By: Suraya Raiszada
Legitimacy of a government in all democratic systems is based on the people’s trust on government but this trust can be created only when people get awareness from what is going on in their country.
Access to information as a citizenship and human rights among the democratic countries has opened its way among basic rights and has attracted serious attention of modern systems as a factor for good governance.
Good governance in a democratic system is that people trust on government. Meanwhile governments try to remove the people basic requirements through supply of services and ensuring of people security and preserve their legitimacy.
In democratic systems, citizens consider government as their full mirror. The people’s vote and opinion play role in government decision making on the collective and national destiny. In recent years, media having considerable growth in Afghanistan, as at present hundreds audiovisual media are operating here that inform people from ongoing events and incidents.
Access to information gives this possibility to people to share themselves in all affairs related to the government. People are basic pillar of democratic system and government takes shape based on people’s decision directly or indirectly and the people’s role is frankly apprehensible.
As an accepted system, the Afghan government is committed to exercise all its principles and values including ensuring the right of people, access to information as a value in an open and democratic society. The constitution has guaranteed this key right and based on it, the law on the right of access to information has been approved and initiated. Based on the latter law, access of all citizens to available information in Afghanistan departments is free. The Afghan government considers itself obliged to be accountable before citizens. In the light of this law, the government has instructed all relevant departments to give awareness to people precisely on their activities and be accountable. Media could play active and distinguished role in this sphere and government departments may pave the way of citizens’ active partnership in the process of government decision makings and transparency of their activities. People partnership requires having awareness on available information with the government as this available information must be exploited for citizens partnership and empowerment in determining of their national fate.
If media provide correct and precise information to people, no doubt the people trust rate than the government increases. The Afghan media have played active role in election and peace process and enlightened people on these two decisive topics. We expect the media as the big achievement of people and government to be considered as the “Red Line” in peace process.
