Freedom of media in conflict situations

SAARC Journalists Summit-IV

Freedom of Media in conflict Situations

Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, the Adviser for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh, Lyonpo Ugyen Tshering, Bhutan's Foreign Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, External Affairs Minister of India, SAFMA President Lakshman Gunasekara, Rohitha Bogollagama, Chairman, Council of Ministers of SAARC, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Abdulla Shahid, Foreign Minister of Maldives, Gyan Chandra Acharya, Foreign Minister of Nepal

Inaugural Session

Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Media and Information Minister, lighting traditional oil lamp to open the conference, SAMC Secretary General Najam Sethi, SAFMA President Lakshman Gunasekara, SAFMA Secretary General Imtiaz Alam and Iqbal Subhan Chawdhury from Bangladesh look on.

INAUGURAL SESSION

THEME AND OBJECTIVES

Engaging political leaders

Call for Media Freedom Imtiaz Alam

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he 4th Saarc Journalists Summit is taking place at a time when the South Asian region is passing through tumultuous changes, difficult transitions and perpetuation of some conflicts. Nepal has seen overthrow of monarchy and a steady movement towards establishing a secular republic. The February elections in Pakistan have brought to power a bloc of liberal democratic parties, led by Pakistan Peoples Party, who are struggling against an authoritarian presidency and autocratic establishment. The conflicts in Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and the frontier regions of Pakistan have exacerbated and democracy still remains elusive to Bangladesh and Maldives. The fuel and food crisis is extracting its massive cost while fuelling inflation across the region.

Lakshman Gunasekara

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ll the countries in South Asia are familiar with conflict and have experienced it. All South Asian countries are still learning how to survive in such situations where media, informing 1.5 billion people of South Asia, are still trying to survive.

Having SAARC Journalists' Summit every year parallel to the SAARC Summit is intentional. It aims at having political deliberations on the platform provided by SAFMA. The Summit aims to engage political leaders and discuss how the situation can be improved by accepting the challenges put forward for this millennium. The Summit is a platform where the media persons can demand appropriate action by their governments to ensure freedom of media.

Lakshman Gunasekara is President of South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA)

Lakshman Gunasekara Media trying to survive in conflicts

Journalists and many media outlets, in the meanwhile, have come under greater pressure and intimidation with more casualties in the last seven months in the conflictridden regions. There is a rising wave of intolerance in some parts of South Asia that is directed against moderate sections of society and independent journalists.

Extremism in the name of religion and ethnicity is leaving little space for mediation and resolution. The media is increasingly coming under attack not only from the security agencies but also from violent non-state actors. In spite of these worrisome tendencies in some parts of South Asia, media is growing at a tremendous speed.

As we meet in Colombo, the 15th Saarc Summit is poised to take a new leap towards extending the theme of “Connectivity” to promoting “Partnership for the people of Saarc” and addressing the threats to food and energy security. New proclamations are expected to be pronounced, but the real issue would be how and when.

The peoples' partnership in the Saarc processes of cooperation can only be possible if they are allowed to move across the region freely without the restrictions of visa regime and are facilitated by greater connectivity through road, rail, air and sea. Once borders are opened and people start moving in their millions, the market forces are bound to respond, even if the governments do not.

At the level of SAFMA, we have been persuading Saarc and its member countries to allow free flow of information

Imtiaz Alam Saarc member states should protect and respect press freedom and ensure safety of journalists

and media products and free movement of journalists across our borders. Despite our persistent efforts, the governments have in fact not budged. The decision by Saarc Council of Ministers at New Delhi to grant 50 Saarc Visa Stickers to journalists has not been implemented by any State. The issue of free movement of media products or allowing greater access to and free flow of information across the region has not even been considered, even though electronic and multi-media market is bringing down the customs barriers. Nor has SAFMA been recognized as an Apex Body of the Saarc, despite the promises made by almost all the foreign ministers of member countries. Yet SAFMA is the most active associate body of Saarc promoting its objectives.

This 4th Saarc Journalists Summit, along with the Second Conference of South Asia Media Commission, is going to focus on the issues of media freedom and safety of journalists in our region. We would also like to see the member countries of Saarc make a good beginning on their agenda of promoting connectivity and partnership among the people of Saarc by allowing free movement of media products and journalists across our region. We would also demand an Apex Body status by Saarc to strengthen its agenda for partnership of the people. Even if some of them may not like, we call upon all the governments of Saarc member States to protect and respect press freedom and ensure safety of journalists.

INAUGURAL SESSION

Freedom of Media in Conflict Situations

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he inaugural session of the fourth SAARC Journalists' Summit was held on July 30, 2008, in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The theme of the Summit was 'Freedom of media in Conflict Situations'. The first speaker was Ms Sadaf Arshad, coordinating editor of South Asia Media Monitor. She talked about the conflict regions in South Asia and highlighted how the media persons were compelled to compromise their stance in such regions due to pressure. She mainly talked about Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka where the media were not free and media persons faced curbs on their movement. “Due to the rise in the number of murders of media persons, the South Asian region has gone further down in the press freedom ranking.

Journalists in the region are not only harassed and threatened but some of them have also been abducted by intelligence agencies and other pressure groups.”

Ms Arshad also discussed how, in Afghanistan, the government easily succumbed to the pressures exerted by the conservative religious leaders. “Both the government and the Taliban use journalists as bargaining chips to serve their vested interests.”

She gave a detailed account of how intolerance had

penetrated the Pakistani society and was coming into conflict with the freedom of press. She cited the increasing number of deaths of media persons in Pakistan to prove her point. She highlighted how separatist movements in the northeast of India had put journalists in the line of fire.

“Every year journalists sacrifice their lives to fulfil their professional responsibilities.”

She said Sri Lanka, scoring top position for press freedom violations, was turning into a “no go area” for journalists.

“Political officials branding journalists as “traitors” shows up the low status the media enjoy in Sri Lanka.” She condemned the discrimination of media persons on ethnic lines and highlighted the woes of Tamil journalists who were being assaulted and were receiving threats.

She called upon the Sri Lankan government to take security measures to safeguard the rights of media persons and ensure media freedom. She said governments and nonstate actors must respect media freedom and facilitate media persons in accessing information. “South Asia must move towards free flow of information, breaking the clutches of secrecy – especially when the region is striving hard to deal with conflict.”

Lakshman Gunasekara, the president of South Asian Free

Media Association (SAFMA), in his welcome address greeted the chief guest, Sri Lanka's Media Minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa. Explaining the theme of the conference, he said that all the countries in South Asia were familiar with conflict and had experienced it. He said that all South Asian countries were still learning on how to survive in such situations where media, informing 1.5 billion people of South Asia, were still trying to survive.

“Having SAARC Journalists' Summit every year parallel to the SAARC Summit is intentional. It aims at having political deliberations on the platform provided by SAFMA. The Summit aims to engage political leaders and discuss how the situation can be improved by accepting the challenges put forward for this millennium. The Summit is a platform where the media persons can demand appropriate action by their governments to ensure freedom of media.”

Imtiaz Alam, the Secretary General of SAFMA, outlined the objectives of the SAARC Journalists' Summit. He said the Summit was taking place at a time when the South Asian region was passing through tumultuous times, difficult transitions and perpetuations of conflicts. He, taking pride in the achievement, told the house that SAFMA had representation from all the eight countries of South Asia in the conference. Though governments and the media usually have adversarial relationship, he emphasised on the need for unity.

Commenting on the theme of the SAARC Summit 2008, which was 'partnership for the people', he pointed out how last year's theme 'connectivity' had still not been achieved in the region. “How can SAARC guarantee connectivity when people do not have access to its member countries?”.

into Sri Lankan journalists' detention.

Sri Lanka's Media Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa said commonalities and shared concerns in the cultural, geographical, historical and economic spheres connected South Asians to one another, which made them interdependent and partnership a logical objective and even the condition of being.

He said it was worrying that there was so much focus on politics and a serious neglect of issues of development in the media. “We see so much about the politics of the here and now and so little about the processes that may or may not deliver things to citizens that improve their life chances and can or cannot guarantee a better future for their children.”

He proposed setting up a South Asian News Agency.

“Instead of others writing about South Asia, we in South Asia should write our stories ourselves.” The minister said he believed that a news agency of 'our peoples, for our peoples and with our peoples', was something worth working towards.

