LAHORE, Nov 20: South Asian journalists have said that the present regional atmosphere is conducive to reconciliation of conflicts and in this connection media can play its effective role to bring the countries closer to one another.

They were participating in a workshop held after inaugural session of the fourth conference of the South Asia Free Media Association (SAFMA) held at a hotel here on Saturday.

The workshop was attended by delegates from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal. Nepalese delegate Bandana Rana acted as a moderator and rapporteur of the workshop.

Opening the discussion, Pakistan delegate Najam Sethi, editor of Daily Times and Friday Times, said that the reconciliation process in South Asia was characterized by many features, which impinged on its success and failure. First, it must be recognized that India was placed at the centre of the region both physically and politically by virtue of its geography, size and strength and its events had tremendous bearing on all the countries of the region. Secondly, the states of the region had taken a long time to try and overcome historical tensions and distrust in contrast to the states of south East Asia.

Thirdly, dispute resolution in larger Asian countries region had preceded mutually beneficial trade blocs and not the other way round leading to bilateral agreements among them. Fourthly, the negative fallout of disputes had shaped the internal politics of the countries, especially Indo-Pak relations. Fifthly, the failure of the peripheral countries to settle disputes with India had weakened these states and made them unstable.

India's delegate Dr C Raja Mohan discussed the external and internal factors of peace and reconciliation efforts in South Asia. He said that the continuing forward movements in the Indo-Pak peace process had surprised most of the observers in the region and beyond. He said that on the external front the post 9/11 international environment had made use of certain type of tools and instruments for the conduct of foreign policy unacceptable.

Now there was a growing consensus across the world that the use of violence to achieve even noble goals must be rejected. All the great and regional powers were threatened by the similar forces of extremism and violence and shared interests in curbing them. After the Cold War, both India and Pakistan have embarked upon the process of improving relations with all the major powers. No major power wants continuation of Indo-Pak conflict and seeks to avoid the danger of a nuclear conflict.

He said economic globalization was forcing a re-integration of the markets of the sub-continent. He said all these factors had altered dynamics of international relations in the sub-continent and made peace not merely one of the options but the only one.Earlier in his welcome address at the inaugural session of the media conference, SAFMA secretary-general Imtiaz Alam said that the conference was taking place at a time when the composite dialogue between India and Pakistan was entering the second round of crucial talks, including the backdoor diplomacy on the issue of Kashmir, and the lack of any progress in relations between India and Bangladesh, Sri Lankan government and LTTE, between Nepali government and Maoists and the Palace and political parties.

He said the fourth conference on Media and Reconciliation in South Asia would focus on the ongoing peace process in the region, evaluate the role of media in this regard and reflect upon the independence of media in the post 9/11 period, especially after the aggression and occupation of Iraq. He said ice on all sides was melting, but not as swiftly as the people of South Asia wished. He said that in the wake of globalization and information revolution South Asia was left far behind in catching up with the strides of scientific and technological revolutions. He said a new realization was drawing on the South Asian nations to put their house in order.

He said that the SAFMA had proved that media could tilt the scales from confrontation to reconciliation. The SAFMA stood against the danger of war when troops were deployed on the Indo-Pak border last year and it had a joint peace procession in Kathmando two days before the 11th Saarc Summit. He disclosed that the South Asia Media University would be set up in Lahore and hoped that the Punjab government would waive the market price for the piece of land required for the university. He also suggested that a committee be set up to review current media laws which should recommend necessary amendments to ensure right to know, freedom of expression and free press.

In his welcome address, SAFMA's Pakistan Chapter president M. Ziauddin said that media had over the ages acquired for itself a highly critical and decisive role in the process of human development and progress of civil societies. By taking up popular and at times what appeared to it the right causes, the media had served as an instrument of social change. But it had rarely played the role that the SAFMA was trying to play in influencing the reconciliation process in the region.

He said only those who had practised the profession with some dedication over the years and had tried to achieve a level of credibility for their pens and cameras would know the challenges and the difficulties in this role of reconciliation. He said a great deal of preparation had been made for the visit of selected Pakistani and Kashmiri journalists to the Indian Kashmir organized by SAFMA. He said the association was facing many challenges and difficulties and would continue to test the patience and the skill of the dedicated journalists from seven Saarc countries forming the core of SAFMA.