person in Dari] The Ministry of Information and Culture has not officially received these regulations. Afghanistan's mass media law and constitution guarantees freedom of speech provided that it does not harm national interests, undermines religious beliefs and values, and that individuals are not libelled and defamed.

[Correspondent in Pashto] They [analysts] say this package is the legacy of autocratic and dictatorial regimes which have been against freedom of speech and media. Media should broadcast news transparently and independently.

[Unidentified woman in Dari] Media knows what freedoms the constitution has given them, and they know their rights. By issuing such statements, the government in fact humiliates the nation and the media.

[Unidentified man in Dari] Our security forces and our national police should not cover up their weakness in fighting terrorist activities under the pretext of negative media statements.

[A man in Pashto] It is in fact against media principles if media does not reflect realities for people.

[Correspondent in Pashto] Some analysts have called on the security forces not to put the blame of their weaknesses in fighting terrorists on media, and let the Afghans to keep themselves informed about good and bad news.

Source: BBC Monitoring South Asia

Afghanistan orders journalists to report more good news

By James Rupert, Seattle Times Newsday
KABUL, Afghanistan — The war against the Taliban has gone badly these last months, but Afghanistan's national intelligence agency has devised a secret plan to reverse the tide of bad news.
In a coordinated action this week, the intelligence men drove up to TV stations and newspapers in SUVs and dropped off an unsigned letter ordering journalists to report more favorable news about the government. In particular, the letter said, they should avoid "materials which deteriorate people's morale and cause disappointment to them."
The men from the National Security Directorate would not give their names, and to better ensure secrecy, the letter instructed journalists that "publishing or copying this document is unauthorized."
Immediately, of course, it was Afghanistan's top story: The government was imposing censorship, and press groups were protesting in outrage. By Monday night, the fire reached China, where President Hamid Karzai is traveling.
Karzai's aides there denied that authorities were infringing on press freedom. Rather, "the government ... requested the local media organizations in Afghanistan to refrain from glorifying terrorism or giving terrorists a platform," their statement said.
The letter also demands special protection for the feelings of the mujahedeen — veterans of the 1980s guerrilla groups that fought Soviet occupation. Many mujahedeen leaders are reviled in Afghanistan for destroying the country in civil war after the Soviet withdrawal, but they regained power by providing ground forces that helped U.S. bombers topple the Taliban in 2001.
They are not to be criticized or called "warlords." And Afghans called back by Karzai from exile abroad to take government posts are not to be described as "Westernized."
Whatever the incident may mean about the maturing skills of Afghanistan's CIA-mentored intelligence community, it is just more bad news for the four-year-old independent press.
The Afghan Independent Journalists Association counted more than 40 attacks on journalists last year, including arrests, beatings, abductions, vandalism and two slayings.
The government campaign began after anti-foreign and anti-Karzai riots broke out in Kabul on May 29 over a fatal traffic accident caused by a U.S. Army truck.
Meanwhile, U.S. troops carrying out an offensive against insurgents fought off a Taliban attack on their mountaintop camp in Helmand province's remote Baghran Valley on Tuesday, while a roadside blast in the same part of southern Afghanistan left a Romanian soldier dead.
U.S. warplanes were called in to bomb a guerrilla hide-out, and the American military said a few of the fighters probably were killed. Local residents said an elderly couple was killed in the air raid.
Information on the latest attacks from The Associated Press

CPJ urges Karzai to renounce press ‘guidelines’