The minister ended his speech on a positive note and wished the South Asian media well to prosper and achieve their goals.

Later, the house was opened for discussion and comments.

An Afghan journalist complained that in Afghanistan the biggest challenge for journalists was politicisation of the media. Besides they face pressures exerted by conflict in the region. The act of influencing the media through money was what he found the most threatening where reports were published to contradict the already published reports.

Rapporteur: Sadaf Arshad

He criticised Pakistan, India and Bangladesh for being rigid and not allowing free movement of people. “The governments fear that they would get exposed if journalists are allowed to move freely within the region.”

Appreciating India for implementing the Information Act, he encouraged other countries to make serious and sincere efforts to implement it to ensure free flow and access to information.

In his concluding remarks, he criticised the media organisations for not providing insurance cover to their media persons working in combat zones. He demanded punishment for those involved in the killing of journalists. He called upon the governments to adopt security measures for the safety of media persons. Mr Alam requested the Sri Lankan media minister to look SAFMA Sri Lanka, Sharmini Boyle welcoming delegates

Muhammad Amin Mudaqiq from Afghanistan

Media, Freedom and conflict in South Asia Sadaf Arshad

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oes of media in South Asia are not different from those of any other conflict-ridden region where journalists, like so many other 'collateral' vulnerabilities, become victims of the crossfire among the adversaries. Media-persons face seen and unseen obstacles to the freedom of expression and freedom of press. An increase in the killings, threats, harassment and abduction of media-persons is alarming, and is harming conflict resolution. The extension of medias role as mediator puts the lives and freedom of journalists at stake, which is evident from the increasing attacks on media in all South Asian countries with varying level of intensity.

The safety of media-persons in wars and conflict zones does have an international legal support.

The First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, Article 79 says: 1.

2.

Journalists engaged in dangerous professional missions in areas of armed conflict shall be considered as civilians (…).

They shall be protected as such under the Conventions and this Protocol provided that they take no action adversely affecting their status as civilians (…).

UN Resolution 1738 reaffirms that journalists in conflict situations must enjoy the protection provided by international law. It further recalls the legal obligation of states parties to the Geneva Conventions to search and bring to trial people responsible for grave breaches against the Conventions.

But in real situations these documents do not bring any relief to the victims.

AFGHANISTAN In Afghanistan, the downfall of hardline Taliban regime allowed reemergence of media leading to a boom, though in the presence of NATO forces. Afghanistan's speedily changing status from a war-torn country to a no-go area explains how media is surviving amid threats from all quarters including security forces, NATO forces, the government, Islamist conservatives, and above all the

Sadaf Arshad The conflict in South Asians countries is damaging the process of liberalization, peace, economic development, empowerment of women and pushing the region towards a dark alley.

Taliban who still have their stronghold areas.

Afghanistan, the prime victim of the war against terrorism, has seen killing of innocent civilians, militants and media-persons, including foreign journalists. Facing the troubles in the post-conflict country, the woes of media-persons have worsened in the last few years. In 2007 six media-persons became the target of the wrath of Taliban militants and officials. The year 2008 saw the same level of intolerance and apathy for freedom of expression. Kidnapping of foreign journalists and their use as bargaining chips has set an abhorrent trend lethal to press freedom. The deals between Taliban and the government for saving lives of foreign journalists and belittling the importance of local journalists have appeared as a threat and a challenge for the conflict-hit country. Journalists in south of Afghanistan cover the conflict despite attacks and risks and report atrocities

against civilians. In 2008, journalist Abdul Samad Rohani, working for the BBC Kabul bureau and the Pashto service in the southern Helmand province, was found shot dead after being abducted on June 7. A local Taliban chief allegedly threatened him earlier and his house was the target of an attack in 2006. In a conflict-ridden country, the government easily succumbs to the pressures exerted by conservative religious leaders. In regions like Hirat province, attacks, harassment, intimidation, threats and arrests of media-persons are creating an anti-freedom environment. In April, five journalists from Radio Faryad, including Ms. Khadeja were attacked. Intelligence agency NSD in Hirat has been involved in threatening journalists like Khadija who twice escaped grenade attacks. The cycle of impunity and indifference by the government and the accused parties towards killing has created a great sense of insecurity among Afghan journalists.

PAKISTAN Pakistan is back on the democratic track though overwhelmed by extremism, terrorism and rising intolerance, creating adverse conditions for freedom of expression. In the last five years, 20 media-persons have lost their lives. This high number, a proof of deteriorating law and order situation in the country, has converted the country into a death zone for media-persons. Hayatullah's killing has blatantly exposed the intelligence agencies whereas Muneer Ahmed Sangi's case directly addressed the issue of safety. A victim of the crossfire between two tribes in Sindh, Sangi has challenged the responsibility factor of all media organizations blamed for sending media persons on assignment in conflict zones without taking any safety measures. In 2008, four journalists lost

there lives -- Dr. Chishti Mujahid, Siraj Uddin, Khadim Sheikh and Muhammad Ibrahim Khan. The recent killing of Ibrahim in Bajaur, a conflict zone, highlighted the dangers and hazards involved in reporting. Many areas of NWFP and Balochistan have proved no-go-areas for media-persons who put their lives at stake to cover these regions without any security and protection provided by their organizations. Disappearances in conflict regions like those bordering Afghanistan and Iran have made the environment hostile for journalists to continue their professional duties. Two journalists from an Urdulanguage newspaper Daily Azadi from the Pakistan-Iran border town of Taftan went missing this year. Among the range of issues, the worrisome sign is the emergence of vigilantism that is taking a course of intimidation, threats and suicide bombing to silence those who differ with their fascist project. Now the range of coercion is expanding to the mainstream media.

A daily newspaper “Aaj Kal”, published from Lahore received threats from Islamic extremists. The rage was expressed due to the publication of a cartoon about Umme Hassaan, wife of Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz and also an editorial criticizing religious militancy. At a congregation in Islamabad, protestors made speeches against the newspaper and raised slogans against Najam Sethi, Editor-in-Chief of daily Aaj Kal, accusing the newspaper of being anti-jihad and threatened to “teach them a lesson”. The staff also received threatening telephone calls in Lahore and Islamabad. This attitude coming from yet another non state actor is clearly seen as an attempt to silence the voice of sanity.

INDIA In many conflict zones in India including the north-east, where separatist movements are being waged, mediapersons work under tough conditions confronting many challenges daily. Besides murdering Prahlad Goala in Assam, last year these outfits issued directives against journalists. Again this year, the death of another journalist Md Muslimuddin, Asamiya Pratidin correspondent and Morajhar Press Club president raised alarm about the security of journalists in Asaam, north-east. He died of wounds by sharp weapons used by an unidentified armed group. A rise in violent incidents against journalists is the result of absence of accountability as the perpetrators have never been brought to justice.

Journalists' harassment needs the government attention.

Two senior journalists—Pradip Datta Bhaumik and Pranmoy Saha from the mass—circulation Bengali daily Dainik Sambad-in the north-eastern Indian state of Tripura were harassed by the elements of the armed police force assigned to special security duties and antiinsurgency operations. Journalists in Tripura, as also the entire north-eastern region of India, work in very challenging circumstances, and it is crucial that state authorities and the security agencies respect their officially granted credentials and not impede their freedom of movement or seek to cause injury to their professional dignity. Still in Kashmir where the conflict has escalated into civil war since 1989, journalists have become victims of crossfire while performing their professional duties. Ashok Sodhi, a photographer for local

English-language Daily Excelsior, was killed when suspected militants exchanged fire with security forces.

The killing brought the number to nine of prominent media-persons killed in the state in the last 18 years of militancy. More than 18 journalists have been injured during militancy. The death is a reminder of the risks run by representatives of the media in this unstable border region. The governments and media owners have to realize the dangers journalists face as reporters, photographers and stringers of the media organizations in the conflict areas, like north-east and Kashmir.

