BLF boycotts media for masking ‘state atrocities’

• BLF spokesperson says Baloch people seek to reveal atrocities, genocide happening in Balochistan to world

QUETTA: Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) spokesperson Gohram Baloch said on Tuesday that the deadline given to media before BLF commenced its boycott against them has arrived, and the BLF will now formally launch its boycott against all media agencies and personnel in Balochistan.

He said that the deadline given to media was October 24. BLF will now embark on a boycott of all journalists, media houses, cable operators and all organisations and persons associated with the news industry, he added.

He further said that the BLF leadership has decided to boycott all such media as they conceal state forces’ excesses and acts of human rights violation in the area. “Media hides the true situation of Balochistan from the public and pushes a one-sided state narrative,” he said. An exploitative media is operating in the Baloch territory on the state’s directive, calling itself free, which is hypocritical and the Baloch have no need for it, the BLF spokesperson asserted.

He said that the BLF has drawn out its action plan and the commanders and responsible personnel of all areas have been instructed accordingly. Moreover, several teams have been formed and sent to different areas to carry out their activities against persons associated with print and electronic media. The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and the United Baloch Army (UBA) are allied with the BLA in their activities against media, he added.

The BLA spokesperson said that the organisation had initially issued a twenty-day ultimatum to the media. When journalists asked for a two-day extension at the end of this period, the deadline was extended to October 24. In the meantime, the BLF distributed pamphlets to the people of Balochistan, and approached local transporters, distributors and hawkers to support BLF in its boycott. It also approached owners of different news agencies but the latter refused to support it, said Gohram Baloch.

He said that if news agencies, distributors, hawkers, transporters, cable operators and other vendors did not support the BLF in its boycott, the dissenters will themselves be answerable for whatever life and property damage befell them.

He said, “The Baloch people have been patiently suffering state atrocities for a long time without resorting to measures that violated international laws, hoping that the state institutions would also comply with international standards in dealing with the Baloch people.” However, he continued, “The state began a genocide of Balochis—of which no one outside Balochistan even knows of.” The Baloch people seek to reveal the atrocities and genocide happening in Balochistan to the world, he said.

“We hope that the whole world supports us in this objective,” the BLF spokesperson concluded.