The Afghan government has no intention of imposing restrictions on media in the country, said Sediq Sediqqi, a spokesman to President Ashraf Ghani, three days after at least 20 Afghan media outlets and media-supporting organizations in an open letter to Ghani raised their concerns about the possibility of restrictions on the media and on the freedom of speech due to government-proposed amendments to the mass media law that was enacted in 2006.

“The government never had the intention to impose restrictions on media outlets, no efforts so far have been made to impose restrictions,” said Sediq Sediqqi, a spokesman for president Ashraf Ghani.

Sediqqi also tweeted: “The president saw the letter of media expressing their concern over proposed amendments; which were not finalized, to our mass media law, and instructed me and Waheed Omer to open a discussion with the media. The government is strongly committed to our free media and will remain so."

The 2006 mass media law has 54 articles.

The new amendments have been approved by the cabinet and the draft is set to be sent to the parliament for ratification.

The letter mentions that the proposed amendments are in contravention of Articles 7, 34, 120 and 122 of Afghanistan’s Constitution.

The 6 chapters and 59 articles of the mass media law have been approved by the cabinet and are expected to be sent to the parliament for approval. However, some amendments suggested by the government on at least 13 articles of the law have sparked a strong backlash from the Afghan media.

Article 34 of the constitution says, “freedom of expression shall be inviolable” and “every Afghan shall have the right to express thoughts through speech, writing, illustrations as well as other means in accordance with provisions of this constitution.”

It also says that “every Afghan shall have the right, according to provisions of law, to print and publish on subjects without prior submission to state authorities.”

The new amendments have been approved by the cabinet and the draft is set to be sent to the parliament for ratification.

The 6 chapters and 59 articles of the mass media law have been approved by the cabinet and are expected to be sent to the parliament for approval. However, some amendments suggested by the government on at least 13 articles of the law have sparked a strong backlash from the Afghan media.

The letter by the Afghan media says that many of the amended articles of the mass media law are in contravention of article 19 of the international declaration on human rights that guarantees the freedom of speech without restrictions.

Article 6 of the mass media law says Journalists shall have the right to avoid disclosing their source of information, except when a competent court orders the disclosure. But the amended draft says that the source of information can be disclosed to government institutions such as police, NDS and the Attorney General’s Office.

Journalists raised concerns:

“New restrictions in the mass media law will harm the reputation of the government before the media society of Afghanistan,” said Hamed Kohistani, a journalist in Kabul.

“The government will be able to easily cancel the license of a media outlet or put it under pressure

“The amendments should not endanger the gains that we have obtained over the past several years,” said Mahnaz, a journalist in Kabul.

“The journalists and media outlets should be consulted about these amendments,” said Hewadmal, a journalist in Kabul.

According to the proposed amendment, having a degree in journalism is no longer necessary for a candidate to secure membership of the Commission on Media Violations.

The amendments suggest before and after publication censorship, and the letter in protest states that government institutions have provided “unnecessary” and “vast” authority to the government’s monitoring organizations, some advantages and rights of media and journalists have been excluded and the independence of the National TV has been questioned – among other restrictions and amendments.

Paving the way for more censorship of media work, and obtaining new licenses for the use of foreign publications , and facilitating the abolition of media work licenses are other materials that are considered restrictive of media work in the country.