SRI LANKA Violence, intimidation and harassment of journalists are the mark of identification of Sri Lanka which has been struggling hard with the internal ethnic conflict between Tamil and Sinhalese. The resumption of war in 2006 made all hopes fade out even after losing more than 70,000 lives. Sri Lanka stands very low in the ranking of press freedom and human rights. HRW accused the security forces and pro-government militias of being among the world's worst perpetrators of enforced disappearances. In Sri Lanka, most of the media is divided on ethnic lines and Tamil-language media have often come under pressure from the Sinhalese-dominated government. Six journalists were killed in 2007. In 2008, Paranirupasingam Devakumar, a television reporter of Tamil origin, was hacked to death. Devakumar is the latest journalist to fall victim to the spiral of violence that has wracked the Jaffna peninsula. All the promises the government makes to investigate the murders have

already lost meaning as all the killers are at large. The political will is what the government is losing when it comes to giving justice and protection to media-persons.

Caught in the crossfire between two armed forces, journalists in the Jaffna peninsula are constantly the targets of threats, kidnappings and murders, and many of them have been forced to flee the region.

The defence chief Gotabhaya Rajapaksa reportedly branded some journalists "traitors" and called for sweeping censorship. The hate speech against media persons would surely incite more violence and intolerance against media-persons who are already suffering from the wrath of both the parties to the conflict.

A senior journalist, Keith Noyahr, deputy editor of The Nation newspaper and defence columnist was severely assaulted after being abducted from his home. Another journalist, A.A Mohammad Anzir working for Thinakkural newspaper, made a police complaint alleging threats to his life for his reporting of human rights, parliament proceedings and most recently the upcoming eastern elections and violence. Tamil correspondents of the national and international media have been leaving the north and east and sometimes even the country, after receiving such threats.

The impunity prevalent in north-east is encouraging more murders and human rights violations. Safety of media persons is a priority in the given circumstances

where frequent abductions have added more uncertainty.

Threats, hate speech and public identification have been used to bully the media into submission besides calling them traitors.

The conflict in South Asians countries is damaging the process of liberalization, peace, economic development, empowerment of women and pushing the region towards a dark alley. The only possible solution to this is freedom of media.

The division of media in all the countries, political, ethnic, or linguistic, is obvious and causing serious damage to press freedom and freedom of expression. The traditional role of media has expanded and introduced many new dimensions especially its role in conflict resolution and peace building. Abduction and killings of journalists and censorship on media are direct or indirect blows to media freedom and tactics to silence their voices. The governments and other non state actors must respect media freedom and facilitate them in accessing information. South Asia must move towards free flow of information breaking the clutches of secrecy especially when this region is striving hard to deal with conflicts. It is the responsibility of media organizations to protect and support their media-persons, and provide them with training to work in combat zones along with safety gears and insurance. We call upon the governments to respect the vital role journalists play in an open democratic society as verbal, written, and physical assaults on journalists are attacks on the very fabric of a democratic society.

grievances of the Tamils and all other communities, we say, 'yes' and look to the democratic ideas of debate, consultation, representation, transparency and accountability to deliver justice and sustainable peace.

INAUGURAL ADDRESS

Media should focus on development issues

In all this, the media has played a crucial role. It has empowered the people by providing necessary information and cogent analysis of economic, political and social processes. South Asia is a region where the traditions of democracy, overflowing emotions, keen interest in politics and a healthy curiosity about what is happening have made for an alert public and an even more alert media. We are fortunate that we have a long tradition with respect to media, media freedom and related issues.

Anura Priyadarshana Yapa Media and Information Minister

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athered here are people united by two things: location and vocation. We are all South Asians and, regardless of differences in language, culture, ethnicity and religious belief, we are more similar to each other than we are similar to anyone else in the world.

All of us are associated with the broad subject called ‘media' and as such there are many points of intersection when it comes to our work, concerns, fears and reasons for hope.

As South Asians, there are commonalities and shared concerns in the cultural, geographical, historical and economic spheres that connect us to one another, which make us inter-dependent, and which makes partnership a logical objective.

We are, in the words of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, "a region of contrasts ... with significant disparities in Gross Domestic Product, income levels, national resources and population." Our regional plate is overflowing with environmental concerns, poverty, political upheaval and the increasing threat of terrorist attack. We have, regardless of all this, remained committed to democratic principles and have with admirable resoluteness and resilience gone about developing our capacities and improving the life chances of our peoples.

I can speak of our experience in these matters. In Sri Lanka our democracy, our citizens, public and private property and indeed our way of life are all threatened by the L TTE which introduced to the world the notion of suicide bombers and suicide kits.

And yet, we elect people into power and vote them out of power regularly; we maintain a free healthcare system and offer free education to our children, have achieved and maintained admirable numbers when it comes to literacy, good health and general quality of life and continue to implement development projects that bring benefits to all citizens and especially those who are less

Anura Priyadarshana Yapa South Asians have commonalities and shared concerns in the cultural, geographical, historical and economic spheres that connect them to one another, and make them inter-dependent.

privileged. My government has a huge responsibility to look after all the citizens of Sri Lanka and safeguard all property, public and private. I believe that under the circumstances we are doing an excellent job.

Through all this a robust and independent judiciary has operated as an effective bulwark against excesses and infringement of rights and as a solid protector of the democratic tradition that has sustained us through trying times over the past 60 years.

Most recently, countering all predictions, we succeeded in liberating the entire Eastern Province from terrorism. We proceeded to hold elections in this province and are currently engaged in implementing a comprehensive development programme so that the true dividends of peace accrue to these people who have for long suffered as a result of the conflict. The balance sheet of this humanitarian effort is indeed exemplary; with minimum damage to the forces, near-zero casualties among civilians and maximum losses to the terrorists.

Today, an ex-terrorist has given up arms and embraced democracy to be elected the Chief Minister of the Eastern Provincial Council. Today, this province, with an almost equal mix of Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims, has realized that there is no better option than working together in a democratic manner to resolve disputes and fashion a better future for its children. Today, only the LTTE talks of a separate state. To terrorism, like the rest of the region and the world, we have decided to say 'no'. To the legitimate

Like most of South Asia, we are blessed with a population that has an incredible thirst for information. In Sri Lanka, a long democratic tradition - we have had universal adult franchise since 1931 - coupled with an over 90% literacy rate - has gone hand in hand with the development of a robust media culture, to naturally breed a lot of expectations that governments could illafford to ignore. Barring brief and sporadic periods, the last 100 years have seen a gradual and increasingly systematic expansion of a liberalized media culture in Sri Lanka. This has taken the form of encouraging private media organizations and creating conditions for their development. With 14 television stations, 32 radio stations and 23 newspapers with nation-wide circulations, with the private media outnumbering state media, with ever-expanding internet access, with the proliferation of news-related websites, it is impossible to hide anything from anybody. The state-owned media cannot lie and get away with it. Neither can the private media, for that matter.

In Sri Lanka, there are no laws governing media and we see this as a good thing. We only have a media policy and we expect the media to act with circumspection and responsibility that makes for healthy and useful media practice. Most recently, my government appointed a special committee of ministers to look into the complaints of journalists. This, in addition to other bodies set up as institutional safeguards against rights violations. Our system, in short, though imperfect is certainly less compromised in its imperfection than most other nations facing similar threats and endowed with problems associated with development lag.

The media has a responsible and crucial role to play in society. In this light, it is indeed commendable that the South Asian Free Media Association has reiterated its commitment to playing a progressive role in the region's

development. Just as actors in economy and culture work together, so too must journalists cooperate, share and learn from one another across national boundaries.

SAFMA, given its mandate and its nuanced appreciation of ground realities in our region, will continue to play a progressive and responsible role in the affairs of the region.

I believe that we are graduating from that other era when media and information could be subject to control. I believe, therefore, that we are moving into an era which challenges all of us to be more responsible in what we say and do and how we say and do it.

There is so much focus on politics and a serious neglect on issues of development in the work of the media. We see so much about the politics of the here and now and so little about the processes that may or may not deliver things to citizens that improve their life chances and can or cannot guarantee a better future for their children.

Where are the well-argued, well-written features investigating development drives, the philosophies upon which they are founded, and the extrapolations thereof?

Where is that necessary debate about paradigms of development, which question the logic of the processes of globalization, celebrate where celebration is justified, lament where lamentation is demanded? Where is the framing of development in the prerogatives of sustainability? Where are the archives that hold the volumes on development which have abandoned buzz words and disavowed sloganeering? All I have seen is sporadic expression of concern, with little scientific substantiation and with a liberal splashing of rhetoric.

Secondly, I would like to toss among you an idea which I am sure many of you would have pondered over; that of a South Asian News Agency. I believe that SAFMA has succeeded in laying the foundation for such an entity and it seems the next logical step. Why should we let others make us inhabit their versions of our reality? Let us first write our stories ourselves. I believe that a news agency of our peoples, for our peoples and with our peoples, is something worth working towards.

