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Conflict and media freedom
Dev Raj Dahal
English Philosopher Francis Bacon once
wrote, “Knowledge is power.” Knowledge is not neutral
in meaning, interpretation and application. Access to knowledge
is essential for the citizens to participate in the state,
market and civil society and to attain empowerment. While
pluralist formation of knowledge and opinion can contribute
to social justice, a tight monopoly of information by dominant
class of society hobbles citizens’ ability to influence
government’s decision and the government’s ability
to make correct policies as well as to reach to the public.
Media in democracy thus forms the
medium of communicative power and helps to shape public
opinion. Journalists can become a part of the conflict or
a part of solution depending on the selection and evaluation
of information they report. This is the reason media freedom
is central to understand the state of the nation. Responsible
journalists deal with conflict occurring in everyday life
and report the societal feedbacks into the circulation of
power and its resistance seeking to nurture normative political
order based on dialogue, negotiation, consensus and peace.
A vision of a normative political order where basic human
security is ensured is possible if there is a harmony between
the ends and means of political power.
What has media learned from the seven
years of violent conflict and tragedies and what message
do they convey to the Nepalese citizens? Where do journalists
stand in the conflict? How can a violent conflict be transformed
into a non-violent phase? What are its legitimate mechanisms?
How can “balanced reporting” be obtained? How
can media provide common grounds for contending actors for
agreement? How can all conflicting parties return to a common
vision, determination and patience? How media can help achieve
democratic peace?
Reporting
Reporting the meta or high-intensity conflict
means taking up an agenda, exposing the motives of the actors
involved in the conflict and equipping the public with conflict
transformation ideas, opinion, insight and knowledge. Media
can inflame conflict by circulating “negative message,”
in society. It can also become a messenger of peace, reconciliation
and unity of people. This is the reason professionalism
and credibility of journalists is absolutely essential to
understand the sinews of media power. Of course, media power
works in multiple ways. What is the reference point of journalists
in the conflict—human values, public interests, pecuniary
instinct, class interest or geopolitical considerations?
Where do they fit into the diverse political spectrum and
social hierarchies? Obviously, the most important mission
of reporting events is to assume public interests into account
and renew human sensitivity during conflicts. A legitimate
government as an instrument of public power helps media
more to assume this responsibility than coercing them to
manufacture consent by limiting the freedom of choice.
The role of democratic government lies
in enhancing media freedom and competition, reducing restrictions
on the entry of independent media and establishing a reasonable
regulatory framework. The pattern and identity of media
ownership are other two important considerations for their
conflict sensitivity. For example, if there are commercial,
social or political interests of contending forces in worsening
the conflict, then media owned by them can hardly contribute
to the mitigation of conflict. Because sectoral perspective
of the media tends to absolutize the differences, breeds
conflict and does not grasp the wholeness of the issue.
Media should judge the fact that whether the power used
by contending forces is legitimate and consistent with people’s
aspirations for peace, democracy and social justice or just
resisting each other’s power to enervate national strength?
In a situation of political uncertainty, what is critically
important is how political actors can achieve common good
together, not what they oppose.
It is the responsibility of the media
to inform the public and politicians about national situation
and suggest ways on how to protect conducive human rights
situation in the country. A free and responsible media is
crucial for conflict-sensitive reporting. Because only responsible
media can help formulate the problem rationally, define
proper strategies, prevent the erosion of the growing trust
between the state and the people and take part in the political
process in a meaningful way. How is information gathered,
processed and disseminated in a political system is thus
a matter of great public concern.
Openness
Value of transparency and openness has
been acknowledged by the Nepalese Constitution. It has also
recognized people’s right to information, expression
and legitimate organizations and set codes of conduct for
media to minimize harm in society. In plural societies like
Nepal, the watchdog function of media narrows the knowledge
gap, helps to capture the diversity of perspectives and
gives voice to the voiceless’ people’s desire
for social change. A deficient structure and culture where
people live breeds structural injustices and perpetuates
the cycles of violence and counter-violence in a vicious
way.
Responsible press tries to bring knowledge
to the public, provides a voice for the citizens to be heard
and heeded, helps build public consensus to bring desired
social transformation and enables the government institutions
to perform. In a situation of violent conflict, media’s
role lies in debating objectively about the health of the
country and people, framing and phrasing conflicts in a
rational manner, offering concrete options rather than just
criticism of actors, and furnishing practical initiatives
to the conflicting parties to resolve their conflicts of
various kinds—structural, manifest, perceptual and
latent.
Ownership of Peace
Every problem formulated rationally is
capable of solution. If conflict is a common problem of
all the Nepalese, it requires a shared solution of all the
stakeholders. Democracy offers the media to mediate contending
perspectives through dialogue and collective action. This
means media should seek the unity of those connectors of
society, rather than dividers, and attempt for a symbiosis
in peaceful coexistence of diverse life-forms in the national
state. Journalists can contribute to conflict management
by providing democratic space for dialogue, mobilizing public
opinion on the desirability of non-violent conflict transformation
and focusing on the accountability of leaders for their
actions. They can also offer the analysis of the causes,
options and possible solutions of the conflict. But, the
structures of peace become durable only if it is based on
solid democratic principles and values rather than power
equation of dominant actors. Nepal needs to assume responsibility
for its own security. No outsiders can shoulder the entire
responsibility of transforming Nepal’s conflict into
peace. They as external stakeholders can offer needed skills,
expertise and resources for negotiation and contribute to
peace-building efforts. Any effort to peace process must
be owned by the Nepalese themselves.
Note: This article has been published
in 'The Kathmandu Post' (1 April 2004)
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