In something unprecedented in the country, 2 channels receive a grim warning from the terrorist group.
Already forced to operate in one of the world’s most
hostile environments for journalists, Afghan television stations are now
being openly targeted by Islamist insurgents in a widening insurgency
that threatens cities across the country.
The
Taliban’s brief capture of the northern city of Kunduz last month — the
first time in 14 years of fighting it had taken a provincial centre —
underlined how far its military strength has grown since NATO forces
ended combat operations last year.
Grim warning
Amid
reports of summary executions, kidnappings and other abuses, the
Taliban also issued a grim warning to two Afghan television stations,
Tolo News and 1 TV, designating them as “military objectives.”
Both
stations had reported allegations of rape by Taliban fighters during
the fighting in Kunduz, incensing the militant Islamist movement, which
accused them of spearheading a U.S.-sponsored propaganda campaign.
“Reporters will be eliminated”
It said reporters and offices of the channels would be considered “enemy personnel” and would be “eliminated.”
Tolo
News, Afghanistan's first 24-hour news channel, has been one of the
most active reporting operations in the country for years, employing
dozens of journalists, many in volatile provincial areas.
“It is unprecedented, I’ve never seen this,” said its director, Lotfullah Najafizada.
A name for credible reporting
Part
of Afghanistan's largest private broadcaster, the station has won a
reputation for fast, credible reporting in a shifting media landscape
that features scores of newspapers, broadcasters and online news sites.
It insists it was scrupulous in reporting all sides of the Kunduz
fighting, including allowing Taliban spokesmen a right of reply.
“For
us, it was the biggest story of the past 14 years,” Mr. Najafizada told
Reuters in an interview at the group’s heavily guarded headquarters in
Kabul. “We dispatched our biggest team to the city. About 10 reporters
were on the ground.”
The Afghan government, the main
journalists’ association and international organisations, including the
United Nations condemned the threats, while media groups pledged to deny
coverage to the Taliban if reporters were harmed.
“This isn’t going to affect us”
“This
is not going to affect the way we work, this is not going to affect the
agenda for us as TV channels,” Mr. Najafizada said.
But
the threat nonetheless adds a dangerous new complication for local
journalists working in a country already ranked as low as 122 out of 180
in the World Press Freedom Index, a gauge of media freedom compiled by
the group, ‘Reporters Without Borders.’
Even officials intimidate
Earlier
this year, Human Rights Watch underlined the threat in a report that
pointed to a mix of threats ranging from government officials trying to
intimidate editors and reporters to the Taliban using threats and
violence to influence coverage.
The new media
landscape has also attracted criticism from conservative Islamic groups
including the Afghan Ulema council, an influential group of scholars and
religious leaders long opposed to “un-Islamic,” “immoral” and “vulgar”
programming.
Taliban’s sophisticated media
Yet
for all its hard-line militancy, the Taliban has in recent years
operated a sophisticated media and communications operation, with
regular tweets and press statements from spokesmen who speak regularly
to Afghan journalists.
Its decision to turn on Tolo
News and 1 TV adds to the uncertainty surrounding the future direction
of the group under its new head Mullah Akhtar Mansour, who took over the
leadership earlier this year.
Taliban’s true face unveiled
“Although
Kunduz was a brief military gain for the Taliban, the media coverage of
the Taliban’s atrocities exposed their true face,” said Najib Sharifi,
head of Afghan Journalists Safety Committee.
“We strongly condemn the Taliban’s statement and consider any attack a war crime.”
No comments:
Post a Comment