I wish you integrity. I wish you humility. I wish you compassion. I wish you wisdom. And I wish of course a wholesome journalistic experience, today and throughout your careers.

Plenary Session

PLENARY SESSION

Access to and free flow of information Rahimullah Samandar: All journalists bodies in Afghanistan have approved the FOI law. In article 15 of our constitution we have been given the right to information except in cases of national interest. Besides this, after six years of democracy, we have more than 500 publications and 16 television stations. We have 18 provinces on the front lines of war. The other problem is that in to 24 provinces, governors don’t know much about the media. The public believes journalists; when they see news from foreign channels, they want detailed reports.

It is difficult to get information on cases of corruption and human rights abuse. The government also does not give information about its affairs, especially those related to NATO polices and departments such as Defence, Interior and Justice. The Afghan media is doing well; it is very important for Afghan journalists to balance the story, which sometimes puts them in trouble. For example, the Taliban want the media to place their stories. We need SAFMA’s approval for a draft FOI law in Afghanistan.

their suggestions. We hope that the government will waste no time in promulgating an ordinance. There is provision for appointment of a chief information officer, free from bureaucratic control. We feel the appointment procedure should be democratic. A committee should select the officer after establishing a competence level.

The enforcement of this act will also require amendment to the Official Secrets Act, an old, antiquated law. The Bangladesh constitution provides for freedom of information and the press subject to reasonable restrictions, determined by the bureaucracy. We feel that this FOI law should compel the bureaucracy to timely provide information, with a penalty attached for failure to comply. We in Bangladesh are unanimous in our view that without the right to information it is difficult to do stories.

For example: in a rural area, no one knows how a contract is drawn up even for their own jobs. With the freedom of information law, it will be possible to expose corruption.

We hope to put pressure on our government to promulgate this law as soon as possible.

Iqbal Subhan Chawdhury from Bangladesh, Kesang Dema from Bhutan, Mujib-ur-Rehman Shami from Pakistan, SAFMA Secretary General Imtiaz Alam, Bhaskara Rao from India, SAFMA President Lakshman Gunasekara, Narayan Waghle from Nepal, Midhat Adam from Maldives and SAFMA Afghanistan General Secretary Rahimullah Samandar

Mahbub-ul-Alam You have already had a brief account of the progress on the draft FOI law. It warrants further amendments in the light of recommendations by SAFMA and other bodies.

We feel that the exemptions need to be limited. Details have to be worked out. Different NGOs have also put up

Bhutan: Kesang Dema Freedom of expression has been somewhat intoxicating in a conservative society where the government had long kept a tight rein over media. Since 2006, two private

India — Bhaskara Rao: This session focuses on access and freedom of information.

There is a great deal of misunderstanding about the word access. About information, we at CMS have come up with a few insights about the freedom of information and its advantages.

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It is a win-win situation for journalists and the public.

The more people ask for information, the more you will have.

It is a great opportunity for the media to work on their credibility. They can access information first-hand.

It creates a level playing field for journalists (you no longer will need to have 30 years behind you to get information).

Introduces a team concept. A lot of tact is required by working in tandem.

The most disappointing fact is the applications issue. 85% applications have been filed by those already in the system.

Although the government passed the FOI law, it did not do anything to support or popularise this law. newspapers and three private radio stations have been founded. Educated Bhutanese devour spirited newspapers and unrestricted Internet, which is opening up government and individuals to scrutiny never seen before.

One cannot just sweep corruption and other official misdeeds under the carpet as previous governments might have done. And as journalists we are making every effort to make officials believe that releasing of information is no bad thing because it contributes to a more transparent government in which people will feel greater confidence. Press freedom is meaningful for journalists only if they are free to gather, as well as to report news. Official interference will only shrink that freedom.

journalists gather here before leaders and discuss issues of concern to us. We, in Nepal, are in transition-we just had elections and are moving towards democracy. During the king’s time, the press fought hard for freedom. We have an interim constitution and a draft right to know law. Very recently we formed a right to information commission. We have some doubts about this, but it is still too early criticise that. However, the foundation of the right to information has been laid down.

India-Vinod Sharma I think the FOI law has to be understood in the right sense.

It is a gift of the NGOs and the media is still unable to make good use of it Vijay Naik When this law came into force, many complaints came to the President-more than 300 complaints. He appointed a special officer to see to the complaints, and has taken an interest in this law.

government protests. The police keep harassing the media. With the failure of the Bill on Freedom of Information in December 2007, President Gayoom under his right to issue decrees ratified a regulation on Freedom of Information on May 2008. The regulation would fully come into effect by 1 January, 2009, and would stay in effect for 24 months. The regulation contains strict conditions, both for the requested party and the supplier. The main concern of us as media persons is that we are working with no media act and lack of Parliament interest for media protection.

Sri Lanka—Lakshman Gunasekera On behalf of the Sri Lankan chapter, I thank Waqar Mustafa for preparing the report. Sri Lanka has the smallest section; not much has been done on this in the country. A law, drafted by the Chandrika government, was not passed. Since then there has been a shift. The survival of the media is now a priority. The issue of information has now become a part of public discourse. It is based on the current ideology of military priorities.

Maldives: Midhat Adam The Maldives media is still working without any media act; the only protection we have is freedom of expression guaranteed by the current constitution. Due to the absence of a media act we have been facing difficulties to cover public events and political events, especially anti-

Nepal- Narayan Waghle I come from a country where there is Buddhism, Hindusim and now Maoism! I am proud to note that now Sevanti Ninan, Vinod Sharma and Munnoo Bhai

Imtiaz Alam There are countries with good laws like India, although efforts are required to put these laws in place. There are countries where even the process has not started such as the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Pakistan also falls into the same category.

SAFMA should be focussing on lobbying for these laws.

Even with a good law in India, the issue of implementation is much more complex. There has to be a transformation of the culture of secrecy. Just getting a bill passed is not enough.

The Right to Know in South Asia Waqar Mustafa Borrowing wisdom from our own region—South Asia, I quote Amartya Sen, the Nobel Prize winning Indian economist, who says that there has never been a famine in a country with a free press and open government.

Information and power are inalienable.

Without information, people have no power to make choices about their government, no ability to meaningfully participate in the decision-making process, to hold their governments accountable, to thwart corruption, to reduce poverty, or, ultimately, to live in a genuine democracy.

The right to information is a fundamental human right, intimately linked to respect for the inherent dignity of all human beings. No government can now seriously deny that the public has a right to information or that fundamental principles of democracy and accountability demand that public bodies operate transparently.

However, not many states in South Asia have a national freedom of information law giving practical effect to this right. Instead, most countries in the region maintain colonial era Official Secrets Acts, as well as other secrecy legislation; laws which actively undermine information disclosure. The impact of these repressive laws is exacerbated by a pervasive culture of secrecy, and even arrogance, in the public sector.

Many public officials in South Asia rely on and perpetuate this culture to engage in personal enrichment; a right to information guaranteed in law is therefore essential to bring about change so they act, instead, to serve the public good.

The media's role in society includes acting as a watchdog of government, and enhancing the free flow of information to the public. In South Asia, their ability to undertake this key function is undermined not only by government secrecy, which denies the media access to information on matters of public interest, but also by

laws which unduly restrict freedom of expression.

However, change is now very much on the agenda. Superior courts in some countries in South Asia have recognised the right to information as part of the constitutional guarantee of freedom of expression or thought.

Civil society groups, including SAFMA, in all countries in the region have been demanding that governments respect the right to information, and pass legislation giving effect to it. SAFMA has held conferences, arranged research in different countries of the region to propose and push laws and protocol that allow free flow of information.

People, too, are no longer prepared to tolerate corrupt, undemocratic, secretive government.

Governments in South Asia have started responding to these pressures, and taking on board the global recognition of the right to information but the pace is very slow.

On information law, we can divide the countries of South Asia into three categories: those with no or imperfect law on access to information— Afghanistan and the Maldives; those with proposal but no legislation yet—Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Nepal; and those with laws but lacking in their effective implementation— Pakistan and India.

