Abdullah Marks Press Freedom Day, Pledges Support To Media

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سه شنبه 14 ثور 1395 ساعت 12:23 نوشته شده توسط TOLOnews.com

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Afghan CEO Abdullah Abdullah marked World Press Freedom Day on Tuesday at an event in Kabul and applauded local media for their achievements over the years and said govement would do everything possible to protect joualists from coming under attack.

Increased levels of press freedom and a growth in Afghanistan's media sector are two of the most significant developments since the Taliban was ousted in 2001.

After the fall of the hardline regime, the country has developed an effective media sector, which plays a key role in the political and cultural arenas as well as the daily lives of Afghans.

But despite these achievements, the media is currently under threat by hardline insurgent groups, including the Taliban.

In his speech on Monday, Abdullah acknowledged the achievements made but also touched on the challenges facing the industry.

He said: "Afghans fought for press freedom even when some people, parties and govements tried to silence the voices."

"Press freedom in Afghanistan is the achievement of our people. Afghan media outlets were the front runners in achieving this freedom," he added.

Abdullah went on to say it has been a long struggle to get to this point and many sacrifices have been made along the way. He also pointed out that despite the achievements, the industry is under threat.

"We have come a long way but, there still are problems challenging us. We have recently witnessed attacks on media in Afghanistan," he said.

"The latest attack was on TOLOnews. It was a horrible attack which cannot be justified by any means. There were similar attacks earlier."

But he said: "Afghan govement is committed to supporting the media and press freedom. We are standing with the media and work to solve their problems."

Abdullah stated that govement is committed to protecting the media in Afghanistan and that justice will be brought against those who carry out attacks on the media.

He said: "I would like to tell the media that we are united, we are one nation, one voice and one group. You are the voice of our nation. I thank you!"

"Press freedom is our achievement. We will support this freedom and won't allow anyone to create problems for the media and their work."

The CEO also stated that the media was a bridge between people and govement in Afghanistan and that in doing so, the media has always played a pivotal role in holding govement accountable.

He said govement supports the media's independence and that no person within govement has the right to interfere in the work being done by the media in Afghanistan.

"Our country is facing so many problems today. Media should prioritize national interests and defy terror against the Afghans," he said.

In conclusion he called on govement spokespeople to share accurate information with the media in a timely manner – so as to ensure the right information was going out.

"Terrorism and current war in Afghanistan is a common enemy to all of us. We all need to stand against it and work together for a better future."

Meanwhile, Minister of Information and Culture Abdul Bari Jahani, who addressed guests ahead of Abdullah, said at the event that the media and copy right laws will be amended.

In addition he said that a memorial will be erected to honor those in the media industry who have died fighting for press freedom.

Jahani said his ministry will also investigate over 600 cases of violence against Afghan media workers and joualists through the years.

Abdullah's speech followed just hours after TOLOnews' director of news Lotfullah Najafizada was awarded the prestigious Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Hero award for 2016 in Paris on Monday night.

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