The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) extends its solidarity to journalists in Afghanistan who are strenuously protesting the rough treatment of three reporters by a provincial governor at a press conference.
The program of protests and boycotts in Kunar, an eastern province of Afghanistan, continued for a fourth day yesterday, following the rough treatment by provincial governor Fazalullah Wahidi of three reporters at a press conference on January 18.
According to the Afghan Independent Journalists’ Association (AIJA), an IFJ affiliate, Wahidi publicly addressed three journalists and threatened to destroy their professional equipment.
The unprovoked threat was made to Khan Wali Salarzai, of the independent news agency Pahjwok and the government-controlled Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA), Abdul Ghani, also of RTA, and Sayed Abdulullah Nezami, of Al-Jazeera TV.
The Governor has been on record earlier accusing local journalists of maintaining links with criminal gangs.
The local leadership of the AIJA has since decided that all members will boycott official functions involving Wahidi until he tenders an unconditional apology to the three reporters.
“The IFJ calls on Governor Wahidi not to take a confrontational posture towards the local media community, which would only compound the hazards that Afghan journalists face in the performance of their daily duties,” IFJ Asia-Pacific Director Jacqueline Park said.
For further information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific on +612 9333 0919
The IFJ represents over 600,000 journalists in 120 countries