Afghanistan The Right to Information Article 5 of the draft Media Law provides that everyone has the right to seek and receive information from the government and that the government shall provide this information unless it is confidential on the basis that it endangers security, national interests, territorial integrity or the rights of others. But the right to information is a complex matter which requires more detailed legislative treatment than simply one provision in a media law. Issues which need to be addressed through law include the scope of application

for example, which public bodies are covered by the obligation of disclosure procedural questions for example, what time limits apply to the provision of information, what fees may be charged, what notice needs to be provided in case of a refusal to provide the information detailed rules relating to exceptions spelling out more precisely the circumstances under which access to information may be refuse and the possibility of appeal from any refusal. The law could also usefully address issues such as proactive disclosure (i.e. even in the absence of a request), systems for managing information, promotional measures and protection for whistleblowers.

Maldives The law on press freedom, despite numerous restrictions, was adopted in August last year but the parliament rejected a law on access to information. A regulation on the right to information was, however, ratified by President Maumoon Abdul Gayyum on 5th May 2008 under his power to presidential decree after the bill on right to information was thrown out of the parliament on 14 Dec 2007. The regulation is there but it is to fully come into effect by January 1 2009 for 24 months. Now guess what it means.

The regulation does not apply on circumstances where a law stipulates conditions or stops from disclosing information.

Upon request, information should be supplied within 30 days and if a longer period is required the requested party should be informed within the 30 days and the duration can be extended to 30 days. If the information could not be disclosed if should be notified to the requested party with the reasons.

The regulation allows an institution to refrain from stating whether an information is available or not and includes cabinet records, information related to national

security and economic stability, government policy etc. (does not include information that is 30 years old) The regulation gives the right to institutions to hold any information that would destroy the stability of the country but does not include information that would reveal failures of the government, making it difficult for the government to be accountable.

Bangladesh The Council of Advisers has approved the draft 'Right to Information Ordinance-2008' to, what it says, ensure transparency, good governance and accountability of government organisations. The proposed ordinance would require the government to appoint a three-member Information Commission headed by a Chief Information Commissioner.

ARTICLE 19 and its partners say the draft law includes a number of positive features. It overrides inconsistent provisions in other laws, and specifically in the Official Secrets Act 1923, it provides protection against liability for civil servants implementing its provisions, and it provides for an independent and high-level Information Commission with broad powers to remedy failures to implement the law.

But the draft law could still be improved. The main concerns are as follows: !

The right of access is limited to citizens, instead of applying to everyone, and the openness obligations do not apply to legislative, judicial and constitutionally established bodies. !

The proactive publication obligations are too limited, both as to the scope of information covered and as to the means by which this information is to be disseminated. !

The regime of exceptions is too broad. It contains some exceptions which are not legitimate, it lacks a consistent standard of the harm and the rules for

Pakistani and Indian delegates

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providing information in the public interest notwithstanding an exception are weak.

The measures to protect the independence of the Information Commission could still be further improved, for example by replacing the Cabinet Secretary from the process, and by providing for greater civil society input and by further limiting the conditions for removal of members.

The package of promotional measures could be further improved, for example by allocating a wider promotional role to the Information Commission, including through the dissemination of a public guide on how to use the law, and by imposing specific training obligations on public bodies.

So Bangladesh needs to revise the draft law to bring it into line with international standards, with a view to promoting a progressive right to information system in Bangladesh.

Bhutan There is no indication from the Bhutanese government on when it plans to introduce this vital act in the parliament.

Tenzing Lamsang says: “A sad sight is watching village folks walking meekly into government offices and dzongs, some of them carrying gifts for even basic functions. Inside, they are at the mercy of clerks or even 'dashos'. All this arrogance is with good reason, especially in the villages, because these officials or even gups' offices control all information on everything from birth to death certificates. Officialdom in Bhutan has too much power over the people in Bhutan and this power is deeper in areas where the information flow is less.”

Officials say the Right to Information Act, once passed, will allow ordinary Bhutanese to be informed and get a responsible, transparent and accountable government.

Though the Act was drafted in 2007, the cabinet is yet to introduce it in the Assembly.

Chief Justice Lyonpo Sonam Tobgye says: “However, since RTI is a fundamental right, even if the government has not passed the act, anybody can go and apply for information and, on being denied, can move the high court, which in turn can ask the government to fulfill its constitutional obligations.”

Nepal The Nepalese Right to Information Act 2007 adopted last year was an important step in giving practical effect to the Interim Constitution's guarantee of the right to information. The Act is generally a progressive piece of legislation.

However, the law needs to be brought in line with better international standards and practices.

The Right to Information Act grants every Nepali citizen the right to access information held by public bodies. The Act specifically places an obligation on public bodies to respect and promote the citizens' right to information and provides for an independent National Information Commission.

But the Act has several shortcomings, including the following:

! It is limited in scope to citizens rather than applying to !

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everyone.

The information request procedures require applicants to submit reasons for their requests, which is not only contrary to international standards but also potentially places the burden of proof on the applicant.

It lacks an override providing for the disclosure of even exempt information where this is in the overall public interest.

Parliament and civil society groups should have greater input in appointing members of the National Information Commission.

The National Information Commission should be given a wider promotional mandate to foster implementation of the law.

These problems should be redressed through the adoption of regulations which provide for positive interpretation of the RTI Act.

Sri Lanka In Sri Lanka, the 2004 draft Freedom of Information Act has been endorsed by both major parties, but had not been passed as of July 2008. Instead, there have been extremely worrying signs that the government is seeking to reintroduce harsh media controls to curb a free flow of information. The government should work with the independent media rather than against it.

India The Indian Right to Information Act (RTI Act) came into effect on 12 October 2005. Under this law all government bodies or government-funded agencies have to designate a Public Information Officer (PIO). The PIO's responsibility is to ensure that information requested is disclosed to the petitioner within 30 days or within 48 hours in case of information concerning the life and liberty of a person. The law was inspired by previous legislation from select states (among them Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Delhi etc) that allowed the right to information (to different degrees) to citizens about activities of any state government body.

A number of high-profile disclosures showed corruption in

various government schemes such scams in Public Distribution Systems (ration stores), disaster relief, construction of highways etc. The law itself has been hailed as a landmark in India's drive towards more openness and accountability.

However, the RTI India has certain weaknesses that hamper implementation. There have been questions on the lack of speedy appeal to non-compliance to requests.

The absence of a central PIO makes it difficult to pinpoint the correct PIO to approach for requests. The PIO, being an officer of the relevant government institution, may have a vested interest in not disclosing damaging information on activities of his/her institution, This, therefore, creates a conflict of interest. In the state of Maharashtra it was estimated that only 30% of the requests are actually realized under the Maharashtra Right to Information act. The law does not allow disclosure of information that affects national security, defence, and other matters that are deemed of national interest.

Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah has said that the judiciary too falls under the purview of the Right to Information Act. Habibullah says the Right to Information Act applies to all the organs of the Government and all Constitutional bodies, which includes the legislature, executive and the judiciary. But recently the Chief Justice of India, KG Balakrishnan remarked that it was 'debatable' whether the judiciary comes under the purview of the act.

Pakistan Pakistan's Access to Information law, a presidential decree, lacks legitimacy as it has never been debated in parliament. The Ordinance, promulgated in 2002, reduced the volume of information that could be

accessed in the preceding drafts and the measure was immediately attacked for failure to meet the internationally accepted requirements of an FOI law. The right to know as defined in international human rights instruments and also guaranteed by the constitution of Pakistan is not recognized. The category of information that can be accessed is small and that of exempted information is abnormally large. The exemptions cannot be challenged. The law does not provide for expeditions satisfaction of requests for information. The appeal procedure is both flawed and inadequate. There is no protection for whistleblowers.

Last week Minister for Information and Broadcasting Sherry Rehman said the government was introducing a law on access to information. If the law ministry bureaucrats do not prevail, the government is most likely to adopt SAFMA's proposed act on access to information, which it proposed after a national consultation in 2004 and later in three conferences in Islamabad last year. Broad sections of the society must be made aware of this legislation and strong enforcement will be needed for the law to be effectively used. Without such a mechanism, the law will only be on paper. Learning from the examples of other countries where an independent commission has worked wonders in assisting people to get information and address grievances when access has been denied is necessary.

Merely passing a bill will not do justice to information seekers until the bill-turned-law is implemented with conviction. But laws alone cannot create a climate for a democratic way of life. A law for the right to information can be effective only through people's active involvement.

