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Afghanistan
Nai- Supporting Afghanistan Open Media
Media Watch Report
Afghan Journalism Freedom Report #21
April 2007
(PDF version
of Issue #21 - English)
Sediqullah Tawhidi
Media analyst
Despite the existence of Media Law in Afghanistan, killing and torture
of journalists is becoming a common thing.
In Report # 21 of Media watch, unfortunately, most of the topics are investigating
the lack of government attention to such killings and incidents.
Murder of an innocent human being is considered a crime in the
current law of the country, and the judiciary authorities are responsible
to sue and punish the criminals.
Besides, torturing people, even by police, is strictly prohibited
and is a crime according to the law even if the person is a suspect
or criminal, no one has the right to torture anybody.
It’s not worth ratifying a law if it’s not enforced afterwards.
An appropriate law needs to be enforced and to benefit the people
of a country.
Afghan leaders are unaware that a law which is not enforced is
not only harmful to the people, but also to them. And also it seriously
harm the government..
This issue will investigate the following:
- Rahman Qul, a reporter, killed by unknown gunmen in Faryab
province
- Ahmad Fawad Ahmadi, reporter, and Eshaq Quraishi, cameraman
of Ariana Television and Atta Mohammad Sahel, Logar’s Esteqlal
Radio RJ were beaten in Herat province
- Resignation of Fahim Kohdamani, the spokesman for Kabul Police
Department
- Reporters gunned in Laghman province
- Situation of free media in Takhar province
- Some media agencies were banned in Pakistan.
- Journalists protest the government officials’ act on blocking
their access to information
- Release of Ahmad Bukhari, Aljazeera reporter from Taliban captivity
Rahman Qul, a reporter, killed by unknown gunmen in Faryab
province
Mr. Rahman Qul was working for Andkhoy’s governmental publication
and also he was hired by a German NGO. On February 20, he was shot
by two bikers in front of his house.
Regarding the murder of Rahman Qul, Mohammad Sadeq, the security
chief of Faryab province, said: “In the past Mr. Rahman Qul was
a school teacher. But after the fall of Doctor Najeeb’s regime,
he began to work with an Armani lady, a German citizen, who was
helping schools at the Farah province. In addition, recently he
was working as a reporter for Andkhoy’s governmental publication.
No one has been arrested for his murder yet, but the police is
trying to capture the murderers.”
Andkhoy’s district governor, Khairullah Anosh, speaking to Media
Watch, said, “Lately Rahman Qul was one the key persons in the
education and culture field in Andkhoy district and he did a lot
of work for the education sector of Faryab province.”
Mr. Anosh asserted that the reason behind his assassination is
not clear and the police is yet to capture anyone in relation to
the case.
“Murder of Rahman Qul was truly a big loss and we are sorry about
this incident,” said Abdul Latif Ibrahimi, the governor of Faryab
province. “As far as the motive behind the murder is concerned,
you can point out to two things – first, it could have been Taliban
and secondly he could have been a victim of local rivalries for
his profession. We are waiting for the results of the investigations.”
The head of Culture and Youth Department of Faryab province, Shah
Reza Munshizada, also, stated that the motive behind the murder
of Mr. Qul is not clear.
Media Watch expresses its concern over the incident and writes
that if the attack is carried out by Taliban or local gunmen, it
could have been an anticipated move. But it’s the government obligation
to identify and capture the criminals.
Assassination of Mr. Qul, once again, proves that the government
is unable to ensure the safety of its citizens. The murderers remain
unidentified and government officials are showing few efforts to
resolve the case.
Ahmad Fawad Ahmadi, reporter, and Eshaq Quraishi, cameraman
of Ariana Television and Atta Mohammad Sahel, Logar’s Esteqlal
Radio RJ were beaten in Herat province
During the demonstrations by auto-rickshaw driver protesting against
the imposed government law on auto-rickshaws in Herat province
on February 22, 2006, Ahmad Fawad Ahmadi and Eshaq Quraishi, while
covering the protest, were beaten up by police and their camera
was confiscated by the security officials.
Speaking to Media watch, Mr. Ahmadi said, “Auto-rickshaw owners
were demanding the government to retract the restrictions that
have been imposed on their work. They had gathered in front of
the Herat’s governor office. Later the police started to drive
them away from the area but the protesters begun to react against
the police. The police started firing to disperse them and I wanted
to shoot their firing. Then I saw that one of the protesters fell
on the ground and started bleed. I went to film the wounded person
but the police rushed at us and started beating us. They also grabbed
the camera from Mr. Quraishi’s hands, which was lost. I tried to
explain that we are Ariana Television reporters but they didn’t
listen to us and they kept beating up Mr. Quraishi. His condition
is serious now.”
