SAN-Feature Service SOUTH ASIAN NEWS-FEATURE SERVICE July 3,2008 Journalism in by Martin Gerner
In SAN-Feature Service: How would you evaluate the current state of the media and journalism in Samander Rahimullah: We currently have 98 radio stations in Also, the ulama, the community of legal scholars of Islam and the sharia, has recently gained more influence. Although President Karzai initially stood up for the freedom of the media, he is now silent. Recently, he even gave in to conservative demands and supported the banning of programs on three television channels. We are a year away from the next elections and Karzai does not want to get in trouble with influential people. What kinds of problems do Afghan journalists face today? Rahimullah: Over the past year, four media workers were killed in The world has been following the case of Sayed Parwez Kambaksh, who has been sentenced to death. Are you optimistic that he will be released in the near future? Rahimullah: I think so. There has been considerable pressure from the international community. His case has been sent to a higher court of appeal. On the other hand, such cases – I mean the copying and distribution of controversial contents from the Internet – will occur again in the future. Censorship is growing and unless things change, more journalists will be arrested for such things. How has the war, especially in the South and East, influenced the work of journalists? Rahimullah: The main change is that up until last year, the Taliban did not understand the importance of the media; now, however, they have started using the media for their own ends. In what way? Rahimullah: Their attitudes are changing. The Taliban are now sending weekly text messages to journalists. They are "informing" the media about the number of ISAF soldiers or Afghan police officers and soldiers they have supposedly killed. They are giving this kind of information to journalists in a relatively friendly way. The Afghan government, on the other hand, is not able to share information with the media; it doesn't have the necessary capacity. Government offices often have no media department, no spokesperson. Only the president's office has a media department, but this office is hiding information from the president. We have recent information that more than 50 letters have been sent to the president by journalists and the international community about cases involving the violation of rights, but the president has not been informed about any of them. While the Taliban's understanding of the importance of the media is growing, the government is trying to hide bad news. This is why the government is always under pressure, why its public image is weak. People are loosing confidence in the president and his ministers. You will be in Rahimullah: We ask the international community not to forget The Kambaksh case has exposed the lack of independence of the judiciary, but freedom of the media depends on a functioning judicial system. Has any progress been made in this regard? Rahimullah: In If we train 100 journalists to exclusively cover the Afghan judiciary system for six months or a year and get them to write in-depth stories from national, provincial, and district courts, things would begin to change. It would mean writing about corrupt, poorly trained judges, about their low salaries, and about local commanders pressurizing judges. If the Afghan media would report all these things, our people could also help the international community to plan better and spend aid money more effectively. I think the media can change everything. –SAN-Feature Service Courtesy : Qantara.de |
__._,_.___
*****************************************
Sign the Petition : Release the Arrested University Teachers Immediately : An Appeal to the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh
http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/university_teachers_arrest.htm
*****************************************
Daily Star publishes an interview with Mukto-Mona
http://www.mukto-mona.com/news/daily_star/daily_star_MM.pdf
*****************************************
MM site is blocked in Islamic countries such as UAE. Members of those theocratic states, kindly use any proxy (such as http://proxy.org/) to access mukto-mona.
*****************************************
Mukto-Mona Celebrates 5th Anniversary
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/5_yrs_anniv/index.htm
*****************************************
Mukto-Mona Celebrates Earth Day:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Earth_day2006/index.htm
*****************************************
Kansat Uprising : A Special Page from Mukto-Mona
http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/kansat2006/members/
*****************************************
MM Project : Grand assembly of local freedom fighters at Raumari
http://www.mukto-mona.com/project/Roumari/freedom_fighters_union300306.htm
*****************************************
German Bangla Radio Interviews Mukto-Mona Members:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/german_radio/
Mukto-Mona Celebrates Darwin Day:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/index.htm
*****************************************
Some FAQ's about Mukto-Mona:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/new_site/mukto-mona/faq_mm.htm
****************************************************
VISIT MUKTO-MONA WEB-SITE : http://www.mukto-mona.com/
****************************************************
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it".
-Beatrice Hall [pseudonym: S.G. Tallentyre], 190
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe
__,_._,___