June 23, 2006
His Excellency Hamid Karzai President of Afghanistan C/o The Embassy of Afghanistan 2341 Wyoming Ave., NW Washington, D.C. 20008
Via facsimile: 202-483-6487
Your Excellency:
The Committee to Protect Journalists is greatly concerned that your government summoned journalists to a meeting with intelligence officials and issued guidelines that would restrict their freedom to report.
CPJ sources say that on June 12 representatives from Tolo TV, Kilid magazine and radio, Kabul Weekly, Sibat, Pajwak Afghan News Service, and other news organizations were called to a meeting with Hassan Fakhri, who lectured them on the role of media and handed them a two-page document listing 17 recommendations on press conduct. According to several of those who attended the meeting, the document was signed by Amrullah Saleh, head of the government’s intelligence service. Our colleagues tell us they were instructed not to copy or distribute the document. A similar document, unsigned and with minor changes to the text, was sent to more media groups in Kabul on June 18.
According to a translation of the June 12 directives sent to us by the Afghan Independent Journalists Association (AIJA), the guidelines stated:
• Publication and broadcast of provocative statements of armed organizations and terrorist groups should be banned.
• Journalists should not report material that erodes people’s morale and causes them disappointment.
• Criticism of the U.S.-led coalition or International Security Assistance Forces troops should be prohibited.
• Interviews with “terrorist commanders” should be banned, along with videotaping and photographing them.
• News of antigovernment attacks or suicide bombings should not be a lead news story.
In publicizing the letter, AIJA noted that its members were distressed by the intervention of “unauthorized organs in the business of media,” and that such acts were “threatening for the future of press freedom and democracy in Afghanistan.” AIJA also pledged that media organizations “will pay no attention” to the directives.
Saad Mohseni, founder of Tolo TV and one of those summoned to the June 12 meeting, told CPJ that the government’s action “poses the biggest threat to the independence of the media and freedom of _expression in Afghanistan since the ousting of the Taliban.”
You distanced yourself from these documents in a June 22 press conference, during which you were quoted as saying, “If we want to be a democratic country with public accountability, we need a free press.” Yet earlier statements issued by your spokesman’s office sought to justify the government’s intervention in the work of the press, saying the guidelines were needed to “refrain from glorifying terrorism or giving terrorists a platform.”
CPJ stands beside our colleagues in demanding that the wide range of press freedoms included in Afghanistan’s constitution be respected. We call on you, as president, to ensure that these rights remain unambiguous and secure.
Sincerely,
Ann Cooper Executive Director

Author Suskind alleges Afghan bombing of Al-Jazeera was deliberate

http://www.cpj.org/news/2006/asia/usa_afghan21june06na.html

New York, June 21, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply troubled by allegations contained in author Ron Suskind’s new book, The One Percent Doctrine, that U.S. forces deliberately targeted Al-Jazeera’s Kabul bureau in November 2001.

“On November 13, a hectic day when Kabul fell to the Northern Alliance and there were celebrations in the streets of the city, a U.S. missile obliterated Al-Jazeera’s office,” Suskind wrote in the book, which was released yesterday. “Inside the CIA and White House there was satisfaction that a message had been sent to Al-Jazeera.”

Questioned yesterday by CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer, Suskind said: “My sources are clear that that was done on purpose, precisely to send a message to Al-Jazeera, and essentially a message was sent. ...There was great anger at Al-Jazeera at this point.” Suskind said U.S. officials considered Al-Jazeera a mouthpiece for al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

Asked who made the decision to target the station, Suskind told Blitzer that because of “sourcing issues” he couldn’t say. “You don’t put everything you know in a book like this. But I’ll tell you emphatically it was a deliberate act by the U.S.” CNN reported last night that Pentagon officials speaking on background denied that the attack was intentional and said it was the first that they had heard about it.

“If true, such targeting would seriously threaten the ability of all journalists to cover conflict,” said CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper.

The November 2001 air strike, carried out with two 500-pound bombs, destroyed the Al-Jazeera bureau, which had been evacuated hours earlier. The Pentagon asserted then, without providing additional detail, that the office was a “known al-Qaeda facility” and that the U.S. military did not know that the space was being used by Al-Jazeera.

U.S. officials have said little about the Kabul attack since their initial statement. Gen. Richard B. Myers, then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, reiterated in a February 2002 letter to CPJ that the military believed the building to be an al-Qaeda facility, but he offered no evidence or other detail.

The Kabul strike was the first of two significant cases in which Al-Jazeera offices in the Middle East were struck by U.S. fire. On April 8, 2003 a U.S. air-to-surface missile exploded outside the two-story villa that housed Al-Jazeera’s Baghdad bureau, killing reporter Tareq Ayyoub, who had been on the roof adjusting a pre-positioned camera during fierce fighting in the area. The U.S. military claimed Ayyoub was killed in crossfire when U.S. forces were responding to hostile fire coming from the building, an assertion denied by Al-Jazeera. Al-Jazeera has said it provided the Pentagon with the bureau’s coordinates in advance of the war. U.S. officials have not responded to calls from CPJ to investigate and explain the strike.

“The Pentagon’s repeated failure to publicly account for its actions in these bombings has understandably fueled suspicion that they may have been intentional, in violation of international humanitarian law,” Cooper said. “This should be of concern to journalists everywhere. It’s time for the United States to credibly explain the circumstances behind both incidents.”

