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Kandahar journalists facing challenges

Kandahar journalists facing challenges

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4 May 2012 - 11:55
Kandahar journalists facing challenges
author avatar
4 May 2012 - 11:55

KANDAHAR CITY (PAN): Journalists from southern Kandahar province complain they are faced with a host of problems in reporting day-to-day events and incidents.

Dozens of journalists gathered at the Kandahar Press Club late on Thursday to mark World Press Freedom Day, insisting on the freedom of expression and asking for a solution to their problems.

Afghan media personnel had rendered a lot of sacrifices over the past one decade for their right to freedom, Press Club Deputy Chairman Dawa Khan Minapal told Pajhwok Afghan News.

“The southern zone has been an important region in terms of news and information over the last 10 years. While filing reports on different issues such as security, development and reconstruction, we face a number of challenges,” he added.

Many journalists of the province had been killed, threatened and beaten up by different groups and the practice continued unabated, Khan grumbled.

“Incidents of violence against the hard working journalists are on the rise. Instead of being motivated, the reporters are not receiving the level of cooperation they deserve,” he remarked.

“Only a handful of government officials respect the freedom of expression, while many others create problems for journalists and try to constantly curtail operating space for them,” he concluded.

A reporter with the Voice of America, Syed Sarwar Amani, accused government officials of seeking to limit the freedom of expression and hide information on public-interest issues from journalists.

Sami Ghairatmal, the provincial head of the Nai media support organisation, said World Press Freedom Day was marked in a more befitting manner this year, which meant the problems of media professionals had multiplied.

He insisted on unity among journalists, saying a commitment to the principals of journalism would help reduce the problems facing the fraternity.

Provincial head of Radio Free Afghanistan (RFA), Siddiqullah Khaliq, expressed concern over reporters’ problems and asked local media outlets to focus on social issues and informative programmes.

The participants observed silence for a minute in remembrance of the reporters who laid down their lives in the line of duty.

myn/mud

 

 

 

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