Press freedom in war-torn Afghanistan is regressing to a Taliban-era level of restrictions, according to a recent report. Reporters Without Borders (RSF), a Paris-based press advocacy organization, visited Afghanistan in January to survey the current situation. Their report is entitled, “We have free speech, but we’re not safe and don’t act responsibly.”
“Because of the deterioration of the situation, some of them feel that they are back to a sort of Taliban situation,” said Vincent Brossel, Asia Director for RSF. Brossel spent a little over a week traveling throughout Afghanistan and interviewing local journalists. Brossel found that the situation is grim, and threats against working journalists are common. RSF also found that the Afghan Interior Ministry has been largely ineffective and even inactive in providing help and support.
“In fact, they [the Interior Ministry] don’t take action and their investigations rarely go to the end,” said Brossel, who points to the case of slain journalist Zakia Zaki. According to Brossel, she was killed by warlords and her murder was never “seriously” investigated. “Even the Interior Ministry once put pressure on her husband because he was asking for justice.”
Farida Nekzad, a veteran journalist of ten years who lives and works in Afghanistan’s capital city, Kabul, says the greatest danger that journalists face comes from the dual threat of warlords and the Taliban.
“Warlords and people in power will kidnap,” said Nekzad by telephone from Kabul. “People cannot express their problems [through the media] because they have guns, they have power, and they don’t accept the law—they have their own laws.”
Nekzad was recognized for her work in late 2008 when the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) gave her a “Courage in Journalism” award. Since 1990, the IWMF has annually recognized the work of women journalists who are at the forefront of their field with their Courage in Journalism award. Farida Nekzad was one of the 2008 recipients.
Part of this blog posting was excerpted from an article originally published in The Epoch Times.