140208_rally

tajikistanweb.com

140208 - Persian-speakers of Britain are planning to hold a rally in front of the Afghan Embassy in London coming Friday (15 February) in protest against the Afghan Culture Ministry's decision to reprimand a journalist for using Persian words in his report. The rally is being organized by Persian-speaking Afghanistani nationals in London.

Baseer Babai, a local journalist for the Afghan National TV station in Mazar-i Sharif in north of Afghanistan, was punished last Sunday (10 February) for using Persian equivalents of Pashto words for "university", "faculty" and "students" in his report. According to Abdul Karim Khurram, the Afghan Culture Minister, Babai 'has been deprived of 2 to 3 days of his monthly salary'. But earlier reports alleged that initially Babai had been asked to leave his job.

The parliamentary culture commission of the country has requested Khurram to explain his 'actions against the Persian language' in front of MPs. Khurram will appear before the commission next Tuesday, February 19.

In an interview to the BBC Persian Service the head of the parliamentary commission for cultural and religious affairs Mohammad Mohaqqeq accused Abdul Karim Khurram of acting against the Persian language and added that so far six instances of anti-Persian actions of the minister have been listed by the commission. Reportedly, Khurram has wiped the Persian version of his ministry's name off its banner and has re-named the Kabul Gallery from Persian "Negarestan" to the English borrowed "Gallery".

Abdul Karim Khurram insists that his actions are backed by the Constitution of the country that demands to maintain 'existing national terminology'. However, referring to the very Constitution, Mohaqqeq says: "Press and mass media in all languages spoken in Afghanistan are free to function."