Accusations that Al-Jazeera was deliberately targeted by the United States gained currency last year when the London-based Daily Mirror reported that U.S. President George W. Bush raised the idea of bombing Al-Jazeera’s offices in an April 2004 meeting with British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Blair reportedly advised against it, saying such action would provoke a global backlash.

The paper’s unnamed sources disagreed on the nature of Bush’s alleged suggestion. One source dismissed the remark as "humorous, not serious," while another claimed the president was "deadly serious." The Washington Post quoted a senior U.S. diplomat as saying the report "sounds like one of the president’s one-liners that is meant as a joke." The White House said only that it was "not interested in dignifying something so outlandish and inconceivable with a response."

Afghan journalists living with fear

Photographers and reporters endure government threats, assaults, abductions

GEOFFREY YORK
From Tuesday's Globe and Mail, June 13, 2006

KABUL — As a cameraman in the Afghan parliament, Omid Yakmanish thought he had a routine job, until he was attacked and threatened with death.
It began when he filmed a parliamentary brawl and an attempted attack on a female MP last month. His footage was an embarrassment to many politicians, and the reaction was swift and violent.
First he was confronted and slapped by an MP who had once been a senior Taliban official. A day later came the death threat. "Slaughtering a sheep is difficult for me, but killing you would be easy," the MP told him.
Then came another threat, this time from an anonymous caller on his cellphone.
"We know where you live," the caller said. "We could do anything against you."
For the next 10 days, Mr. Yakmanish went into hiding. He became one of the growing number of Afghan journalists who have faced severe pressure from the Afghan authorities, including threats, intimidation, even imprisonment and murder.
Last year alone, there were more than 40 attacks on journalistic freedom in Afghanistan, including two murders and several cases of abduction, assault and imprisonment, according to the Afghan Independent Journalists Association.
"In the rest of the world, journalists have rights," Mr. Yakmanish said in an interview. "But in Afghanistan, I was slapped and threatened. I expected it would be discussed the next day in parliament, but nobody said a word about it."
The attack can be seen on his video record of the incident. A hostile crowd of MPs rushed toward the female parliamentarian, Malalai Joya, after she criticized some of the Muslim fighters who battled the Soviet army in the 1980s. As the cameraman filmed the bottle-throwing confrontation, an MP turned angrily to him and said: "Why is he filming? Kick him out." Then he was slapped twice by another MP, the ex-Taliban official, and pushed out of the chamber.
After the death threat the next day, Mr. Yakmanish went to the national prosecutor's office to file a complaint. But no action was taken.
"We don't have much freedom," he said. "Journalists in Afghanistan are restricted. We cannot broadcast freely."
Mr. Yakmanish's television station, Tolo TV, is the most popular channel in Kabul and is often the target of threats. Several of its journalists have quit the station or fled abroad. Another was jailed by intelligence agents after interviewing a Taliban official this spring.
In some ways, the media have flourished since the ousting of the Taliban regime in 2001. Hundreds of newspapers and broadcasting outlets have opened, and standards are more liberal.
But warlords and government officials are often unhappy with the media outlets, especially when they expose cases of corruption or war crimes, and they make it known.
Last fall, two journalists were kidnapped while they were covering a candidate in the parliamentary election. Two other journalists were beaten and detained by security agents for "illegally taking photos of prohibited places" while covering Afghan President Hamid Karzai at an event for International Literacy Day. And the editor of a women's-rights magazine was sentenced to two years in jail for "blasphemy" because of an article discussing whether Muslim women can leave Islam.
"Threats against journalists in Afghanistan have become alarmingly routine," said Ann Cooper, executive director of the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, in a statement last year. "Journalists should not face harassment or threats for simply doing their jobs, holding officials accountable for their actions and investigating alleged corruption."
For the fledgling Afghan media, some of the hardest cases to cover are the suspected war crimes of political leaders who remain influential today. The warlords have never been prosecuted, and many journalists are afraid to report on their wartime activities.
"If we try to report about war criminals, we are told that we are damaging national unity," said Masood Qiam, host of an investigative-news program on Tolo TV. "It's a very hot and sensitive subject. Some issues are too dangerous to report."
He recalls how his own staff received threats of violence when he broadcast a report on suspected corruption in the sale of villas that had belonged to Afghanistan's royal family.
"These kinds of threats are very common," he said. "After 30 years of war, it's common now for people to threaten to injure you, or to break your teeth. I expect more of these threats in the future."

