Afghan reporters interview local Taleban commanders in Musa Qala, Afghanistan, November 2007. Photo: Aziz Ahmad Tassal/IWPR.

“You report, you die”. Afghan journalist Malik Faisal Moonzajer goes public with an appeal to the Afghan government, President Hamid Khazai, local authorities as well as the world community to help put an end to the attacks on Afghan journalists

“I wish before I die, because of the reports I write, that there should be some efforts and some changes. Millions of dollars are being spent by all parties on corruption in Afghanistan, but there are no united organisations working for and supporting journalists. There are 500 - 600 interested journalists looking for someone to tell them: “Write and report the truth and  reality, and no-one can kill you.”

The words are Malik Faisal Moonzajer’s, an Afghan journalist working in Mazar-i-Sharif.

Surge in attacks on journalists

Following the weekend's parliamentary elections in Afghanistan marred by fraud, low turn-out and arrests and violence, the need for free media to report on the state of affairs is more pressing than ever. According to the Afghan news agency Pajwok and Reporters Without Borders, at least three journalists have been arrested because of their election coverage or for having contact with the Taliban.

Malik is trying to carry out his work as a professional reporter. In his personal account, Malik shares a rare, but important insight into the current atmosphere in Afghanistan, which is clearly infested with widespread mistrust and numerous theories of conspiracy as to who is behind the atrocities of attacks on media. The situation makes balanced, fact-based and professional reporting extremely difficult for the Afghan media.

Malik Faisal Moonzajer describes how attacks on media outlets and journalists receives little attention and he calls on the international community to do something:

“What I am asking is a favour from the world organisations to follow the cases in every country in the world. If journalists are killed by any party, there should be some investigations by the government or by the journalist union.”

“When Radio Darman Aqcha district of Jawzjan Province (in the north of Afghanistan) asked for help from the Government and police authorities. They refused to help saying “your security and your radio's security is your problem, we don’t have to worry about your security, it is not relevant to us”.  When the police station and the government is telling you, that your security is your own problem, you should know that they do not care what happens to you. The Day police in Afghanistan are the Night Taliban.”

Commenting on Malik Faisal Moonzajer's words, Executive Director of IMS, Jesper Højberg, says this is a call that international media support organisations and donors cannot ignore:

- No one should ignore the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan, but safety concerns should not be a hindrance for media to play its role in the emerging democracy in Afghanistan. IMS and other international media support organisations have an obligation to work together to support Afghan media – and to encourage Afghan media organisations and associations to do the same in the struggle for a free press.

In danger for speaking out

Malik is on a dangerous mission. In recent months, a day has not gone by without reports of journalists being killed, attacked, kidnapped or harassed because of the profession they perform.

In his commentary, Malik Faisal Moonzajer describes one of the most recent tragedies:

“Just a few days ago, a journalist in Kabul was killed by unknown people. Hamid Noori was a former reporter of the Afghanistan National Radio TV, and now he was an assistant in the Afghan Journalist Union in Kabul. Around 10:30 he received a call telling him to get out of his home. When he left his apartment he died, his body showing signs of stab wounds from a knife. His family said he had no enemies. What happened to him was because of his profession as journalist, they said".

Malik describes how he as a reporter suffers nightmares about meeting the same tragic destiny as Hamid Noori. He expresses deep despair on behalf of his profession and its immediate future:

"There are no real journalists in Afghanistan now. If you want to be a real journalist, you have two choices: Either you have tight security around you with the help of foreign NGOs, especially when you are doing something more than reporting for them. Or you make yourself invisible, you report but no one knows you exist.”

On a more personal level, Malik realises he could be next in line:

“I met one of my friends several days ago. We were discussing the media situation in the north, and he asked me: How is the situation for the media and journalists here in the north? The first words I started to say were: “You report, you die”. At first it was difficult for him to understand what I meant, but after my explanations, he understood that the situation is really bad for the media outlets and journalists in Afghanistan”.

In spite of the danger he faces, Malik Faisal Moonzajer has asked IMS and other media support organisations to share his commentary.