The Hindu : Front Page : Journalists Summit calls for eradicating extremism

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Front Page

Journalists Summit calls for eradicating extremism

B. Muralidhar Reddy

Media inseparable from fundamental human
and civil rights
Safety urged for journalists in risky situations

COLOMBO: The fourth SAARC Journalists Summit adopted the Colombo Declaration on Thursday, with a call for concrete remedial measures to remove hindrances to greater connectivity, partnerships, people-to-people contact, and free movement of information, goods and services across borders.

The declaration was commended for consideration by the 15th SAARC Summit scheduled here for Saturday and Sunday at the function attended by seven of the eight Foreign Ministers of the group, including External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

Mr. Mukherjee said the South Asia Free Media Association (SAFMA), which organised the summit, would soon be an ‘integral part’ of the SAARC system.

The Minister said the SAARC had moved from the ‘declaratory to implementation stage’ and four important institutional frameworks were to be set up at the 15th summit.

The largest gathering of journalists in South Asia, under the theme “freedom of media in conflict situations” began here on Wednesday. More than 200 journalists from eight SAARC countries are attending it. It is the fourth since its inception.

The declaration urged the member-states to take short and long term measures to eradicate extremism and violent practices by both the state and non-state actors against civilians and journalists.

It called on SAARC and professional associations to fight the tide of intolerance and violence.

The declaration said the media is inseparable from the fundamental human and civil rights guaranteed by the constitutions and enforceable through an independent judiciary in a democratic system where both the state and society respect freedoms, show tolerance to dissent and practise pluralism.

It urged the SAARC countries to investigate all acts of violence and intimidation against media professionals in their territory, and bring the guilty persons or outfits to justice with proper compensation to the victims.

The declaration urged the multilateral and bilateral institutes to make any cooperation and financial assistance to any country based on the indicators which would project the degree of its respect for freedom of expression and effective protection of press freedom.

It called for complying with the commitment of UNESCO Resolution 29 to promote legislation with the intention of investigating and prosecuting the killers of journalists and combat impunity.

SAFMA protocol

The declaration stressed adopting SAFMA’s Protocol on Freedom of Information and implementing SAFMA’s Protocol on free flow of information and movement of journalists across borders and sought resolute action against all expressions of intolerance towards freedom of expression and for the safety of journalists in risky situations to ensure respect for their professional independence.

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