But Ahmad Shafiq Fazli, Herat's Security Chief, rejects the allegations
by Mr. Ahmadi and says, “Mr. Ahmadi and Quraishi were not beaten
up by the police and I, personally, respect the freedom of speech
and journalists. The police only told them not to go among the
protesters, which they didn’t accept. And their camera was stolen
by the protesters. I asked Mr. Ahmadi to identify the policemen
who beat them up or took away their camera, but he failed to do
so. I again emphasize that they were not beaten up.
Media Watch tried to find out about the reaction of the Ariana
TV officials about the issue, but Ehsanullah Aryanzai, the head
of the channel, refused to talk.
It is worth-mentioning that prior to this incident, Mr. Fawad
Ahmadi was also threatened by Herat's former mayor, Mohammad Rafiq
Mujadadi, after reporting the embezzlement case of Mr. Mujaddadi.
According to another report, Atahullah Sahel, Esteqlal Radio’s
presenter, a Logar local radio station supported by Internews,
was beaten up by security officials.
On February 16, 2007, Atahullah Sahel was beaten up inside the
radio station by two security men of the area wearing civilian
clothes.
Regarding the incident, Mr. Sahel recalled: “Two men from the
National Security Department of Logar province entered our office.
They beat me up and then took me to their office. Then they told
me that people are complaining about the disturbance caused by
Esteqlal Radio’s frequency to the TV channels, which, I told them,
was not my fault and was a technical problem. And then they released
me.”
But Abdul Karim Hashemi, Logar’s governor, rejects the allegations
by Mr. Sahel and says, “During the investigation I carried out
on National Security Department of Logar officials, they told me
that no physical attack happened to Mr. Sahel.”
Some minutes after the conversation with the governor, Media Watch
received a call from someone, who claimed to be the Head of the
National Security Department of Logar Province, saying that they
didn’t physically assault Mr. Sahel but a group of 200 to 300 people
filed complaints against the radio station. They were complaining
that the station is causing disturbance to TV frequencies in the
province, he added.
The Chief Editor of Esteqlal Radio, Lahl Mohammad Turabi, confirmed
the physical assault on Mr. Sahel, but said that he wasn’t present
during the incident. But he added that they referred the issue
to the National Security Department of the province.
Internews Afghanistan established the Radio Station in the Baraki
Barak district of Logar province in 2004. The station was programming
10 hours daily. But after the station was sat fire on June last
year, it was moved to Pul-e-Alam, center of Logar province.
In its reports, Media Watch has repeatedly urged the security
officials and police to prevent any kind of physical assaults on
people, as this is against the law, and required more efforst to
arrest criminals. But unfortunately none of these people have been
arrested or brought to justice.
The Ministries of Culture and Youth, Interior Affairs, and Defense
as well as the National Security Department should inform their
own offices to take preventive measures against such incidents
otherwise government will be proved weak when enforcing the law.
Fahim Kohdamani, the spokesman for Kabul’s Security Department,
resigned
Fahim Kohdamani claimed that the reason behind his resignation
is the censorship on news by the newly appointed chief of police.
“Mr. Esmatullah Dawlatzai, the new chief of police, did not approve
my work. He was reading and editing the news himself. That’s why
I quit,” Kohdamani told Media Watch.
But Esmatullah Dawlatzai claimed that Mr. Kohdamani was currently
not an official employee of the Kabul Police Department and there
was no specific requirement for his resignation.
Speaking to Media Watch, Kohdamani said, “I was appointed by the
former police chief of Kabul, Mr. Amanullah Guzar, and by approval
of the Interior Ministry. My documents currently exist in the Ministry.”
General Mohammad Usman, the head of recruitment department of
the interior ministry,told Media Watch “as we considered the employment
record of Fahim Kohdamani which is available in this department,
he was working for a non military position in a government ministry.”
He added: according the interior ministry institutional structure,
the spokes person have to be a military official within the interior
ministry, therefore Mr. Kohdamani was not spokesperson for Kabul
Police Head Quarter, but he was appointed as a temporary employee
for the Kabul Police Head Quarter..
Media Watch tried to talk to the Interior Ministry spokesman,
Zemaray Bashiry but he neither answered our calls nor was found
in his office.
Media Watch believes that censorship still exists in some of the
governmental departments and that officials are trying to avoid
spreading some news items, which is against the constitution and
Media Law and also deprive the citizens from having access to information.
