21 August 2004	Saturday	04 Rajab 1425

DHAKA, Aug 20: A two-day regional conference on media began in Dhaka on Friday with a call for free flow of information and free movement of journalists at least in the SAARC region.

Underscoring the need for free flow of information and free movement of journalists within the SAARC region, Imtiaz Alam of Pakistan, the secretary general of the South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA), requested the Bangladesh foreign minister to raise the issue at the upcoming SAARC ministerial.

Journalists have to "rise above racial, religious and cultural inhibitions," said Foreign Minister M Morshed Khan who inaugurated the Conference at the Dhaka Sheraton Hotel.

"Journalists ought to overcome their mental barrier often created by states and petty interest groups. The media people should think beyond "the territorial confines of states and focus also on the neighbourhood, the region and the world at large," said the foreign minister.

Some 200 editors and senior journalists from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and host Bangladesh are taking part in the conference. SAFMA president Reazuddin Ahmed presided over the inaugural session, addressed by Indian High Commissioner Veena Sikri, Pakistani High Commissioner Shahid MG Kiani, Sri Lankan High Commissioner Gamini Sarath Munasinghe and Nepalese Ambassador Bhagirat Basnet.

Later, a group of south Asian journalists discussed about the concept of the "cooperative security", instead of "collective security" as a pragmatic means of security of the states in the south Asian region.

The journalists were deliberating on a keynote paper -Towards Cooperative Security in South Asia - presented by C Raja Mohan, professor of South Asian Studies of the Jawharlal Neheru University of India.

The editor of the Dhaka based daily, New Age, Enayetullah Khan, presided over the session, while Rashed Rahman of Pakistan, Nehal Singh of India and Gias Kamal Chowdhury of Bangladesh took part in the deliberation on the issue as panel discussants. Beside, some other participants also put forward their views and queries.

Mr Mohan, in his paper, said: "While collective security and collective self-defence will remain unrealisable goals, the changed global and regional context allows the nations of the subcontinent to pursue cooperative security."

He said that the idea of cooperative security recognizes the reality of profound interdependence among the South Asian nations in both economic and security realms. "The cooperative security is premised on the assumption that the state will act in their self-interest."

Asserting that the South Asian nations, wallowing in poverty, need to depoliticize issues of economic cooperation, Mr Mohan said: "Cooperative security demands walking on both legs expanding economic cooperation wherever possible and making sustained efforts to resolve political issues."