Media criticized for stoking hatred over Ambalat<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Activists here criticized the media for contributing to the
\ntension between Indonesia and Malaysia over the disputed Ambalat
\noffshore oil block in the Sulawesi Sea.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian media failed to promote peace in its coverage
\nof a dispute that prompted the two neighboring counties to deploy
\nwarships to the disputed maritime area, the activists said.<\/p>\n
This assessment was given during a discussion hosted by the
\nInstitute for the Study of the Free Flow of Information (ISAI) on
\nWednesday.<\/p>\n
They said the reporting on the \"Ganyang (Crush) Malaysia\"
\ncampaign in several cities and towns was \"provocative\".<\/p>\n
\"Based on my observations, the national media focused on the
\npossibility of war rather than advocating a peaceful settlement,\"
\nsaid Erianto, an ISAI researcher.<\/p>\n
\"For example, the local media preferred to give coverage to
\nthe deployment of soldiers in Ambalat or the recruitment of
\nvolunteers to attack Malaysia,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Erianto noted that the Malaysian media did not cover the
\nAmbalat issue as heavily as the media in Indonesian.<\/p>\n
\"In Malaysia, the issue first appeared in the media about
\nMarch 7, highlighting a telephone conversation between Susilo
\nBambang Yudhoyono and Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who discussed a
\nsettlement to the conflict,\" he said, citing news reports
\npublished by Malaysian newspapers such as Berita Harian, The
\nStar, The New Strait Times and Utusan Malaysia.<\/p>\n
The on-line version of Utusan Malaysia, utusan.com.my,
\nhowever, published a report on Ambalat on Feb. 28, emphasizing
\nMalaysia's claim over the area.<\/p>\n
Of 16 articles published by the Malaysian media, none
\nencouraged people to attack Indonesians or to take the Ambalat
\narea by military force, Irianto said.<\/p>\n
The Bernama news agency in Malaysia ran two featurized
\narticles, titled What Ambalat? Balinese Ask and A Week of
\nPositive Indications for Indonesia-Malaysia Relations, which
\nconveyed the message that relations between people in the two
\ncountries were not disturbed by the issue.<\/p>\n
One of the stories mentioned that a Malaysian travel agency
\nhad seen an increase in bookings by Malaysian groups holidaying
\nin Bali in March.<\/p>\n
Fathi Aris Omar, a columnist for Malaysiakini.com, said the
\nword \"Ambalat\" was not even familiar in Malaysia, as the disputed
\narea was more often referred to as \"Block XYZ\".<\/p>\n
\"There's nothing shocking about it. That's because Malaysia
\nalso has territorial disputes with Singapore and Thailand,\" he
\nsaid. \"But it became a vital issue when Indonesians started
\nburning Malaysian flags.\"<\/p>\n
The activists emphasized the need for the Indonesian media to
\npromote \"peace journalism\", which means that news outlets should
\nconsider the implications of their coverage.<\/p>\n
\"Merely serving up the facts is not enough. You should also
\nconsider putting positive values into your reports because just a
\nfew days of war could bring years of suffering,\" Fathi said.<\/p>\n
Peace journalism has been promoted by, among others, Johan
\nGaltung, a Norwegian who founded the Peace Research Institute in
\n1959. He urged journalists to consider non-violent values in
\nchoosing what stories to report and how to report them, by
\nembracing balance, fairness and accuracy in their coverage. (006)<\/p>",
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