Recently Tolo TV, for instance, was boycott by the Interior Ministry,
but the boycott was taken back later.
Senior officials must know that by imposing censorship they can
not prevent incidents and disasters. Therefore, people have the
right to know what’s happening in their country.
They should prevent the occurrence of such incidents, rather than
censor the news about the incidents. Besides, one can suppose that
governmental authority have enough of their own tasks not to loose
time on censorship.
Security officials opened fire on reporters of Ariana
Television, Pajhwok News Agency and Associated Press in Laghman
province
On January 13, 2007, Reporters of Ariana TV, Pajhwok News Agency
and Associated Press had gone to Alingar district of Laghman province
to make reports. On their way back their car came under fire of
National Security Department employees.
Mahid Hashemi, a Pajhwok’s news reporter, who was traveling with
the two other journalists, said, “When our car was going down the
hill, we were shot by the area’s security men. We stopped the car
and asked them why they opened fired on us, they told us that they
have mistaken our car with a smuggler’s car.”
Ariana TV reporter, Khan Wali Kamran, said, “It wasn’t a mistaken
shoot out, because when we passed by, they didn’t stop us but they
fired at the back of the car.”
Laghman governor, Gulab Mangal, in a phone conversation to Media
Watch, said, “We have detained the people who fired at them. But
we released them when the reporters suggested their release. The
men claimed that they waived at the reporter’s car to tell them
to stop, but they didn’t. That’s why they opened fire on them.”
Media Watch states that if the reporters refused to stop, when
they were asked to, they were in an illegal position. But if the
security men fired at the car without stopping them at the first
place, it was a mistake that could cost lives of three reporters.
Journalists and security officials should be careful when doing
their jobs to prevent such unpleasant incidents, because life is
a worth God-given gift and we shouldn’t play with it.
Some of the Free Media Outlets are facing downturn in
Takhar province
Nearly 12 publications of Takhar province have failed to run due
to financial problems.
Speaking to Media Watch, Abdul Matin Sarfraz, a Pajhwok reporter,
said that the situation of media outlets is worrying in Takhar
province: “I remember that Andisha and Agahi publications were
closed down due to financial problems. I have figures showing that
nearly 12 publications were closed due to financial problems.”
He claimed that, besides financial problems, the media community
is facing threats from local government officials. “Once, in the
2nd issue of Sarw Monthly, an article about women was published.
Part of this article said that woman is a blessed creature of God
and paradise is under her feet. The article raised anger among
some Mullahs, which resulted in protest against the publication.
They were claiming that publishing such articles will create women-domination.”
Mawlawi Mustafa Kakar, a Supreme Court official, said, “Prophet
Mohammad (PBUH) had twice emphasized in his last speech that women
are God’s gifts and you should careful about them. In some parts
of Islam the position of women has been emphasized because women
are mothers and mothers have much higher place then men.”
Mr. Sarfraz criticized the imposed pressure on media in the province
and said” “The local officials are not directly pressuring the
media, but when news related with them are published, they stop
cooperating with the media outlet.
“Currently, we can’t go to some remote district of Takhar province
and the government officials are refusing to cooperate due their
personal reasons.”
But the governor of Takhar, Khwaja Ghulam Ghaws Abobakr, rejected
the allegations and said: “There are no imposed limits on media
and journalists in Takhar. In fact, I personally have, many times,
arranged car for the reporters and taken them to remote areas.
No one has any problem with journalists; they can go anywhere they
want. Also, no government official ever tried to publish personal
related news in the media outlets’ programs.”
Closing down of print media outlets is not only widespread in
Takhar, but in most of the provinces of the country – especially
in Kabul. The new wave of media in the country have paved the ground
for the media outlets to operate in a free environment, but lack
of support from some international organizations, lack of newspaper-reading
culture and poverty are the reasons that cause the close down of
the papers one after another.
More than 300 publications were operating in Kabul, among which
only few of them currently have managed to survive. Financial problems,
lack of advertisings and government lack of attention are considered
the main reasons behind the collapse of some good publications
like Kabul Weekly, a very popular newspaper.
According to the media law, the Afghan government has to support
free and open media outlets. This support could include financial
aid as well. The government can cooperate with the publications
in their printing issues, as it has a huge access to printing facilities.
Tolo and Lemar Televisions banned for the 3rd time by
Pakistani government
Afghan refugees in Islamabad and Pakistan complained that a ban
was imposed for the 3rd time on Lemar and Tolo TVs.
