Media freedom under threat in Afghanistan

Kabul, 23^rd April 2008

Media freedom, enshrined within the Afghan Constitution, is today facing a crisis.  The Government’s continued manipulation of media for political gain, shrouded under the banner of Islam, has escalated with recent moves by the Ministry of Information and Culture to ban the broadcast of popular Indian produced family dramas.

The Ministry of Information and Culture has bypassed appropriate legal channels and issued an edict to broadcasters to cease broadcasting Indian produced drama .This action fails to engage the appropriate legal process of addressing the media complaints commission, who are empowered to consider and refer relevant cases to the courts.

The banned serials, already broadcast for two and a half years, have been universally popular across the traditionally conservative Afghan society.  Whilst other stations have bowed to this pressure, there is a consensus among the independent stations that this order is illegal.  In the interests of supporting a free media, TOLO TV will continue to broadcast its programs.

“TOLO TV is Afghan owned and operated and has always broadcast within the boundaries of our media laws and respected the values of our Islamic society. 

“The series currently under focus are all family oriented and conservative; their universal popularity with our audiences should provide any commonsense test of such.  The Ministry’s sudden interest in them, after years of broadcast, is more in line with hobbling the development of free media and debate in Afghanistan.  The fact that there are elections in 2009 should be lost on no one when assessing what is motivating the Ministry’s actions.

“TOLO TV has achieved its position of market leader through its focus on providing quality, appropriate entertainment as well as rigorous and fair news and current affairs.  We have developed programs that promote ethnic tolerance, education, equality, democracy and health.  Our news and current affairs teams have been rigorous in dealing with the scourges of our society, including corruption, extremism, the narcotic trade and human rights abuses.

“The Ministry’s continued and legally baseless efforts to hinder rather than support free media is a critical issue for broadcasters, the people of Afghanistan and those in the international community who believe in free media as a path to redevelopment of this nation” said Jahid Mohseni, COO of TOLO TV.

A free and fair media is critical for Afghanistan as the country moves towards its national elections scheduled for 2009.  TOLO TV, together with the Afghan National Journalists Union, is calling on all Afghans and members of the international community to ensure that Afghanistan’s media industry is allowed to operate within the boundaries of its common law and constitution, and not subjected to the political control of the current Ministry.