RFE/RL has condemned a decision by the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan to cut off its broadcasts in 13 Afghan cities and said it will continue to broadcast from outside the country despite the move.
The media outlet said on December 1 that broadcasts by RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi, as it is known in the country, have been a staple of everyday life in Afghanistan and are commonly heard in public settings from marketplaces to taxis.
“Azadi is a lifeline for tens of millions of Afghans, making the Taliban’s decision all the more tragic,” said RFE/RL President and CEO Jamie Fly in a news release.
RFE/RL will not change its content to accommodate the Taliban, Fly said, and the operation will expand options to reach its audience through other platforms, according to the news release.
"We know from experience that our audiences make great efforts to find us,” Fly said. “The truth cannot be completely suppressed.”
Abdul Haq Hammad, an official at the Taliban-led government's Information Ministry, said on Twitter earlier on December 1 that broadcasts by U.S.-funded media outlets on FM radio had been cut off in 13 cities. The Voice of America (VOA) said its broadcasts had also been cut off.
Hammad cited complaints about the broadcasts but provided no details. He also claimed “non-compliance with journalistic principles and one-sided broadcasts" on the part of the U.S.-funded independent media outlets.
RFE/RL said in a recent survey commissioned by the U.S. Agency for Global Media that half of Afghan adults surveyed use Azadi content weekly. Despite significant pressure from the Taliban, RFE/RL has continued to provide coverage of stories suppressed by state media on topics such as violent extremism, the treatment of women and girls, and the LGBT community, RFE/RL said.
Azadi has also informed Afghans about public health and exposed corruption among other things, the RFE/RL news release said.
Radio Azadi and VOA in Afghanistan have been broadcasting 24 hours a day on FM in some major cities for several years.
According to free media advocacy groups, since the Taliban reclaimed power in Afghanistan in August 2021, Kabul has put pressure on independent media outlets. Many journalists have been harassed or imprisoned, and female media workers have been banned from working.
Due to these pressures and economic problems, dozens of private television, radio, and print media have stopped their operations in Afghanistan, putting hundreds of journalists and media workers out of work.