SAFMA to express solidarity with media
LAHORE: South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA) Secretary General Imtiaz Alam, has announced that SAFMA national chapters in South Asia will express their solidarity with the Pakistani media community on November 15 and 20 by delivering letters of protest and staging demonstrations.
He was addressing a press conference today at the South Asia Media Centre after his release from police custody in Lahore. Alam was arrested on Monday without any charges and was released after 36 hours of illegal detention. The SAFMA secretary general expressed his concern over the massive repression of the media, lawyers’ community, civil society organisations and human rights activists after the imposition of emergency and Proclamation of the Provision Constitutional Order.
Instead of targeting terrorists and extremists the regime has turned its guns towards those who want liberal values to flourish, the restoration of the rule of law and constitutional democratic set up in the country. Criticising the clampdown on the electronic media, he said that it was unprecedented that all private news channels had been forcibly put off the air since the last four days depriving people of their right to information and freedom of expression.
Taking serious exception to the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority and Press and Publications Ordinances, Imtiaz Alam demanded the withdrawal of these bad laws immediately. Under these two ordinances, he said, the electronic media can be fined up to Rs 10 million and a conviction of three years and district coordination officers have been authorised to suspend the publication of any newspaper for a month on a wide range of prohibitions.
Explaining SAFMA’s position, he said that, like Nepal, SAFMA will be supporting the Federal Union of Journalists and other media organisations in their struggle for press freedom. He assured the Pakistani media community that all SAFMA national chapters in Afghanistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will express their full solidarity for the struggling media community of Pakistan. He also called upon the international media community to come to the rescue of their Pakistani counterparts. pr
Source: Daily Times
Date:11/8/2007
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