Afghan journalists defiant after deadly day
AFGHAN journalists were shaken but defiant on Tuesday, vowing to continue reporting on the bloody conflict after the deadliest attack on the country’s media since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.
Ten journalists were killed on Monday, including Agence France-Presse chief photographer Shah Marai, in attacks that sparked outrage around the world and underscored the dangers faced by Afghan media. The deadly assaults have rocked Afghanistan’s tight-knit journalist community. Many of them are close friends as well as colleagues who look out for one another as they work in an increasingly hostile environment.
Hours after the double suicide blast in Kabul that killed nine journalists and 16 others, dozens of Afghan news editors and executives gathered at the site in a public display of defiance to militants.
The message was “if they destroy a line of journalists, there’s going to be a long- er line back at the scene within a few hours”, Tolo News Director Lotfullah Najafizada said.
Tolo News cameraman Yar Mohammad Tokhi was among the journalists killed in the explosion that also wounded 49 people and was claimed by Islamic State. Journalists from 1TV, Radio Free Europe and Mashal TV were also among the dead.
Police said a bomber disguised himself as a journalist and blew himself up among the media covering the first blast near Afghanistan’s intelligence agency.
Media outlets condemned the government’s failure to provide security for journalists, particularly at the scene of attacks where secondary blasts are a constant concern.
“They [security forces] cordon off the area and journalists are left behind the line with the public,” Najafizada said.
Many journalists expressed determination to continue their work despite the threats.
“Our message is that we are ready, we are not afraid of such attacks and we will stand for freedom of speech and democracy in Afghanistan,” said Hamid Haidari, acting head of the news department at 1TV, which lost a reporter and a cameraman in the assault.
“We know this kind of attack will happen [again] in the future . . . but we will not stop, we will continue.
“It was a tough time [yesterday]. But we stand against such barbaric acts.”
The 10th journalist killed Monday was BBC reporter Ahmad Shah, who died in a separate attack in the eastern province of Khost.
The attacks came days after gunmen shot dead an Afghan journalist in the southern city of Kandahar.
Afghanistan was last year ranked the third most dangerous country in the world for journalists by ReportersWithout Borders. The media watchdog said since 2016, it has recorded the killings of 34 journalists in Afghanistan.