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RSF sounds alarm on World Press Freedom Day
On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Centre for the Protection of Afghan Women Journalists (CPAWJ) on Monday sounded the alarm about the plight of the media and the future for journalism in Afghanistan.
In a statement issued by the RSF, the organizations said: “The press freedom situation is disastrous in Afghanistan 14 months after the Taliban and United States signed a peace accord on 29 February 2020, and eight months after the Taliban and Afghan government began peace talks.”
At least 20 journalists and media workers have been the victims of targeted attacks in the past six months and eight, including four women, have been killed. Around 30 others have received death threats in connection with their journalistic work, RSF stated.
“The climate of terror keeps on growing and particularly affects women journalists, whose situation was already precarious.
“The precarity of Afghan women journalists has increased not only as a result of the physical dangers but also as a result of the Covid-19 lockdown,” CPAWJ director Farida Nekzad said.
“At least 20% of them have lost their jobs or have been forced to take unpaid leave by their employers.”
UNAMA also called for the campaign of violence against journalists and media workers in the country to end.
“Journalists must be protected, and those who commit acts of violence and murder against workers in the sector must be brought to justice,” UNAMA said in a statement.
“We recognise that female journalists and media professionals are particularly at risk. The impunity for such crimes remains a serious challenge and creates a chilling environment, limiting the media sector’s ability to operate freely.
“Afghanistan’s free and independent media sector has been hard won. Many Afghans have sacrificed their time, their energy, their money and, for some, their lives to build this crucial public good. We pledge our continued support in defence of a free and independent Afghan media. It must be defended,” the statement read.
Afghanistan’s chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation Abdullah Abdullah also acknowledged the importance of the day and tweeted: “While I am celebrating the remarkable achievements of Afghanistan’s media and our courageous journalists, I also recognize and remember their sacrifices in defending and shaping a vibrant free press.
“As always I am committed to a free press and access to information,” he said.
The wider international community in Afghanistan also issued a statement on reaffirming commitment to supporting Afghan journalists and the media sector.
“The UK remains committed to supporting Afghanistan. A free and independent media and a strong media sector is an essential part of an inclusive and representative Afghanistan. As we transition to a new chapter of international support for Afghanistan, as Afghanistan’s international friends and partners, we reaffirm our commitment to stand by its journalists and the media sector”
“As Afghanistan’s international friends and partners, we reaffirm our commitment to stand by its journalists and the media sector.
“We continue to support Afghan journalists, to stand up for their rights, and to oppose undue restrictions on their work,” the statement read.
The international community also condemned the campaign of violence against journalists and media professionals and said this “must end”.
“Journalists must be protected, and those who commit acts of violence and murder against workers in the sector must be brought to justice.
We recognise that female journalists and media professionals are particularly at risk. The impunity for such crimes remains a serious challenge and creates a chilling environment, limiting the media sector’s ability to operate freely,” read the statement.
“Afghanistan’s free and independent media sector has been hard won. Many Afghans have sacrificed their time, their energy, their money and, for some, their lives to build this crucial public good. We pledge our continued support in defence of a free and independent Afghan media. It must be defended.”
Uzbekistan’s Minister of Water Resources, Shavkat Khamraev, says Afghanistan receives its share of water from the Amu River through the construction of the Qosh Tepa Canal, and that Tashkent has no problem with this.
Khamraev stated that Afghanistan has a legitimate right to access the water of the Amu River and urged his citizens not to be influenced by rumors or incorrect information.
“The Afghans are our relatives. They also have the right to take water from the Amu River. Should we pick up weapons and fight? No, we are building better relations,” said Khamraev.
Amu River is one of the most important water sources in the northern region of the country, and the countries of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan have been utilizing it for many years.
However, Afghanistan has not used this water for many years, and now the Islamic Emirate wants to secure its share by completing the Qosh Tepa Canal.
Qosh Tepa Canal is over 280 kilometers long, and once completed, it will irrigate 1.2 million hectares of land in the provinces of Balkh, Jowzjan, and Faryab.
Experts have stated that with the completion of this canal and investment in it, Afghanistan will achieve self-sufficiency in wheat production.
The UN in Afghanistan, UNAMA, said Wednesday it was deeply disappointed that for the fourth consecutive year, girls have again been denied access to secondary education.
According to a statement issued by UNAMA, this “will only compound Afghanistan’s human rights, humanitarian, and economic crises.
“The new school year has started in Afghanistan, but yet again with a glaring and damaging absence of girls from the classrooms. This is not only harming their future prospects, but the peace and prosperity of all Afghans,” said Roza Otunbayeva, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.
According to Unicef, the denial of female access to education as so far impacted 2.2 million Afghan girls, including 400,000 this year. If the ban remains in place until 2030, over four million girls will have been impacted.
“I am deeply disappointed that the de facto authorities continue to ignore the demands of communities across Afghanistan, who have endured decades of war and continue to face a terrible humanitarian crisis. This ban reduces Afghanistan’s prospects of recovery, and must be reversed,” said Otunbayeva.
“This ban is also one of the main reasons Afghanistan continues to be isolated from the international community, which is also holding back recovery. Still, I urge international donors to continue to support the Afghan people, including in the education sector where possible,” Otunbayeva said.
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Russian envoy to Islamabad says IEA’s efforts to combat terrorism have been ‘insufficient’
Russia’s Ambassador to Pakistan, Albert P. Khorev, has said Afghanistan’s efforts to combat militancy have been inadequate but attributed this to economic challenges and prevailing security conditions in the country.
He said ISIS (Daesh) was the greatest threat to Russia’s national and regional security, and that Moscow is closely monitoring the situation.
Khorev added that Moscow is also working with regional partners under the “Quartet” format to counter terrorism.
He went on to state that Russia also continues to collaborate with regional countries under the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) to eliminate militancy.
He reaffirmed Moscow’s support for Pakistan, Afghanistan, and other regional states in tackling militant threats.
Khorev also dismissed media reports that Pakistan was supplying weapons to Ukraine.
“We have not found any proof of Pakistani arms supplies in the Ukraine-Russia conflict. All such claims are baseless.”
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has meanwhile repeatedly countered that Daesh has been suppressed in Afghanistan and that the group’s activities are rooted in Pakistan.
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