The IFJ has called for the lifting of all censorship reporting from Afghanistan as rumours spread of violence and chaos in the wake of presidential elections taking place today.
"The world needs to
know about what's happening in the streets of Kabul," said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary.
"The ban on reporting is only encouraging ignorance, speculations and fear".
The Afghan government
issued a statement on 18th August asking all news agencies to
refrain from covering any incidents of violence between 6 am and 8 pm on election day, fearing that such coverage would dissuade people
from voting.
The IFJ this morning
received a number of reports of violence across the country and incidents of targeting
and intimidation of journalists on the spot.
The IFJ says that the
plight of journalists has been made worse because of the news blackout imposed by
the government.
"This ban is
wrong-headed and has only encouraged extremists to step up their attacks" said
White.
Further Information: Aidan White,
IFJ: +32 478258669
The IFJ represents over 600,000
journalists in 123 countries worldwide