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Media meet vows to resist religious extremism

By Haroon Habib

DHAKA MAY 26. The "Third South Asian Free Media Conference", which concluded here today, adopted a declaration emphasising the need for achieving a democratic order and realising the responsibility of media persons to struggle collectively for democracy and freedom of expression.

The declaration took note of the "uneven transition" of South Asian nations to the contemporary ideals of participatory democracy and their peoples' empowerment, criminalisation of politics and devaluation of systems of justices.

On India, the declaration said: "India, widely hailed as a secular democracy, has been threatened by forces of communalism and religious bigotry. Regional and sub-regional aspirations for devolution of powers have not been adequately addressed, resulting in frustrations and often also in the outbreak of violence".

It observed that an "established tradition of press freedom is being threatened by a growing criminalisation of politics and abuse of judicial practices. These factors weaken India's pluralistic civil society and by that token, sap the foundations of democracy itself".

Commenting on Pakistan, the declaration said: "Pakistan, where the state's return to the democratic path has again been thwarted and it is under a double squeeze by the forces of authoritarianism and religious extremism that reinforce each other and deny pluralism and will have extremely grievous consequences to the people's right to representative government and their basic freedoms".

About Bangladesh, it said: "Further efforts are needed to strengthen the gains of the people's heroic struggle for self-determination and democracy, and the major political forces need to arrive at a closer understanding and cooperation in order to ensure the basis rights of the people, especially the disadvantaged".

The conference, attended by about 100 media delegates from all over South Asia, resolved to "uphold, collectively and individually, the system of multi-party, participatory democracy, freedom of expression, gender equality and rights of minorities". It also resolved to "strive for peace in South Asia and ensure the diversion of resources from wasteful acquisition of arms to public interest projects".

The media professionals also vowed to discourage hate teaching, distortion of national characters, cultural chauvinism, racism, casteism and exploitation of the poor and the marginalised.

Addressing a special plenary session today, the Prime Minister, Khaleda Zia, called upon journalists to build up through their writings a powerful public opinion in South Asia in favour of peace, friendship, humanism and cooperation. "Sharpen your pen against the narrowness, limited vision, conflict and dispute... we must reduce the fear and tension with regard to security," she said adding that the mental block that still stood like a wall in the field of cooperation should be demolished.

"Side by side building a positive public opinion, the media has to exert influence in policy formulations," she said.

The conference — whose theme was "media and democracy" — also pledged to resist authoritarianism and religious extremism in any form and promote the media's function as the foremost school of good citizenship. Among others, it would promote regional media understanding and foster professionalism and transparency in the media.

K.K. Katyal, consulting editor of The Hindu, who is also the president of the India chapter of the South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA), founded in Pakistan in July 2000, led the Indian team.

The second conference of SAFMA was held in Kathmandu last year. The conference elected Reazuddin Ahmed, Editor of the Bangladesh daily, News Today, as the new president of SAFMA. Journalists from India, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka, including Kuldip Nayar, Mushahid Hossain, Laxman Gunasekhara, and the outgoing president of SAFMA, Gopal Prashad Thapalia, took part in the discussions. The secretary-general of SAFMA, Imtiaz Alam of Pakistan, presented his report.

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