13 October 2015
Reporters Without Borders (click here) condemns the latest threats and attacks against media outlets by armed groups in Afghanistan.
Reporters Without Borders (click here) condemns the latest threats and attacks against media outlets by armed groups in Afghanistan.
The Taliban issued a statement yesterday
proclaiming Afghanistan’s two leading
privately-owned TV stations to be “military targets” while Islamic State
detonated a homemade bomb outside two radio stations in Jalalabad, the
capital of the eastern province of Nangarhar, on 10 October.
In yesterday’s communiqué from the “Military Commission
of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” the Taliban said: “From now on
we regard Tolo TV and 1TV as military targets and not as
news media (...) There will be no immunity from our attacks, either for
the personnel (presenter, reporters or crews) or for the buildings
themselves.”
The statement said the decision was prompted by the TV
stations’ coverage of the three-day Taliban occupation of the northern
city of Kunduz.
Like other media, Tolo TV and 1TV reported acts of rape
and looting by Taliban fighters during the occupation – reports
confirmed by the United Nations, international NGOs and other sources.
At the same time, the Taliban destroyed 12 media outlets and forced more
than 20 journalists to flee the city.
“We again caution all parties to the conflict, both
the Afghan state and non-stateactors, and we remind them of their
obligation to protect journalists,” said Reza Moini, the head of the Reporters Without Borders Afghanistan desk.
“Attacks
against civilian targets, including media outlets and journalists,
constitute war crimes. “From now on we will demand an explanation from
the Taliban delegations abroad, including the Taliban office in Doha,
for every Taliban attack on journalists and media outlets. The countries
hosting or having relations with these delegations must firmly condemn
this statement and use all possible means to prevent criminal acts by
the Taliban against journalists and media outlets. Or else they will
also be held responsible.”...
