|
Moderator:
Thank you for joining us today for our online meeting with Ahmed
Rashid.
Mr. Rashid, any opening
remarks?
Ahmed Rashid:
Afghanistan continues to go through a traumatic period. An open
and free media is important, even though right now not more than
10 to 15 percent of the population is literate. Currently, radio
is a main source of news: there is a daily press roundup of local
news stations that is broadcast to let people know what is going
on.
littlepanda:
What kind of support is the open media fund receiving from the
Karzai government? Have local governments in Afghanistan been
receptive to the fund's work?
The presence
of a press is more important than radio or television for
the development of a free society in Afghanistan, says Ahmed
Rashid, above. (Photo courtesy of Sueraya Shaheen, Govinda
Gallery.) |
Ahmed Rashid:
Panda, the Karzai government is very receptive to the Fund's work.
Radio, press — they are all being allowed. In the provinces,
however, we have had problems from the warlords. In Herat, for
example, the editor of a magazine has been jailed several times.
We have also had problems in Kabul due to the defense minister,
and usually the intelligence from the Northern Alliance will create
problems. But this is to be expected. The main thing is that the
public response to the free press has been very promising.
Said: First,
I would like to thank Mr. Rashid and Internews for their efforts
in assisting Afghan journalists to build a free media. Please
keep up the good work and I believe that your skills and advice
are also needed in Iraq. I have two questions: What criteria does
your organizations use in deciding what projects to fund and how
do you evaluate the success of these projects?
Ahmed Rashid:
Said, the criteria is very simple. The Bonn agreement must be
followed; there must be no religious or ethnic bias in any of
the publications we fund. It's basically criteria that have been
laid out by the United Nations. We also do not take money from
governments. We depend on private funding from nations and individuals.
Sometimes, a group will approach us to give us money, and we will
have to take many months to assess whether that group was linked
to a warlord; this process takes up a lot of our time.
But most groups have
taken our funding and used it very productively.
Moderator: What
is the main news source or medium for Afghanis today, especially
outside of Kabul? What do you think it will be five years from
now?
Ahmed Rashid:
Well, the Afghan population because of the wars is really hooked
to the radio; fully ninety percent of Afghans are linked to foreign
radios, such as Radio Liberty, Voice of America, etc.
In the last 15 months,
though, literacy has increased: five million children have gone
back to school under the Karzai government. The problem is that
because there has been illiteracy for so long, there is nothing
to read! However, this will change and the press will soon take
hold over the population. There are already requests to fund publications
for all kinds of interests—we recently got a request to fund
a cinema magazine!
| "The
problem is that because there has been illiteracy for
so long, there is nothing to read!" |
|
Mahmud: What
is the role of those trying to reconstitute the monarchy? How
strong are they in Afghanistan and in affecting US congressman
and policy towards Afghanistan?
Ahmed Rashid:
Mahmud, the former king has an enormous good will in Afghanistan
and he is seen as a great arbiter. But he doesn't have a political
party; he has no force in that sense. There are many tribal leaders—especially
in the south among the Pashtuns—that want him. But he is
limited and he can't deal with the day-to-day issues of government.
Miriam: i'm
sure there are many challenges facing journalists in afghanistan
today. what are some of the most difficult ones that they face?
Ahmed Rashid:
Miriam, the most important problem that journalists face is a
lack of facilities. When we give them funds, they really have
to start from scratch: there is no decent printing press in Kabul.
There is also a major infrastructure problem, and journalists
have to build this from scratch.
The second problem
is political: after 23 years of war, there is no understanding
of what the role should be for political press. The idea of an
independent press free of warlord influence is a novelty.
Moderator:
Is there any push for censorship?
Ahmed Rashid:
There is no push for censorship from Karzai's government. A series
of brilliant cartoons
was just published that satirized the president and the editor
of the magazine was flung into jail while Karzai was away from
the country. But when Karzai returned, he had him released. The
biggest problems faced right now are where the warlords have much
greater influence, such as in the central provinces. In those
places, there is more censorship.
Faisal: Mr.
Rashid, I have enjoyed your books and writing on Afghanistan and
the region very much. I am currently completing my MA in journalism
and will hopefully follow in your path. Out of all the Afghan
government leaders you have written about or met (1973 - Present),
which ones strike you as the most dedicated to measures for reconciliation
and progress in Afghanistan? How do they compare to each other?
Ahmed Rashid:
Faisal, that is a difficult question. To say I admire one over
another is difficult. At the moment, Hamid Karzai does stand out
from the others: he has no blood on his hands. He has always had
a national vision; he has always said Afghanistan can rejoin the
international community.
Najid Ullah, a president
who was responsible for the deaths of thousands of Afghanistan,
was impressive in other ways. General Masud was also impressive:
he had a national vision., He was able to see changing situations.
Karzai has the same ability. Every leader must be in tune with
the public, and one must be flexible and change with time.
Moderator: What
are your thoughts on the constitutional process? Is the Open Media
Fund specifically supporting journalists to provide coverage of
this process?
Ahmed Rashid:
I think the process this year will be incredibly important, but
there are going to be major problems. I have been advocating very
strongly that the constitutional process must be carried out in
a free and fair manner. We funded a magazine by the loya jirga
in four languages and also offered to fund a newsletter to discuss
the constitutional process; we are trying very hard to encourage
new discussion about the constitution.
miriam: what
kind of feedback has your work received from people in Afghanistan
(not journalists, but readers of their work)?
Ahmed Rashid:
Miriam, we keep a very low profile in the sense that we deal with
newspapers and magazines rather than the readers. But the fact
that we received so many proposals indicates a demand. Unfortunately,
due to a lack of funds we couldn't give grants to everything.
