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Internews radio station located in Afghanistan gutted by firebomb
| by Rebecca S. Bender,
8/18/2006 |
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A small radio station in Logar,
Afghanistan, built by the global media training and support group
Internews Network, was destroyed by a firebomb in the early morning
hours of Aug. 11.
“It was an intentional fire,” confirmed Internews’ Senior
Vice President For Communications And Corporate Affairs Annette Makino. “The
speed of the fire indicated that some sort of accelerant had been
used.”
Radio Istiqlal Station Manager Lal Mohamad and his son were sleeping
in the building that night, as a standard security measure, she said.
In a statement included in an incident report on the fire, Mohamad
described being awakened at around 2:30 a.m. by the sound of breaking
windows, and seeing fire and smoke coming out of the studio. He tried
to save equipment, he stated, but was only able to save a generator
from the kitchen before the fire became too strong.
He sustained burns to his hands and feet, Makino said, but neither
he nor his son were seriously injured.
The station had not received any threats before the incident, she
noted, but local security officials were speculating that a “night
letter” distributed in the town in the days before the fire
could be connected. The letter condemned “decadence and corruption” brought
by “the enemy” and urged residents to reject music and “immodest
acts” at weddings and ceremonies and all participation in such
ceremonies.
“As you have already shown your courage in the past against
other big satanic forces and you have registered your honor in achievements
in unforgettable papers of our history, you should again accomplish
your religious duties and do not let them make a new generation again
their slaves,” a translation of the letter states.
It was written in a complex language structure that local community
members believed was not consistent with the language used by the
Taliban, Makino explained.
“We may never know if that was connected,” she said, “but
it’s an interesting coincidence.”
The fire consumed all of the station’s equipment, and though
the building walls are still standing, for all intents and purposes,
the station is destroyed.
“They really can’t broadcast at all right now,” Makino
said.
The station had been broadcasting about 10 hours a day, both local
and state news and entertainment, and Makino said that local feedback
had been very supportive.
A neighbor, Ghulam Hazrat, said in the incident report, “The
radio was our voice and we were able to bring our voices up to the
president Karzai and other officials ... .”
“We don’t have any non-Islamic broadcasts so I cannot
understand why they burned it,” a station staff member, Taher
Wafa, stated in the incident report. “We had the station so
people could learn something and to serve to the local community
... .”
Internews is an Arcata-based organization that, according to its
mission statement, “works to improve access to information
for people around the world by fostering independent media and promoting
open communications policies.”
It is raising funds to help rebuild the station. Makino estimated
that between $5,000 and $10,000 would be needed to replace the equipment.
For more information or to make donations, visit www.internews.org. |
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