ABC NEWS
Banned Pakistani TV Show Takes to the Streets
Geo TV Producers Won't Accept New Rules
At the entrance to the Islamabad Press Club, the stage was set with
two opposing rows of panelists and, in the middle, a television
host. Cameras rolled and a vigorous discussion about current affairs
ensued. But the cameras filmed in vain, as this talk show will never
air.
Under President Gen.Pervez Musharraf's emergency rule, many of Pakistan's
popular talk shows have been banned. As this nation enters its fourth
week of what has been described as defacto martial law, all but
one of the private television channels are back on the air. But
Geo TV has been banned indefinitely for refusing to agree to new
regulations regarding media.
Instead, Geo has taken its programming to the sidewalks. Hamid Mir,
presenter of "Capital Talk," a political program, has been hosting
his show before live audiences on the streets of the capital Islamabad.
Last week, political opposition leader Imran Khan, recently freed
from jail, was a guest. Other senators, pundits and activists have
also made appearances.
On this day, a few hundred bystanders stopped to listen as Hamid
moderated a discussion about the upcoming parliamentary elections
and freedom of the press. For the most part, the show was produced
as if it were actually on air, complete with short musical interludes
to mark where commercial breaks might normally appear. But, of course,
there were no commercials.
Geo TV has lost millions of dollars in advertising and programming
revenue since transmission was cut, and yet its management refuses
to surrender control of editorial content and cancel shows, such
as "Capital Talk."
Hamid has offered to resign but said management won't let him.
"They will continue their struggle against the new media laws,"
he said. "They are starting negotiations with the government, but
I am sure they will not compromise the freedom of the media."
Journalists have rallied around Geo TV, and it has become a beacon
of defiance in the face of Musharraf's highly unpopular emergency
decrees. At times, the live show morphs into a protest, with audience
members shouting "Go, Musharraf, Go!"
In a nation with such low rates of literacy, television is a crucial
source of information. Newspapers and Web sites have been allowed
to continue publishing, but for the majority of the country, they
are of little use.
"It's not only media people that think we're the last hope," said
Hamid. "A lot of people in Pakistan, the common man, also have a
lot of hopes from us. They're also putting pressure on us that we
should not compromise."
Even with his job under threat, Hamid appears energized and focused,
a man on a mission to keep the political debate in this country
going, despite the new restrictions placed on the media. His audience
is now a tiny fraction of the millions of Pakistanis who used to
watch him on television, but they listen with rapt attention, seemingly
starved for information.
"It's a symbolic message," said Hamid. "If you have banned our talk
shows on our TVs, if you have locked our studios & you are not
able to silence our voice. We are on the streets."
IFEX.ORG
JOURNALIST SLAIN; PROTESTS AGAINST MEDIA CURBS CONTINUE
A reporter for a leading paper was shot dead by unidentified gunmen
in the southern province of Sindh last week, report Pakistan Press
Foundation (PPF), the International Press Institute (IPI) and Reporters
Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF).
Zubair Ahmed Mujahid, correspondent for the national daily "Jang",
was riding a motorbike in the town of Mirpurkhas on 23 November,
when unidentified armed men opened fire and killed him.
Mujahid was killed because of "his articles criticising the situation
of the poor," Mujahid's elder brother told RSF. He wrote a weekly
column called "Crime and Punishment" in which he often criticised
landowners and police for mistreating the poor. One of his reports
led to arrests of local policemen involved in violence against villagers.
"This tragedy is further proof that the authorities are unable to
ensure journalists' safety," says RSF.
Since President Pervez Musharraf's declaration of a state of emergency
on 3 November, dozens of journalists have been beaten and arrested.
But journalists remain defiant and are continuing to protest against
the media curbs, reports the International Federation of Journalists
(IFJ). On 20 November, more than 180 journalists in Karachi were
arrested for protesting against the continuing broadcasting ban
on two popular TV stations, GEO TV and ARY Digital. Four journalists
were charged with offences related to disturbing the peace, IFJ
says. A reporter for Aaj television station, Khurram Hashmi, was
abducted and severely beaten by four armed police before being dumped
on a side street, says PPF.
Solidarity protests have also extended to neighbouring countries
in South Asia, says the South Asian Free Media Association (SAMFA).
The Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) presented the Pakistan
embassy with a memorandum signed by 20 different rights organisations
on 15 November. In Bangladesh, union members are demanding that
the draconian press laws in Pakistan be scrapped.
According to IFJ, which recently went to Pakistan on an international
crisis mission, media owners are collaborating with journalists
to consider further joint actions, including a proposal that the
media go on strike and shut down operations for 24 or 48 hours.
Musharraf has mostly targeted political opponents, lawyers and journalists,
rather than the militants leading an increasingly strong insurgency,
say Musharraf's critics. Suicide bombers killed an estimated 35
people in nearly simultaneous blasts on 24 November in Rawalpindi,
a garrison city at the heart of Pakistan's security establishment.
Pro-Taliban militants who are fighting security forces in the tribal
areas are suspected to be behind the attack.
