silencearound
Politcal Worker (100+ posts)
Several reporters have been killed in Pakistans conflict zones in recent years while others have faced torture, harassment and intimidation. The truth, it seems, can be hard to stomach for the Taliban and security personnel alike. Reports of collateral damage involving civilian deaths often do not go down well with the security apparatus.
The Taliban, for their part, brook no dissent whatsoever. Since they consider their cause to be faultless and their actions above reproach, any negative reporting is deemed to be worthy of brutal retaliatory action. What else is to be expected of people who do not even pretend that they believe in freedom of expression? They do not subscribe to democratic values or basic human rights. These are people, after all, who are convinced that any Pakistani who is opposed to the Taliban is an infidel.
Be that as it may, the seriousness of Tuesdays warning issued by the Swat Taliban cannot be downplayed. Never has the threat of extreme violence been more brazen, with militants sending pamphlets outlining their future options to media houses and pasting similar posters in Swat. Any media personnel engaged in anti-Taliban and pro-western agendas will face dire consequences, according to the militants. After bombing schools, barbershops and CD stores not to mention flogging and killing civilians the Taliban have now announced their intention to reform the media and make it mend its ways.
This is what a Taliban spokesman had to say: It is the duty of the media to give space and time to statements which have a positive impact on society. Why the mainstream media is unable to find any positives in the activities of the Taliban is something the militants simply cannot understand, so blind are they to their barbarity and so alive to the righteousness of their mission.
So what is to be done to safeguard the lives of reporters and other journalists working in the north? The governments writ is suspect, to say the least, but it must make every effort to provide security to journalists wherever possible. It is also imperative that media houses do not send reporters and cameramen into war zones without adequate protection and training.
A case in point is that of the three Al Jazeera journalists who either came under attack by militants or were caught in the crossfire in Buner on Wednesday. Accounts are sketchy but it appears they were caught unprepared as they ventured into the theatre of war. No one should have to pay the ultimate price for a story.
The Taliban, for their part, brook no dissent whatsoever. Since they consider their cause to be faultless and their actions above reproach, any negative reporting is deemed to be worthy of brutal retaliatory action. What else is to be expected of people who do not even pretend that they believe in freedom of expression? They do not subscribe to democratic values or basic human rights. These are people, after all, who are convinced that any Pakistani who is opposed to the Taliban is an infidel.
Be that as it may, the seriousness of Tuesdays warning issued by the Swat Taliban cannot be downplayed. Never has the threat of extreme violence been more brazen, with militants sending pamphlets outlining their future options to media houses and pasting similar posters in Swat. Any media personnel engaged in anti-Taliban and pro-western agendas will face dire consequences, according to the militants. After bombing schools, barbershops and CD stores not to mention flogging and killing civilians the Taliban have now announced their intention to reform the media and make it mend its ways.
This is what a Taliban spokesman had to say: It is the duty of the media to give space and time to statements which have a positive impact on society. Why the mainstream media is unable to find any positives in the activities of the Taliban is something the militants simply cannot understand, so blind are they to their barbarity and so alive to the righteousness of their mission.
So what is to be done to safeguard the lives of reporters and other journalists working in the north? The governments writ is suspect, to say the least, but it must make every effort to provide security to journalists wherever possible. It is also imperative that media houses do not send reporters and cameramen into war zones without adequate protection and training.
A case in point is that of the three Al Jazeera journalists who either came under attack by militants or were caught in the crossfire in Buner on Wednesday. Accounts are sketchy but it appears they were caught unprepared as they ventured into the theatre of war. No one should have to pay the ultimate price for a story.
