KABUL - Nai --an organisation supporting open media in Afghanistan -- on Monday said the ongoing month was the most violent for journalists, as 10 cases of violence have been registered in the past 20 days.
Seddiqullah Tawhidi, head of Nai, told a press conference here that violence against media professionals in less than three weeks showed such incidents would significantly increase during the current year.
He said the cases including two murders, four beatings and torture and four incidents of threats were registered with Nai.
On June 5, a foreign journalist named David Gilkey and his Afghan facilitator Zabihullah Tamanna were killed in a Taliban attack in southern Helmand province.
Tawhidi expressed concern over provincial officials’refusal to cooperate with journalists. Police chiefs tended to snub reporters, something that was against the law on access to information, he noted.
“Provincial police chiefs don’t share information with journalists. Whenever contracted, they say they are not allowed to talk to media and refer journalists to the spokesman for the Ministry of Interior,” Tawhidi said.
He also mentioned the government’s recent announcementthat foreign workers should not travel from one area to another without security clearance. The decision had created problems for foreign journalists, he said.
It was impossible for a foreign journalist having a guard while filing a report or collecting information, the Nai head argued. He asked the government to ensure security for journalists in the line of duty.(Pajhwok)