“Anyone who watches Tolo or Lemar TV would be fined by the government,”
Gul Ahmad, an Afghan refugee, told Media Watch.
Another refugee, Nadera Ahmadi, also said, “If someone watches
Tolo TV by satellite, Pakistan government will fine them. The government
claims that it spreads anti-Pakistan propaganda.”
The CEO of Tolo TV, Sediq Ahmadzada, also, acknowledged the ban
and said, “After the visit of Mr. Shawkat Aziz, the Prime Minister
and Ali Durani, the Culture Minister of Pakistan to Kabul the ban
was removed on Lemar and Tolo TV channels, but recently it has
been imposed once again. And cable networks are prohibited to air
the channels. We have referred the issue to the President, and
Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Culture and Youth to negotiate
with the Pakistani government the lift of the ban.”
According to some recent reports, all Afghan TV channels, aired
in Pakistan, are banned by Pakistani government; details will be
given in report #22 of Media Watch.
Media Watch believes that there is law , approved by the Pakistani
government, allowing to ban Afghan TV channels in its territory.
On the other hand, nearly 2 million Afghan refugees live in Pakistan
and they have the right to watch the TV channels of their own country.
The Afghan Foreign Ministry should seriously follow this issue
and urge the Pakistani side to remove the ban. Otherwise, it will
lead to a similar reaction to Pakistani media in Afghanistan
Journalists accuse the government officials of mistreatment
and not providing them with the information they need
In the Media Law it’s clearly enshrined that access to information
is the right of every Afghan citizen and government officials should
provide people with the information people need, unless the information
acquired reveals secrets which are against the national interests
of the country.
Speaking to Media Watch, Farida Nekzad, the deputy chairman of
Pajhwok News Agency, said, “Recently, the National Security Department
gave a drafted code of conduct containing 24 articles for media,
but asked them not to publish the bill, because it was imposing
restrictions on media. But the media outlets published and released
the drafted code of conduct, which evoked National Security Department
Officials’ anger.”
Abdul Ghafor Popal, a Shamshad TV reporter in Kabul, claimed that
National Security Department officials have changed their behavior
after the capture of the Taliban spokesman, Doctor Anif. He said,
“The reason behind this problem is the existence of non-professional
people in some key positions. They don’t understand the meaning
of democracy. Of course, the President is an exceptional case”.
National Security Department officials have been mistreating the
journalists since the capture of Doctor Anif. They want the media
to become governmental recently, the Indian FM visited Kabul and,
during the visit, the National Security officials misbehaved and
humiliated the journalists. I reported the issue to UNAMA and some
media outlets.”
Pajhwok News Agency reporter, Habibullah Ibrahimi, also, complains
about the misbehavior of National Security Department and Supreme
Court Officials: “I remember that four years back from now, I referred
11 times to the Interior Ministry but the officials whom I wanted
to interview, refused to talk. And almost two months ago when I
went to the National and International Criminal Court to investigate
the capture of some suspects in relation to the suicide bombings,
they told me that I should get the permission from the Supreme
Court. Thus I referred to the Supreme Court to talk to the Head
of the Press Department and I was asked by the security guards
to show my ID badge, which I did. As my ID card was in English,
one of them told me that I didn’t ask for this “American-spy” ID
card. Subsequently, they didn’t allow me to meet him. When I phoned
the Supreme Court’s Press Department Chairman, he said that what
his security guards told, me was true. As I was talking to him
through the phone, one of the guards grabbed the phone out of my
hand and asked him if he wants to see me, which the answer was
‘No” from his side.”
But Abdul Wakil Omari, the Press head of Supreme Court, rejected
Ibrahimi’s allegations and said, “So far , we never refused to
talk to a journalist. Only in case the reporter wants to talk to
the Chairman of the Supreme Court, he would have to wait for one
day.”
Mr. Ibrahimi has always been cooperated. But he did not treat
well the officials and refused to show his ID card. When he contacted
me I told him that he couldn’t get the interview on that day.”
On the other hand, recently Salam Watandar National Program was
boycotted by the Ministry of Women Affairs. According to Fahim
Sediqy, a reporter for the radio station, the boycott took place
after airing the interview of Mrs. Mazari Safa, the deputy minister
of women affairs, regarding a letter which was sent to Taliban
asking to reduce violation against women.”
After the interview was aired, the Ministry of Women Affairs denied
giving any kind of information to Salam Watandar Radio.
