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Terrorists tend to exploit democracies: Sinha

Terrorists tend to exploit democracies: Sinha

Author: Agencies/Seoul
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: November 12, 2002

Cautioning the democratic countries to guard against exploitation of democracies by terrorists, India on Monday called for a balance between the security interests and right to information and speech.

"Strengths of democracies have been exploited by terrorists. There is a need to find a balance between the imperative of security and the right to information and speech," External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha said while co-chairing a session on 'Media and Democracy' at the 2nd ministerial conference of the community of democracies, which opened here.

With media freedom, goes accountability and responsibility and the issue has acquired greater urgency in the context of terrorism, Sinha told foreign ministers and delegates from more than 100 countries, who have gathered here to draw a blueprint for the future of global democracy.

Sinha suggested that through self-regulation, the citizens' rights to objective and reliable information could be fulfiled particularly in developing countries and in countries without 'plurality and diversity' in media.

He said the relationship between media and democracy was symbiotic and democracy was essential for media freedom.

"At the same time, alert functioning of media nurtures the democratic process," he said while stressing that democracy is not merely elections or change in governments.

"Above all, it is the people's participation in public affairs. For this, free media is essential," he said.

Sinha noted that there are many aspects to the concept of freedom of media.

"The obvious aspect is freedom from Government control," he said asking whether that alone was enough to ensure press freedom.

In this context, he also cited editorial freedom from ownership interests, other vested or sectional interests as factors preventing freedom of the media.

The minister also talked about journalistic ethics and integrity, which he said can only come when the journalists are not exploited and they can remain professionals. He pointed out India's experience in this field where the country had a press council and an independent mechanism for fixing a remunerative package for journalists.

Sinha also talked about the impact of globalisation and said it presented both opportunities and challenges.

He recalled that the warsaw declaration passed by the community of democracies last year spoke of "right to information regardless of frontiers."

"This implies that the global 'news' comes home everywhere, in the era of satellite-based broadcasting. At the same time, in an unequal world, it also implies that the priorities and the values of some parts of the world overwhelm or dominate," Sinha said. In order to ensure better equity and speed, Sinha said some form of self-regulation might be required at the international level as well.

Meanwhile, in his opening address, South Korean President Kim Dae-Jung said the greatest enemies of democracy are war and terrorism and stressed the need to eliminate poverty.
 


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