President Karzai speaks to the press in Afghanistan. Photo: POLFOTO

Despite attempts to control the media just days before the election in Afghanistan today, Afghan media workers feel they have enjoyed surprisingly calm working conditions during the election campaign. At the same time, the danger is yet to come, says Afghan journalists to IMS Web

According to the latest issue of NAI's Media Watch Monthly News, Afghan media have in general experienced few incidents in terms of harassment and persecution of media during the election campaign.

-    It is my impression that the Afghan journalists have been able to work professionally and that they have done a good job during the election campaign. We have seen no major attacks on journalists for reporting election news, says media lawyer Mir Abdul Wahed Hashimi from the organisation NAI.

Taleban ordered "healthy" media relations

This 'unusual calm' is partly orchestrated. According to NAI, Taleban leaders allegedly ordered their troops to 'establish healthy relations with media' during the election campaign.

To Mohammad Faheem Dashty, chief editor and publisher of Kabul Weekly, who has correspondents in all major cities in Afghanistan, there is a perfectly obvious explanation:

-    None of the candidates dare speak out against the media out of fear of getting negative coverage in the media. There has been some media reports which heavily criticized some of the candidates, but the candidates didn't even respond or counter these accusations fearing voters would turn against them, he says.

Having said this, Mohammad Faheem Dashty claims that most media workers expect a wave of retaliation after the election, meaning that media are yet to face the real challenge after the election.

Media challenged by restricted access

Though low on physical assaults, the election campaign has not fallen short of attempts to control the flow of news and subtle warnings of what is to come post-election day. In a report issued by Reporters Without Borders on 14 August, in which the organisation refers to reported incidents of unequal access and manipulation of access to information, RSF concluded that the potential "violence that threatens journalists working for Afghanistan's news media has created a climate that does not favour free and impartial coverage" of the election.

Efforts to somehow control the media also include the Afghan authorities. On 19 August the National Security Council issued an order released by the Foreign Affairs Ministry forbidding media coverage of predictions of violence during Election Day. Afghan media such as Pajwok Afghan News reject to follow the order despite threats to be closed.

On an operational level it remains to be seen, to which extent media will at all be able to report from polling stations on 20 August. During the campaign, journalists have been physically barred from entering areas under Taleban control, and as for Election Day itself, NAI notes that media may face difficulties in reporting from the election process in certain areas:

"(...) Security officials also confirm that some districts of the country are not under government control, but Afghan and NATO forces are trying to recapture the Taliban dominated districts to make elections possible there."

NAI is therefore calling on Afghan authorities to protect the safety of media workers to allow them to do their work and report on the election.

IMS helps media in Afghanistan

Jesper Højberg, executive director at IMS, describes how IMS is taken these facts into account in the support to media in Afghanistan:
-    Our primary objective is to help media continue their work to provide the Afghan people with reliable information, he says and continues:

-    Previously in Afghanistan and elsewhere, a lot of resources have been invested in supporting media during election periods. In reality tsupport needs to be long-term. Furthermore, there is a need to build and strengthen local Afghan institutions. IMS is working in Afghanistan with a network of national and international partners to help media stay alive and continue to improve their professional skills to do their job well.

Media coverage deeply rooted in the long history of war

The media in Afghanistan have faced grave working conditions for years. With a recent history of more than 30 years of armed conflict, threats of violence and numerous killings of media workers have become a sad but very real occupational hazard for Afghan media workers. It is in this light that the relatively calm period during the election campaign should be seen and viewed.

Asked to describe the cover story in Kabul Weekly's election edition, Mohammad Faheem Dashty confirms the impression that the long-standing war-like atmosphere characterizing Afghanistan for so many years also deeply impacts the choice of news covered by the media in Afghanistan - and how they are covered:

The top story on Kabul Weekly questioned the safety measures taken by the Ministry of Interior to protect all candidates between Election Day and until the election results are approved, Mohammad Faheem Dashty explains:

- According to the election law, a re-election must take place if any of the candidates are killed. In the article we looked at the scenario, in which candidates who find themselves at the losing end of the election might contemplate killing their adversaries to prompt a re-election. We wanted to find out what safety precautions were being taken to address this situation, and the security forces told us that they had taken the necessary steps to protect the candidates.

Preliminary results are expected around 25 August.