References: Article 19 Newspapers

Scrutiny is the word now Bhutan is small, that's what many had been telling me. I agree. But it is still a country. We have people there. We have a government system there. And we have media. We also know we have to keep our people informed. And in the process we stumble. That's why we are here.

In the hope of finding a solution from the countries that survived through countless turmoil over time, we are here. The adoption of the Constitution of Bhutan, which denotes transition of the country from absolute monarchy to parliamentary democracy, grants information as a right to the citizens of Bhutan. So having guaranteed by the Constitution, the concept of the right to information, in simple words, access to information, is not an issue for us. It is the delivery of information we have to discuss.

As a journalist who got the opportunity to cover the first democratic election held in March, the importance of freedom of media, the bigger role it had to play, dawned upon me like never before. For the new political system to work, I realized that it was critical that the people were informed so that they could take up their responsibility as citizens.

We are not used to sharing information. In fact we are more used to protecting information. One attempt by the ministry of information to share an information policy last year was stumped by a lack of response from the bureaucracy.

But with the formatin of the new government, I feel that the new team of cabinet that belongs to the same political party has become comparatively accessible and approachable. After all, they have promises to uphold.

However, bureaucracy and their outlook to media refuse to budge. Officials have constructed barricades to make things difficult for reporters. Many times reporters are disallowed from contacting officials directly.

Freedom of expression has been somewhat intoxicating in a conservative society where the government had long kept a tight rein over media. Since 2006, two private newspapers and three private radio stations have been founded. Educated Bhutanese devour spirited newspapers and unrestricted Internet, which is opening up government and individuals to scrutiny never seen before.

Kesang Dema We are not used to sharing information. In fact we are more used to protecting information.

Some bureaucrats, however, believe that the freedoms may have gone too far. They argue that Bhutanese reporters make factual errors, are poorly trained, biased and prone to defame institutions and individuals. But these are the same officials who puff up their chests and smile if it's a PR story, distorted or not. Most of the time, these are also the same officials who implore reporters to sniff out and expose the fiddles of bureaucrats.

However, future seems bright as we come across officials who are beginning to realize that under the new democratic government, one cannot just sweep corruption and other official misdeeds under the carpet as previous governments might have done. And as a journalist we are making every effort to make officials believe that releasing of information is no bad thing because it contributes to a more transparent government in which people will feel greater confidence.

What have I learnt? Press freedom is meaningful for journalists only if they are free to gather, as well as to report, news. Official interference will only shrink that freedom.

Far from being free and fair Midhat Adam

The Maldives Media Council Bill is now in the Committee after its second reading while the Freedom of Information Bill has been rejected by the Parliament. The Broadcasting Bill is also in the Committee while the Bill on Cable TV Services in the Maldives has not yet been presented to the Parliament. With the failure of the Bill on Freedom of Information in December 2007, President Gayoom under his right to issue decrees ratified a regulation on Freedom of Information on May 2008.

Media, as the fourth estate, had been a dormant institution in the Maldives for quite a long time. The government used the broadcast and print media as machines to propagate its interest.

Much of the difficulties faced by the political reformists in the past 25 years and the current economic downturn in the country could be argued as a consequence of the lack of a free and vibrant media.

The regulation would fully come into effect by 1 January, 2009, and would stay in effect for 24 months. The regulation contains strict conditions, both for the requested party and the supplier. Our main concern is that we are working with no media act and lack of Parliament interest for media protection. In order to develop a free and vibrant media that serves the public's right to information, the following measures are recommended.

Today, with the reciprocal efforts of the country's reformists, the country's media has witnessed significant changes with the promise of becoming a fully functional media in the future. The country's media is far from free and fair.

This is mainly due to the 5 legislations that failed to materialise in 2007 from the country's parliament, which is despite the DRP (the ruling party) having a majority in the Parliament.

Today, while the power play in the country's political arena keeps shifting rapidly, the public's demand for updated information continues to grow heavily. At the same instance, political opponents also have the right to disseminate information. In this crucial time, it is evident that the country's media has a severe lack of professionalism and is heavily susceptible to political agendas, thus failing in its function to practice its social responsibility and serve the public's interest.

The Television Maldives and Voice of Maldives – which are under the direct control of the Ministry of Legal Reform, Information and Arts – are the only media sources with the capability of reaching the whole country. These two outlets displayed strong censorship until last year.

As the government allowed private broadcasters to start up, government-owned media outlets were also set free.

From this year they have started working with the political parties and the public to go for public broadcasting centres. At present there are 10 daily newspapers, 6 weekly magazines, 5 FM radio stations and 1 television station operation in the country. Some of the newspapers are

have specific laws to protect freedom of media. Among the five bills presented to the Parliament in 2007, the Freedom of Press Bill is now in the Committee after its debate stage in the second reading. The bill on 'Registration of Publications' failed to pass in the Parliament.

3. Rules and Regulations pertaining to the 5 legislations have to be in place for the media to begin functioning properly.

4. Training pertaining to all media personnel needs to be conducted in a manner that serves the needs of the industry.

5. To establish a level playing field, media organisations need to be free of influence by large business conglomerations, which quite often work with the government.

6. A grace period has to be given for the media in applying the laws related to defamation of character so that the media can operate in an orderly fashion.

7. An independent judiciary has to be present for the media to function freely.

8. The government should abolish import duty on newsprint materials.

9. Media-related bills are debated in a manner that does not restrict the free media.

1. The Television Maldives and Voice of Maldives have to be transformed into a public broadcasting media.

2. The Parliament needs to hastily approve the pending five legislations and due ratification by the President has to be followed before the next elections.

owned and financed by government ministers. Compared to the last five year the private media is more responsible now. Some newspapers and FM station are now openly raising issues against the government, criticising the government and the opposition.

In the past twelve months, 10 radio stations have been registered but only 5 are operating. Among the stations Dhifm ' Capital Radio, Faraway Radio, HFM and Atoll, only DhiTV, a pro-government station, is in operation among the 3 registered stations. The Maldives media is still working without any media act, the only protection we have is freedom of expression guaranteed by the current constitution. Due to the absence of a media act we have been facing difficulties to cover public events and political events, especially anti-government protests. The police keeps harassing the media.

In March 2006 under President Gayoom's "Roadmap to the Reform Agenda", six different bills related to the media were tabled by the government recognising the need to

Vijay Purushottam Naik makes his input

Concluding Session

Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, the Adviser for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh, Lyonpo Ugyen Tshering, Bhutan's Foreign Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, External Affairs Minister of India, SAFMA Secretary General Imtiaz Alam, Rohitha Bogollagama, Chairman, Council of Ministers of SAARC, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Abdulla Shahid, Foreign Minister of Maldives, Gyan Chandra Acharya, Foreign Minister of Nepal

Colombo Declaration: Freedom and Safety of Media in Conflict Situations We, the participants at SAARC Journalists SummitIV on 'Freedom of media in conflict situations' in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on July 30-31, and August 1, 2008, have agreed to adopt the following Colombo Declaration on Freedom and Safety of Journalists: Deeply concerned by attacks on the freedom of media and media persons including murder, deliberate attacks, abductions, hostage-taking, harassment, intimidation, illegal arrest and detention and incitement to violence against them due to their professional activities in the conflict zones and beyond in the South Asian region; Believing that media freedom is inseparable from the fundamental human and civil rights guaranteed by the constitution and enforceable through independent judiciary in a democratic system where both the state and society respect freedoms, show tolerance to dissent and practice pluralism; Recalling Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that guarantees freedom of expression as a fundamental right, and confirming that freedom of expression is essential to the realization of other rights set forth in international human rights instruments, and endorsing Resolution 29 entitled “Condemnation of violence against journalists”, adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO on 12 November 1997 that calls on Member States to uphold their obligations to prevent, investigate and punish crimes against journalists, Endorsing the adoption by the Security Council of the United Nations of Resolution 1738 on 23 December 2006 calling on all parties to an armed conflict to fulfill their obligations towards journalists under international law, including the need to prevent impunity for crimes against them and further requesting the Secretary-General to include as a subitem in his next reports the issue of the safety and security of media professionals and organisations; Taking note of hitches and obstacles to transition to full democracy in the countries of the region, such as Bangladesh, the Maldives and Pakistan; Disturbed over the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan and the tribal belt of Pakistan and urging the concerned authorities and security agencies to take appropriate measures against extremism, terrorism and intolerance, avoiding, however, collateral damage to people in general and journalists in particular;

