HANSANI SAMPATH

The role of the media on regional cooperation

in South Asia

Hansani Sampath

HANSANI SAMPATH

in a Pakistani Newspaper, on 26th October 2013, there were two headlines, each giving some information regarding a religious festival. One of the headline was related to a Muslim religious festival, which stated: “The spirit of devotion: three day Ghazi Urs”

where as the other headline was related to a Hindu religious festival, which read: “SU exam on the eve of Diwali criticized.”

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2. Conscious that in an increasingly interdependent world, the objectives of peace, freedom, social justice and economic prosperity are best achieved in the SOUTH ASIAN region by fostering mutual understanding, good neighborly relations and meaningful cooperation among the Member States which are bound by ties of history and culture;

3. Aware of the common problems, interests and aspirations of the peoples of SOUTH ASIA and the need for joint action and enhanced cooperation within their respective political and economic systems and cultural traditions;

4. Convinced that regional cooperation among the countries of SOUTH ASIA is mutually beneficial, desirable and necessary for promoting the welfare and improving the quality of life of the peoples of the region;

5. Convinced further that economic, social and technical cooperation among the countries of SOUTH ASIA would contribute significantly to national and collective self-reliance;

6. Recognizing that increased cooperation, contacts and exchanges among the countries of the region will contribute to the promotion of friendship and understanding among their peoples;

Importance of media onregional cooperation

SAARC Charter

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protecting images and as a vehicle of opinion making

(It influencing on how citizen thinking, What they think about)

Information (News stories)

Education

Entertainment

Feature of the media

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Media for regional cooperation

Regional Cooperatio

n

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Media companies( TV, News pepper, radio) are largely owned by individuals, societies, and associations , joint stake companies or firms and partnerships

Although there are also media run by political parties , trusts , & cooperative societies , these are exceptions to the rule and have relatively small circulations

Press ownerships in south Asian countries concentrated in the hands

of the few industrialized families who have significant economic stakes or interest outside the newspaper business

India -Tata, Birals, Goenika Sri Lanka – Wijewardana family, Nepal –kanthipur media pvt ltd (kailasiriya family) Same company or same persons having many media such as radio

tv print media together

Features of the south Asian media

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Whether the media plays a role

in promoting regional cooperation in

South Asia or

not????

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NO

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WHY

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People of different South Asian countries have been brought up with different histories. we do not have the mind-set to shape a South Asian destiny

India’s policy had not evolved towards the region, and was focused on individual countries

In the Indian media’s coverage of the neighborhood, Pakistan and China are the two most important countries which get maximum media space in indian media(The troubled India-Pakistan relationship, the Kargil conflict, 26/11 Mumbai attacks, China-Pakistan nuclear cooperation, China building ports in Pakistan and other South Asian countries are the some of the issues which have got maximum coverage in the Indian media)

 There is a lack of understanding about South Asian countries in news rooms and that the Indian media is obsessed with Pakistan and China

There is a perception among India’s neighboring countries that the Indian media does not care about its neighbors and only provides coverage to these countries during the Prime Minister’s visit.

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The media has failed to explore commonalities and bring communities closer for fostering historical and cultural ties among people of the region

The problem with the media in Afghanistan is that it is heavily dependent on foreign funding and it is highly politicized and has a political agenda. The dependence of the media on external funding makes it vulnerable to external pressures, particularly those media houses run by politicians and political parties.

Maldives has given press freedom in 2008, media in Maldives has always fought for its rights its not going beyond .

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There is no cooperative journalism. There are very few Bangladesh journalists

have written about the declining Hindu population or the issue of illegal migration from Bangladesh into Indian states, although a section of the Bangladeshi media acknowledges it

How sri lankan and Indian media reporting about kachchathivu issue , Fisherman problems

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South Asian Free Media Association – SAFMAhttp://www.southasianmedia.net/1. South Asian Women in Media (SAWM)2. South Asia Media Commission (SAMC)3. South Asian Media School (SAMS)

SAARC Audio-Visual Exchange (SAVE) Programme

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Need to go beyond jingoism.  There should be a regional initiative for bringing media

together and there should be more networking among the leading media houses and agencies in the region

Re-invigorate SAFMA collaborative projects like Aman ki Asha be taken up among

regional media groups, in order to highlight common issues so as to bring the people of South Asia closer and to alleviate common misunderstanding among the people

How to overcome these issues

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governments should promote regional understanding . they need to implement actions, policies and frameworks

There should be exchange of media personnel among different countries; governments should make visas available more easily

need to have passports to travel across the South Asian countries.  There should be cross posting of articles and viewpoints

There must be initiatives from institutions across the countries

there should be focusing on news coverage on both sides of the border call a spade a spade

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Monopoly Lack of connectivity Incorporation among the counties Political involvement External threat

limitations

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The media, known as the fourth pillar of democracy has a huge impact on society. So media has to play a great role to promote cooperation of the region

If the people of South Asia are united, the

governments too will be united for a South Asian Union Media can play a big role to make people united

conclusion

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