Journalists look for solutions to Asia's problems

How will the emergence of a private press for the first time in 50 years in Myanmar help the country's efforts to create a democratic culture? How will conflict be addressed? What will the role of the media be in fostering peace?

These and other questions emerged at the 4th International Media Conference in Yangon, Myanmar on March 10-12, to discuss the theme "Challenges of a Free Press", which saw the participation of about 400 journalists from 31 countries. 

On March 9, Nobel peace laureate and elected member of the national assembly in Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi addressed press freedom issues in both emerging and developed democracies in a speech given in conjunction with the international media conference.

Without a free press to check those who are in power, she said, "We will not be able to defend the rights and freedoms of the people. But at the same time, this press has to be aware not just of its great power and influence, but of the great responsibility that it bears for the building of a new nation that is centered on the will of the people."

For the first time in 50 years, private press has been emerging in the nascent democracy. She cautioned that the press has an inherent obligation to its citizens and should not shirk its duties to the public. "Greater freedom demands greater responsibility," she said. "It is one of my greatest concerns that people not look upon democracy as a system that gives unlimited rights to them but does not demand equal responsibility back."

Launching Suu Foundation that will function in the health and education sector in Myanmar, Daw Suu termed its formation as "a simple but a necessary cause". The foundation is dedicated to improving basic living conditions for many in Myanmar after long years of isolation. Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former First Lady Laura Bush, who are both co-chairs of the foundation, sent video messages for the event encouraging support for the effort.

Actress Michelle Yeoh, who portrayed Suu Kyi in the film "The Lady" and serves on the foundation's board of directors, also spoke at the luncheon event, saying, "the focus of the Suu Foundation will be on the simplest, but most fundamental things: health care and education." 

Stating that her country was trying to build up a democratic culture, Daw Suu stressed the pivotal role the press will play in shaping Myanmar's destiny. "If there is no free press then those in power will become complacent," she explained.

Suu Kyi said that increased levels of training and educational support can bolster the standard of a free press in any country, and that she hoped similar methods would come to fruition in Myanmar.

Answering a question on the highly sensitive issue of increasing violence between Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims in the western Myanmar state of Rakhine, Daw Suu said, "When you talk about violence, you talk about the rule of law. People don't think it is interesting but it is basic. There is tension between two communities and people have to feel secure to be able to sit and talk about problems. I don't know what the solution is."

Press scenario in Myanmar

With almost two million tourists visiting the country, agenda setting will be a big part in the burgeoning media. Civic media will also be a tool to make progress, along with crowd funding, which allows people online to contribute for projects in other countries.

U Ye Htut, Myanmar's deputy minister of information and presidential spokesman, said more than 20 news agencies have opened up bureaus in the country and that the first privately owned daily newspapers began appearing on newsstands last year after a more than 50-year absence. "It is the media that empowers citizens to make informed decisions, required to achieve democratic reforms in our society," he said.

U Ye Htut said he also believed that heavy media concentration in Yangon contributed to issues facing the domestic press. Noting that "99 per cent of the media is based in Yangon," he said that "the Minister of Information is working for the diversity of information and diversity of ownership in our process." This would mean increasing the amount of media coverage in ethnic minority areas, and promoting journalism from those areas, he added.

Speakers and the panels

With an impressive list of speakers and engaging panel discussions, media professionals not only presented the nature of the problems each of them faced in their own countries but also shared some solutions with the local press.

Umar Cheema, an investigative journalist with The News International and co-founder, Center for Investigative Reporting in Pakistan, was kidnapped and brutally tortured for writing critical stories about the government in 2010, was felicitated at a function along with Senior Producer/Reporter, Al Jazeera America, New York City, Roxana Saberi, who was imprisoned in Iran. Veteran local journalist U Win Tin, founder of National League for Democracy, who was jailed for 18 years, also graced the keynote panel.

Peace journalism instead of war journalism

A panel of experts debated both the concept of peace journalism and its greater implications for covering worldwide and domestic conflict. The panel included the director of the University of Sydney's Centre for Peace & Conflict Studies Jake Lynch, Voice of America Burmese Service Chief Than Lwin Htun, and Aung Nang Oo of the Myanmar Peace Center and this writer.

Lynch defined peace journalism as a global movement to reform journalism and develop greater responsibility when covering conflict. Peace journalism is awareness that the choice of a story’s framing, facts, and tone could unwittingly mobilise the public to support violence during a conflict.

Lynch wondered whether the widespread prejudice against the Muslim Rohingya minority in Myanmar's Rakhine state could be such a spectacle, distracting the general population from vast inequality in resource distribution and widespread poverty. "Could it be that in Myanmar today there are 'out' groups, who are at risk of being labeled as a threat and psychologically distanced in order to promote political agendas?" Lynch asked.

While Lynch championed the ability of journalists to look past violence and public spectacle to analyse and contextualise, Aung Nang Oo criticised Myanmar journalists' for "identity crisis," "bloated writing," and lack of understanding regarding the sensitivity of the nation's ongoing peace process.

(Dilnaz Boga is a Mumbai-based freelance journalist, working on a doctorate on conflict. She spoke at a session on peace journalism at the conference, organised by East-West Center, based in Honolulu, Hawaii)

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