Concerned about the increasing tide of intolerance by state and non-state violent elements against free expression among the member countries of SAARC; Worried over the conflict situation in Sri Lanka that has seen the most severe condition of human rights violations in the country, just as in the 1980s, the mass media now suffers from the regular assassination, assault and intimidation of media personnel and proprietors while media enterprises have been forced to shut down by means of stateoriginated restrictions on holding companies or outright bans. While up to fifteen journalists have been assassinated in the past two years, most of them in state-controlled parts of the country, several others have had to seek refuge outside the country. The seeming impunity with which either State-related agencies or politicians and pro-government groups have perpetrated human rights violations draws attention to the increasing collapse of law and order and public security; Welcoming the extension of the last SAARC Summit's theme of Connectivity to “Partnership for the people of SAARC” for the 15th SAARC Summit as a leap forward if translated into concrete measures to relax visa regimes and multiple restrictions on free flow of information and goods and unhindered movement of people across our borders;

for freedom of expression and effective protection of the exercise of press freedom, also to recommend to these institutions that a state's failure to comply with its obligation to investigate and punish killers of journalists could be cause for revision, suspension or revocation of such cooperation; To sign and ratify the Additional Protocols I and II to the Geneva Conventions, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and other relevant international instruments of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, and to take the appropriate legislative, judicial and administrative measures to ensure application of the aforementioned instruments nationally, in so far as they provide protection for civilians, in particular those working in journalism; To comply with the commitments of UNESCO Resolution 29 to promote legislation with the intention of investigating and prosecuting the killers of journalists and to combat impunity; To adopt SAFMA's Protocol on Freedom of Information and implement SAFMA's Protocol on Free flow of information and movement of journalists across our borders.

Call on the Sri Lankan government: To swiftly complete the investigations into a number of killings and abductions of journalists that have yet to be resolved if it is to retain credibility of its commitment to stability, public security and democracy; remove all restrictions and stop intimidation of media persons and media outlets.

including, but not limited to, safety training for journalists, safety codes, healthcare and life insurance, and equal access to social protection for free-lance employees and full-time staff; To coordinate widespread publicity campaigns on unpunished crimes against journalists and other acts of violence to bring about news coverage of all violations of press freedom; To encourage journalism schools and mass communication departments to include in their curricula studies on the impact that crimes against journalists and subsequent impunity have on democratic societies. In addition to promote the inclusion in the curricula of subjects or specific courses on press freedom and to coordinate activities, including safety training, among press freedom associations, news media and journalism schools; To further encourage collaboration amongst journalists, media owners, educators, press freedom groups and appropriate development agencies, at national and global level, to ensure the inclusion of media development activities in social and economic development programmes; To act in favour of measures to better ensure application of the rules and principles of a humanitarian nature safeguarding journalists, media professionals and associated personnel in situations of armed conflict, and to promote the security of the persons concerned; To work against the emergence of new threats to journalists and media staff, including hostage-taking and kidnapping;

Call on SAARC and Professional Associations: Call on Member States of SAARC: To take both short and long term comprehensive measures to eradicate extremism and violent practices by both state and non-state actors or any other entities against civilians and journalists in particular; To investigate all acts of violence and intimidation against media professionals in their territory and bring such persons/outfits who have allegedly committed such crimes to justice while compensating for the losses incurred by the victims; To promote awareness and train their armed forces, intelligence and law enforcing agencies to respect and promote the safety of journalists in situations of risk, and to ensure that journalists are able to work in full security and independence in their territory; To recommend to multilateral and bilateral institutions of international cooperation and financial assistance that they require from recipient countries as a specific condition of eligibility respect

To struggle at all levels in stemming and eradicating the tide of intolerance and violence against one section of the people or the other, journalists in particular; To take resolute action against all expressions of intolerance towards freedom of expression and for the safety of journalists in situations of risk and to ensure respect for their professional independence; To sensitize news organizations, editors and managers about the dangers surrounding their staff when covering hazardous stories, particularly the dangers present to local journalists; To urge news associations to develop and sustain safety provisions that work regardless of whether their staff are covering domestic stories such as crime and corruption, disasters and demonstrations or health issues or international armed conflict; To promote actions that secure the safety of journalists,

To require that data be submitted to the SAARC Conference in a report on crimes against journalists and the number of cases that continue with impunity; To sensitize governments regarding the importance of freedom of expression and threat that impunity for crimes against media professionals represents to this freedom; To recall to member states their legal and moral obligations to comply with UN Resolution 29 and prevent crimes against journalists.

To take concrete remedial measures and remove all hindrances to connectivity, people's partnerships, people to people contact and free movement of information, goods and people across all our borders

CONCLUDING SESSION

Govts hold South Asian people apart Zebunnisa Burki

Improving connectivity a must Imtiaz Alam, Secretary General, SAFMA

We want an interface with governments Najam Sethi, Secretary General, SAMC

We express our fullest solidarity with the journalists of this region. We appreciate that this Summit is taking place on the pertinent theme of Partnership for the People. Last year's summit focussed on Connectivity. We expect, sir, that both are implemented. Allow me to explain. In the last summit, all foreign ministers had promised us 50 stickers for journalists from each country of SAARC for free movement.

So far procedures for implementation have not been laid down, except for Bangladesh.

We have been struggling since 2002 for protocol on free movement of media persons. We wanted a paragraph included in the SAARC declaration but no movement

in this regard has taken place. Similarly without the free movement of media products, it is difficult to establish media relations in our region. We have great ideals before us in the shape of SAFTA, the food fund etc. For that to happen, please allow the free movement of goods, people and information across borders. I call upon you to allow people to move across borders.

Safma has been trying hard to promote regional cooperation. For example, last year we held a Parliamentarians Conference in Simla, India. Similarly, subregional cooperation and exchanges are also important. We have more of these planned for the coming year.

We set up SAMC at Delhi in 2007. The president of SAMC is Mr N Ram. Why do we need a media commission despite the existence of SAFMA? The reason is that this region has become very grim for media persons. This year alone 10 media persons have died. SAMC is sort of a rapid deployment force for when the media is threatened. Without interaction and interface, it is very difficult to counter the attacks against the media. SAMC is supported in every country by other media bodies for example the PFUJ in Pakistan. Let me give just one quick example. Two weeks ago, I was personally threatened; my staff was in a cloud of fear. Within two hours, the information ministry issued a press release. The government gave military guards to guard us. We expect governments to act in this way in every country where journalists are threatened. We want an interface, we don't want to interfere in your issues. I hope this year we will be able to send factfinding missions to each country. We hope your Excellencies will be able to facilitate us in our efforts.

Civil Society to fashion SAARC Sri Lanka: Rohitha Bogollagama, Chairman, Council of Ministers of SAARC I am delighted to be at such an important session. I am particularly happy that since assuming the Presidency of the council of Ministers, this is one of my first public speeches. You are a fraternity that can both promote and protect democracy. Listening to some of what has been said here, I am encouraged that there is an important role for us to be associated with you. I welcome you all to the Summit being held in Colombo. Having said that, there are several areas where we have to overcome challenges. Politicians look at challenges as opportunities. We want freedom of our people, freedom from hunger, threats, terrorists, violators. Media can help us. We are all being tested at elections. What you is what we seek; you are the nexus. Connectivity is essential. Today Colombo and Dhaka are connected. We are looking at Colombo and Pakistan as well. The civil society getting connected will fashion the SAARC. Look at EU, they came together for their people. We are looking at similar things. As politicians, if there are threats to the media, we condemn them. As an elected representative I see a nexus between the civil society and politicians.

Come together, fly together Bangladesh: Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, the Adviser for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

You have begun an excellent tradition that promotes people to people cooperation by connecting minds and hearts. When SAARC was conceived in Bangladesh, the idea was to create a series of linkages. We in South Asia constitute 20 percent of the global technology. It is possible for all of us to come together, fly together. Today India has a larger share in the world market; they may have a disproportionate responsibility as well. We in Bangladesh are about to start a society where the rule of law will prevail. All this is possible with your (the media’s) help.

