Alarm over Afghan guidelines for journalists - Smell that democracy?

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2006/June/subcontinent_June745.xml§ion=subcontinent

KABUL - Journalists and legislators in Afghanistan have been outraged by the intelligence service’s new media guidelines that bar interviews with Taleban leaders and criticism of foreign troops.

The 24-point list was delivered to editors of newspapers and television stations in Kabul in a document that bears only the name the “Islamic Republic of Afghanistan” and carries no signature or official stamp.

It is widely agreed to have been issued by the intelligence service, following an agency briefing to editors on the same subject.

Considering the “present situation,” media reports should not ”weaken people’s morale and affect the national interests,” it says, referring in part to stories about the regular Taleban attacks.

The list, marked “not for publication,” says there should be no interviews with “terrorist commanders” and that criticism of the NATO and US-led forces based in Afghanistan is forbidden.

Also frowned on are “enemy” statements that portray the government as un-Islamic or suggest the security forces are weak. Stories of attacks, such as the regular suicide blasts and car bombings, should not lead news bulletins.