Speaking to Media Watch, Mrs. Safa, rejected the addressed allegations
by Salam Watandar, “One day Mr. Sediqi, a reporter for Salam Watandar
National program, made an interview with me about the violation
against women in the country. Aside from other factors, I pointed
out that terrorists are also violators of women’s right,and, through
terror activities, they are killing mothers. The reporter asked
me that what I had to say to the enemies of the country. I replied
that my message, as a mother, is that they should stop violation
against women. But the radio has only aired my message to Taliban
out of the whole interview. That I was asked by the Women Affairs
Minister as if I had sent any message to Taliban, which I responded,
no. She told me about the interview with Salam Watandar Radio.
I urged Mr. Sediqi to go to the ministry and objected the false
airing of my interview and told him that that I was not going to
talk to the radio for a while, but you can talk to other officials
within the ministry or air the news about the ministry. There hasn’t
been any boycott on them.”
Concerning the issue, Sanjar Qyam, the chairman of Salam Watandar
Radio, said, “Government officials behave arbitrary and selfishly
with the journalists.”
Meanwhile, Mubarez Rashidi, the Deputy Minister of Youth and Culture,
in an exclusive interview with Media Watch, said, “All government
departments are obliged to provide the journalists with the information
they need It’s only forbidden to tell secrets that would jeopardize
the security of the country.
“It’s enshrined in the constitution that journalists have the right
to access information. But unfortunately some officials refuse
to talk to media. I urge all the government officials to act constitutionally.
If an official refuses to talk because he doesn’t want an article
to be published, it’s against the law. But if there is a technical
problem, then the interviewee should be excused. If a ministry
requires an official letter from a reporter, it’s only a waste
of time for the reporter and nothing else.
Speaking in a press conference on February 20, Tom Koings, Special
Representative of UN in Afghanistan, also expressed concerns over
the imposed limits on media by the parliament.
But Mohammad Arif Noorzai, the first deputy of lower house, in
a phone conversation with Media Watch, said: “No restriction has
been imposed on media by the parliament.”
Media Watch believes that imposing restrictions on media is against
the law, but the journalists should also understand that editing
the articles unprofessionally can harm the main message of the
report, which is something against ethics of journalism and damages
the honesty of the report. The chief editors should pay more attention
while editing the articles and reports to prevent any kind of misrepresentation
of the speaker.
But government officials should also understand that blocking
journalists’ access to information means violating people’s right
in accessing information because it’s the media that spreads the
information to people.
Making excuses to prevent talking to media is against the law
and asking journalists for officials letters from their agencies
is nothing but waste of time. It’s because there is a limited time
to publish and release news or articles, and if the required information
is not accessible on time, the news or the article becomes outdated.
Ahmad Bukhari, Aljazeera TV reporter, released after two
days captivity
Ahmad Bukhari, who went to the volatile Helmand province with
a group of national and foreign journalists, was captured by Taliban.
After his release, Mr. Bukhari told the media that reporting from
the south of the country is a dangerous job. Before entering the
province, he talked to some Taliban leaders and got the permission
to report, but later he was captured by another group of Taliban
and was taken to a remote area, he explained.
He also added that even though he had the permission he was kept
on detention for two days until his permission was confirmed by
the Taliban spokesperson.
“During my two days in captivity, I was moved to many places but
I was assured that I will be protected in case of attack by NATO
forces. It seems that Taliban have many places to shelter in Helmand
province, but the region is very dangerous to journalists.
The full report on Ahmad Bukhari will be available in the Media
Watch Report # 22.
For any queries or information please contact:
mediawatch@nai.org.af
Sididqullah Tauwhidi
Media Analyst
sidiqullahtauwhidia@internews.org
Mob: 0093(0)70-279-176
Jawid Ahmad
Media Watch journalist
jawid.ahmad@nai.org.af
Mob: 0093(0)799-340-831
Mohammad Sabir Fahim
Fahim.sabir@nai.org.af
Mob: 0093(0)70-266-727
In case of any legal problem, journalists may contact our legal
advisor, Mohammad Abdullah,
Mobile: 0093(0)797-192-050, or m.lawyer@nai.org.af
------------------------------------------------
To obtain a soft copy of the report, please visit the following
link: www.nai.org.af
Note: To maintain confidentiality and to protect sources it
was not possible for Nai to corroborate the incidents by carrying
out additional investigations.
None of the material herein may be reproduced without permission
from Nai.
This newsletter was made possible through support provided
by the office of the United States Agency for International Development
through Counterpart International Inc, under the terms of award
No. 306-A-00-05-00511-00.
The opinions expressed herein are those of the author(s) and
do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Agency for International
Development and Counterpart International.
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