International organizations should not support organizations claiming to support Afghan journalists

Bayan News – A group of journalists in Kabul known as the “Protest Movement of Afghan Journalists” is calling on the Ministry of Information and Culture of Afghanistan to prevent the misuse of organizations claiming to support journalists.

Sayed Mohammad Raqib Fayaz, one of the journalists, considers these supporting organizations to be self-proclaimed entities and says they play with the fate of all journalists in the absence of journalists in order to exploit the name of journalists.

Fayaz argues that these organizations claiming to support journalists lack legitimacy and asks the Ministry of Information and Culture of Afghanistan to revoke the licenses of organizations that do not represent journalists and not allow individuals to exploit the name of journalists for their own benefit.

These journalists also request that international relief organizations do not recognize other organizations that do not represent Afghan journalists as legitimate media and journalist communities, as one of the main reasons for the current poor economic situation of journalists is these illegitimate organizations.

On the other hand, several protesting journalists state that the officials of media support organizations in Kabul are not responsive to any of the journalists’ inquiries.

Mohammad Aref Bayat, another journalist, says, “Organizations claiming to support journalists have no legal legitimacy among the members of the Afghan Journalists’ Protest Movement because they have not provided any services and have not satisfactorily answered any of our legal questions.”

He also calls on international organizations not to assist organizations claiming to support Afghan journalists and, at the same time, suspend the membership of these organizations.

Bayat and several other journalists demand the establishment of a unified umbrella organization that can address the problems of Afghan journalists.

Meanwhile, Sayed Mahdi Hussaini, another journalist, referring to the activities of the Afghan Journalists’ Protest Movement over the past year, states that during the past year, this movement has raised its voice multiple times and demanded an end to the exploitation of the name of journalists by these organizations.

He continues to urge the Ministry of Information and Culture to take action against these organizations claiming to support media and journalists and hold them accountable for journalists’ issues.