The end

Conference on media to be held on Wednesday

Borhan Younus

KABUL, June 12 (Pajhwok Afghan News): A two-day conference to discus current situation of the media and talk on future plans is to bring together representatives of more than 60 national and international media outlets later this week.
A statement released from the Internews Kabul office on Monday said representatives from electronic media (radio/TV), print media and wire services would be invited to join the conference. Besides, the conference will also be attended by ministers, analysts and press officers to deliberate on role of independent media in Afghanistan and devise a future plan.
Country Director of Internews Jan McArthur said: "Media management, regulation and sustainability will be key focus of the planning session." The conference is financed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The conference is the first venture to bring together a large group of media officials to jointly contribute to strategic planning in the media sector. Fifteen Afghan and international media representatives had met in Paris in March this year to devise a "long-term media development strategy" for Afghanistan.
In addition to 50 radio and 16 TV channels, there are 350 independent and state-run magazines and newspapers in the country.

Daily Time has its own cartoon of President Karzai

Pakistani media's response to remarks by President Hamid Karzai that days are gone when Pakistan was playing role of kingmaker in Afghanistan.
Here's The Daily Times' interepretion of the statement:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006\05\20\story_20-5-2006_pg3_9

Stop spreading misguiding information

By Daud Khan

What forced me to write these lines is a report carried out by some leading international news agencies and picked by Pakistani print media in their Friday's editions. It was the speech by Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai's to tribal elders and members of the provincial council in Kunar province on Thursday.
The first thing I wish to bring into the notice of newspaper's editors and readers is that no journalist, foreign or local, was allowed to cover the indoor function. Hence, what they (agencies) reported was second hand information with "picking a little negative and leaving much positive" part of Karzai's speech. The second thing is that no foreign media had its qualified reporter in Kunar. All they had are those who based their reports on information they get from junior officials about such events.
It is an unpleasant reality that except from verbal rhetoric like "friendly", "brotherly", "cordial" relations etc, ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan can never be called free of suspicion and bad blood. But in the recent times since 2001, thanks to the few years in power of Taliban and the support the hardliner militia drawn from Pakistan, the role of irresponsible and misguiding reporting can not be ruled out in pushing the two "inseparable" neighbours and brothers (Pakistan and Afghanistan) towards antagonism and animosity.
Thursday's piece of reporting of Karzai's speech is the recent example of developing bad blood (though not deliberately) between people and governments of the two by disseminating half truth and misguiding information. To be brief, I wish to quote the Afghan President and let the readers decide what he said:
"After taking the reign of government, I held four or five meetings with Pakistan President Mr (Shaghali) Pervez Musharraf, and told him that gone are the days when Afghan governments would be formed in Pakistan. Afghanistan can no more be used as a training camp. Bomb blasts, suicide attacks and the killing of Afghan ulema now can't compel the Afghan people to become refugees once again."
"During the reign of Taliban, a minister will wait for the whole day in offices of the Pakistani intelligence agencies to meet a (army) major."
This was the "negative" part of the speech which was picked by majority of news agencies and newspapers while the rest, which I wish to quote briefly, was set aside. It is:
"We are thankful today and will be thankful even after hundred years to our Pakistani brothers for the support and help they extended to us for 25 years."
"Pakistan is our brother country. I was as much grieved over the (October 8) earthquake in Pakistan that I felt the destruction had occurred in my own country (Afghanistan). To reduce the pain and grief of Pakistanis, we offered all possible help. We have only four helicopters, which were sent to Pakistan to help them."
"Every Pakistani is our brother; our own blood. We fully share the grief and happiness of Pakistan (is)."
"May God save Pakistan from bad days. If something happened to it (Pakistan), we will prove a shield to defend it. But I ask Pakistan that terrorism is a fire. If the flames are burning today in Afghanistan, it will reach there the next day."
"A peaceful Afghanistan is in the interest of Pakistan and will defend it but an Afghanistan at war can never be in the interest of Pakistan. We want peace, friendship and brotherhood but on equal footings."
These were the remarks in which Karzai specifically mentioned Pakistan. In the rest part of his speech, the Afghan President lamented the burning of schools, killing of teachers, doctors, engineers and ulema in Afghanistan and compared the situation with Pakistan, where, as he said: "Women are sitting without headscarf with ulema before TV cameras and holding debate on Islam. But in Afghanistan, schools are being burnt to keep girls students away from getting education."

I wrote the above lines to remind my fellow journalists to be responsible, honest and careful while reporting such sensitive issues. (end)