The seventh conference of South Asian Free Media Association held in the Bangladeshi town of Cox’s Bazar on February 9-10 floated a 25-point deceleration asking the state institutions and non-state actors to desist from intimidating media persons and bodies and respect media independence, especially in Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The deceleration lamented the increasing casualties of and attacks on journalists in conflict-ridden areas in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal, in particular. The declaration welcomed the exit of monarchy in Nepal and victorious people’s struggle for democracy culminating in the creation of constituent assembly.
It has asked to take serious note of global recession and its dire implications on the region’s economy and its serious ramifications for media industry and, consequent retrenchment of journalists.
It has urged the international community, especially US and NATO, to review their strategy in the war on terror, stop the casualties of non combatants and win the hearts and minds of the people. Without doing this the declaration said terrorism cannot be defeated. The meet has also appealed to the SAARC secretariat and member states to recognize SAFMA as an apex SAARC body.
Speaking at the concluding session of the meeting Dr Dipu Moni, Bangladeshi Minister for Foreign Affairs, said freedom of expression is the building block for the development and democracy.
"We noticed in the past that democracy was in real danger when freedom of expression was heavily compromised," she said.
She also said over the decades South Asians have yearned for government of people’s choice. At times they have succeeded but many a time people’s voices have been suppressed by dictators. "But their struggle for the government "of the people, by the people, for the people" has continued. Happily we see the wind of democracy blowing across the region from Kathmandu to Kabul, from Delhi to Dhaka and Thimpu to Islamabad."
A free media can be good or bad, but without its freedom, a society can only expects tyranny, she said.
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