Media needs discipline India: Pranab Mukherjee, External Affairs Minister

Free press necessary Bhutan: Lyonpo Ugyen Tshering, Foreign Minister I am very honoured to be sitting at a very distinguished panel and to hear about the role of SAFMA. This year has been remarkable for Bhutan, with four main objectives and goals. We are celebrating 100 years of monarchy, we have begun the transition to democracy through popular elections and the coronation of the 5th King of Bhutan. There is difference and diversity in SAARC. In Bhutan democracy was essential and though it was resisted at first, it was brought about to be closer to the other countries of SAARC. A free press in also necessary in Bhutan; in 1999 internet and broadband was introduced. In 2006, it was felt that a free press was extremely important. Accordingly licences were issued and two newspapers emerged. Similarly radio broadcasting was opened up. Following elections this year, it was decided that there would be live coverage of election procedures. I am happy to tell you that there has been no reporter in trouble. This is perhaps possible in a small society like ours. I thank SAFMA for inviting me today.

We South Asians make up more than 22% of the total population of the world. It is true, as mentioned by my worthy friend from Bhutan, that there are wide divergences in South Asia. Therefore, India cannot be compared with any other parliamentary system in the region. Surely as media persons it is your job to give accurate and objective information and also place the situation in its proper place. We would like to look into the recommendations made in various declarations and implement them. I would like to draw your attention to a couple of other issues. Media expansion is bound to take place; at the same time what is needed is discipline. Similarly in the transformation of this system, there will be divergences and debate in large democracies where institutions function.

Democracy can survive only with institutions. There are still deficiencies and short comings. As early as 1891, amongst the Indian members of the Court, everything was conducted on the system of nomination. I am referring to these things because in some countries these were initiated earlier and in others a little later. One growing recognition I find in all SAARC countries is a strong desire for democracy. I feel this process is not perfect but it can be achieved only through changes and acceptability. I sincerely believe our friends at SAFMA are valuable contributors and we are committed to addressing your recommendations.

Nothing to hide?

Maldives: Abdulla Shahid, Foreign Minister

Maldives does not want to hide anything from the world and we are among the few countries who want to reveal what is happening in the country. We have invited UN Special Rapporteurs to visit the Maldives and they have accepted our invitation, UN Special Rapporteurs on Freedom of Expression will visit Maldives by the end of the year. The Rapporteur's findings will let you know the status of freedom of expression in the Maldives. We are doing this because we do not want to hide anything, we want to let the UN and others know we are genuinely pursuing reforms. The extent of freedom of expression can be gauged from the news and articles published in newspapers and magazines, which are very critical of the Government and ministers and they have frequently called on ministers to resign.

There are four bills on media freedom submitted to the Majlis and media freedom would be further widened when these bills are passed by the Majlis.

Free press necessary for uplift Mr. Gyan Chandra Acharya, Foreign Minister I welcome this opportunity to address you all. Particularly, I would like to mention here my appreciation for SAFMA for its role in the People's Movement in Nepal. In a modern society, the media are our eyes and ears. I cannot think of a better way to get to people than through the media. When I think of SAARC, I realise we make 20% of the world's population but we don't even account for 2% of the total output. We have 40% of the world’s total poor.

In 1990, South Asia and East Asia started their economic growth journey together. The per capita differential was 400 USD; now it is 1100 USD. We are pre-occupied with issues other than the economy. We have been slow on decisions regarding regional economic cooperation. But some positive developments have taken place. They will go a long way in bringing about an economic union. I think free press is necessary for economic and social development as well as for political development.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Foreign Minister of Pakistan, flanked by Pakistani editors

Conflict management and resolution is the key Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Foreign Minister of Pakistan

I welcome the spirit that brought you to Colombo. SAFMA as an organisation is very important for the region. It has always promoted democracy. I represent a party that has fought hard for democracy for 8 years. Ours is a country which witnessed suspension of human rights, and at that time journalists stood by us. You stand up and write and give us hope. You represent the people of SAARC and in my view you represent civil society. Civil society is far ahead of us and we (politicians) are treading behind which we must recognise.

What is food for thought is that SAARC represents 1.5 billion people of Asia. Are we ready for that challenge? Is the spirit in SAARC reflecting that challenge? No. This is why I have written to my colleagues urging them to put new life into SAARC. When my friend and colleague from Nepal says that 40% of the global poor are from South Asia, it is because we come from conflict situations. Only conflict management and resolution can remedy this. We have to tolerate and co exist and give each other support. The SAARC region is suffering from food scarcity and we must counter that as well as other ills common to the region. We must work towards solar and hydro energy. Pakistan has put forward such a joint venture. I talked to Mr Mukherji on the liberalisation of visas for journalists while at Delhi. It is the governments that hold the people of South Asia apart. There are 139 new items on SAFTA's free list. We should look at sub regional commonalities. The time has come when the people must speak the way SAFMA speaks. I assure you as a parliamentarian and citizen of Pakistan to uphold these.

SAFMA Secretary General Imtiaz Alam and Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi

Pranab Mukherjee, External Affairs Minister of India having a chat with SAFMA Secretary General Imtiaz Alam

Sara Tareen, Farah Waraitch, Meher Bokhari (craning her neck) and Shehar Bano Khan

Bhutan's Foreign Minister Lyonpo Ugyen Tshering being received

The foreign ministers reading the declaration text

Khalid Chaudhary from Pakistan and Zaheer-ud-din Khan from India in the foreground

South Asian Free Media Association Regional Executive Body Meeting

Some members of Nepalese delegation

Sohail Qalandar, Atif Nadeem, Kesang Dema, Afshan Subohi and Rehana Hakeem

SAFMA's Proposed Protocol on Free Movement of Media-persons and Media-products Across South Asia We the heads of state and government of the member countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) having held extensive deliberations on the imperatives of information revolution, the needs to promote free flow of and access to information and the hindrances in the ways of free flow of information among our nations at the 15th Summit Meeting of the SAARC at Colombo, Sri Lanka:

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Appreciating an ever-increasing demand to benefit from the worldwide information revolution and evergrowing free flow of information in all fields for the betterment of our peoples, enrichment of their tremendous potentials and the overall progress of the South Asian region; Recognizing the imperative of free flow of information for better understanding among our countries and peoples about one another and promoting mutually beneficial economic and cultural cooperation at both bilateral and regional levels; Realizing the greater need to allow free flow of and access to information, including the free movement of media-persons and media-products, such as newspapers, magazines, electronically-transmitted features/stories/news, across the borders of the member countries of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC); Taking into account the aspirations of our peoples to know the world and our own region, requirements of development of our countries and an all-sided cooperation in our region; Noting the multiple hindrances at various levels, both tariff and non-tariff, to the free flow of and access to information and free movement of media persons and media products across the borders of the member countries; and Acknowledging our obligation under the international covenants and other instruments that recognize exchange of information in any form across frontiers as a basic human right that each member state shall: 1. Promote, as far as possible, free flow of and access to information within the region in the best interest of our peoples, economic growth of our countries and

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mutually beneficial cooperation at both bilateral and regional levels; Remove all impediments to free flow of and access to information for good-governance, better understanding of each other and the urgently needed progress of the region in all fields; Eradicate all restrictions on free movement of media-persons and, to begin with, those with ten years of recognized professional standing with credible media organizations shall be exempted from visa, and facilitate the grant of multiple-entry five-year Gratis Visa, exempted from police reporting, to accredited media professionals with three years of standing in the profession in a recognized media organization while removing tedious processes of security clearance and bureaucratic delays; Harmonize and bring all tariffs in conformity with zero-duty regime on all media-products and remove all non-tariff and para-tariff barriers to free flow of media products, including newspapers, magazines, periodicals, books, cassettes, videos, soft-wares and electronically-transmitted features/stories/news, etc.; Allow bureau-offices or representation, with full rights and necessary protection, to the recognized newspapers, periodicals, magazines, news agencies, publishers and television networks from any member state, that will be staffed by the media persons of no less than three-year of professional standing; Encourage professional collaboration among the media, media-bodies, media-training and masscommunication institutions, in both private and public sectors; Form a Consultative Media Body, consisting of the representatives of media persons, media bodies and media ministries in member countries; Monitor progress on lifting of all barriers in the information sphere and implementation of this Protocol through a SAARC Committee on Information, consisting of Information Ministers, or their representatives, of the member countries; Review the progress on the implementation of this Protocol at the 16th SAARC Summit Meeting.