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Progress and Pitfalls of “Peace-Building”
in Afghanistan continues....
During decades of civil war and instability, particularly during the Taleban regime, the country’s mass media agencies and skilled journalists were reduced to little but memories of a time when print media was
widely available and radio broadcasts were thriving.
The loss of skilled individuals, institutional capacity and technical equipment coupled with severe censorship, nearly destroyed the country’s mass media. In a society
that closed down television broadcasting, forbade music and sports
programmes on radio and banned pictures from appearing in newspapers,
no media assessment can ignore Afghanistan’s recent history. Yet, since
2001, the Afghan media has made a great deal of progress. There has been
tremendous growth in private and state media; in television, radio and
newspapers; with national, regional provincial and metropolitan coverage
areas.
Media experts believe that sustainability is the key challenge facing
the nascent Afghan media sector.
Compared to neighbouring countries,
press freedom in Afghanistan has improved, but much more needs to be
done to provide a lasting enabling environment to the media sector.
Although international journalists often face little intimidation, scores of
Afghan journalists have been threatened and victimised by various
warlords and militia commanders. According to young Afghan journalist,
Muhammad Nabi Tadbeer, compared to the Taleban era, the Afghan
media has undergone momentous growth but its ultimate success hinges
on political stability. “Over the past century we have had cycles of relative stability and development, but any development has always been destroyed by conflict and turmoil.”
To be continued.......