There is an enormous
variety: for example, we are funding a poetry magazine in Pashtun;
we are also funding an excellent children's magazine. It is a
widespread response we are getting.
Moderator: Was
any magazine rejected on the basis of its content?
Ahmed Rashid:
We have not rejected anything on the basis of its content. However,
we have rejected several magazines on the basis of who they are
linked to. We have stopped funding one or two magazines because
they had taken on a parochial or ethnic line. But we expect this
to happen because Afghanistan is a country coming out of war.
Faisal: How
can President Karzai counter the Jihadi and Taliban influences
on the government? Is there a left or liberal alternative? If
so, who and where are they?
Ahmed Rashid:
Faisal, what you are seeing is that a lot of educated people are
coming back to Afghanistan. You are seeing a democratic front
in Kabul who want to expand in the provinces. Many magazines we
are funding are trying to take on the warlords and are introducing
democratic ideas. And because they are prepared to take the risk
of taking on the warlords, we will take on the risk of funding
them.
Moderator: How
available is Internet access?
Ahmed Rashid:
Unfortunately, in terms of the Internet, there is very little
access In Kabul and in other urban centers. There is simply a
lack of electricity; the equipment is just not there. The other
problem is the telephone connection—there is not a national
telephone network yet.
Daoud: By having
Fahim of the Northern Alliance in power, do you think the Pakistani
ISI [Interservices Intelligence] is limited in the government
ranks? What is the current operations of ISI? Is the US regulating
ISI policies?
Ahmed Rashid:
One of the problems is the regrouping of the Taliban. The support
for the Taliban comes from the main religious party, and many
Pakistanis see this as very negative. There is also support from
within the intelligence services such as the ISI.
The Pakistani government
has been very reluctant to take on these groups which have been
supporting the Taliban. Pakistanis have been putting more energy,
I think, into rounding up Al Qaeda and not the Taliban. This needs
to change.
Moderator: We
have about 15 minutes left to chat with Mr. Rashid. Please feel
free to ask your questions. make sure to hit return.
miriam: what
is the best way that people in the west can help the open media
fund?
Ahmed Rashid:
Miriam, it would be very helpful to receive financial support,
as we are dependent on private funding. We have had offers from
several governments that have offered to help us, but we don't
want to take it: we want the funding for an independent press
to be independent.
If people want to help,
they can also contribute by donating computers or sharing their
technical abilities.
miriam: could
you elaborate on that? how exactly would they donate their technical
abilities? what kind of skills are you talking about here?
|
Donations
Those
wishing to make a donation to the Open Media Fund
for Afghanistan (OMFA) can contact Sarah Breul,
OMFA Coordinator at:
Internews
1215
17th Street, NW, 4th Floor
Washington,
DC 20036 USA
Tel:
+(1-202) 833-5740 ext. 110
Fax: +(1-202) 833-5745
E-mail: sbreul@internews.org
|
|
Ahmed Rashid:
Miriam, for example, we have been trying to get people to help
out with revenue generation, accounting, distribution—all
of these skills have been missing in Afghanistan. We need on-the-ground
training, so the volunteers would have to go to Afghanistan. They
would need to donate three to four weeks of their time.
Also, people want hardware
like computers, digital cameras, FAX machines. Publishers have
been buying these machines in the market of Kabul, but they have
been getting ripped off. I do say the biggest contribution people
can make, however, is money: we have noticed that even after the
first grant of money, these publishers are still not self-sufficient,
even after 2 to 3 months. So we have given them even a second
or third grant! So, it's not just a question of startup money,
but also money for sustenance.
Ali: Regarding
Karzai's comparison of the Taliban to the Communists, do you think
that they can be compared? Did he alienate the moderates and reformed
communists?
Ahmed Rashid:
Ali, I think there are thousands of Taliban who are still living
in Afghanistan but they have learned their lessons from the past.
They do not want to be active. There has to be a degree of forgive
and forget for those Taliban who are no longer involved in militant
activities.
littlepanda2:
what kind of training do journalists in Afghanistan generally
need?
Ahmed Rashid:
Little Panda2, certainly there is little training. Many of these
have worked in Pakistan or elsewhere. Internews, for example,
has been training regular journalists; AINA, a French media NGO,
has also helped train journalists. We are cooperating with other
NGOs who have been involved in training.
We would very much
like to get involved in training, but that, too, would require
a great degree of funding.
lynh: How does
the Open Media Fund support the democratic process and how successful
do you think you've been to now? (I apologize if you've addressed
this; I've come late.):
Ahmed Rashid:
lynh, I have addressed this already, but let me say that the print
media is extremely important for democracy and for creating a
civil society. Afghanistan vitally needs a print media.
Moderator: Does
print media have a greater effect than radio or television?
Ahmed Rashid:
The print media is a shared media in the sense that a literate
person will read the newspaper to illiterate people and a discussion
will naturally ensue. A teacher might read an article in the morning
and discuss it with his students and then again in the evening
at the cafe with his friends. I think print media leads to such
discussions more than radio or TV.
Moderator: Well,
thank you for joining us today Mr. Rashid. Do you have any final
thoughts?
Ahmed Rashid:
I fear very much that Afghanistan has gone off the world's agenda
because of the war in Iraq. Rebuilding Afghanistan needs attention,
peacekeepers, support. I would like for people to continually
bring Afghanistan to the attention of their congressmen and their
press and their TV stations. To avoid extremism in Afghanistan,
we must all be vigilant. Donations should be through the Internews
site.
Moderator: Thank
you, Mr. Rashid, and everyone for joining us today. Please let
us know of any technical difficulties you my have had in logging
in to the chat room so we can take immediate steps to correct
the problem.
|
