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| Wednesday, 3 December 2003 |
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by Chloe Griffiths Sri Lanka was selected this week for the launch of the second annual International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) Journalism for Tolerance Prize as part of the IJF's bid to increase freedom and autonomy for restricted journalists around South Asia. Leading journalists and top representatives of media unions from all around the globe gathered at the Galle Face Hotel this week invited by the IJF for a three-day conference in an attempt to truly generate greater tolerance and understanding for those trying to inform and educate the world's masses. The conference provided the opportunity for IFJ President Christopher Warren to send a stark message to those around the world who not only constrain but also jeopardise the safety of those reporting from the frontline and try to prevent them from their fundamental responsibility to reveal the truth. "First, to those who seek to promote intolerance and hatred ... we will not be diverted from the principles that underpin journalism. We will not deviate from our mission of truth, the public's right to know and fundamental fairness," he said. "Second, to our colleagues,... as a craft we recognise and value journalism and celebrate it at its best," he said. Warren's impassioned speech was specifically directed to highlight recent examples where journalists, keen to reveal the truth from combatant nations, have been denied the fundamental treatment of civilians. Specifically he referred to Iraq where this year during the conflict the "unnecessary and tragic deaths" of journalists took place, where the safety of the media was neglected and the clear obligations of the Geneva Convention were ignored. Sri Lanka as the setting for this workshop was no random selection. Here over the years journalists have been targeted by criminal gangs, out of control police and terrorist forces. Over the years of conflict and repression the media here has faced huge challenges. Now the IJF has identified it is time for media organisations to work to create democratic practices to enhance freedom of expression and social justice and to free itself from "the shackles that have been placed on it". In peacetime, the IFJ is hoping their message will spread throughout Asia, especially to societies such as Nepal where the media remain constrained by the constant threat of harassment, persecution, imprisonment and even death. As part of this initiative the IJF hopes to ensure it becomes globally accepted that "targeting the media is a war crime. It is a clear breach of the principles of international humanitarian law embodied in the Geneva Convention." The prize has been supported the European Union and UNESCO and is to be awarded in five regions, West and Central Africa, South and Eastern Africa, Latin America, South-East Asia and South Asia. Last year, the South Eastern winner was Muzamil Jaleel from India who portrayed a sensitive and sophisticated portrayal of the basic traditional values of humanism and synthesis in Kashmir society. Daily News writer and Ambalangoda Special Correspondent W.T.J.S Kaviratne was specially commended for his article on the experiment of taking schoolchildren from the South to the embattled North as part of 'Southern Peace Bridge' after the official inauguration of the peace process. |
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