The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) and Integrity Watch Afghanistan (IWA) on Saturday voiced serious concerns over the proposed amendments to the media law by the Afghan government, saying that such a move would be dangerous for the future of press freedom in Afghanistan.
They said that any move to restrict media activities will not be acceptable.
“The proposed amendment to the Mass Media Law is a sign of the government's intention to restrict freedom of expression and the environment of civil rights in Afghanistan. The Afghan government at this sensitive juncture should instead talk about defending the values of the freedom of speech and human rights,” said Sayed Ekram Afzali, the head of IWA.
“The human rights commission has grave concerns about it. The commission believes that the proposed amendment plan is a move to restrict activities of Afghan media outlets,” said Zabiullah Farhang, the head of the media department of the AIHRC.
The Journalists Safety Committee has said that the government has pledged to take media outlets into confidence about the amendments.
“Its better that this process is stopped so that we can discuss the issue in another time if necessary, we must work for the betterment of mass media law,” said Najib Sharifi, head of the Journalists’ Safety Committee.
“The government’s intention towards freedom of speech and the circulation of information is very clear, we strongly believe in safeguarding press freedom,” said Latif Mahmoud, deputy spokesman to president Ashraf Ghani.
Background:
Concerns over a possible amendment have gained momentum in the four days since 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 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.
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.
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, obtaining new licenses for the use of foreign publications, and facilitating the abolition of media work licenses are other activities that are considered restrictive of media work in the country.