ANTARA pushes for Middle East peace through intensified reporting

ANTARA, a news agency, must increase the intensity of its reporting, expanding mass coverage from both domestic and international sources.

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Perum Lembaga Kantor Berita Nasional (LKBN) ANTARA reiterates its commitment to promoting peace efforts in the Middle East through accurate and verified reporting, while strengthening the international diplomatic push.

The Chief Executive of Perum LKBN ANTARA, Benny Siga Butarbutar, in Jakarta, on Wednesday, said that in times of war and global crises, mainstream media bear a major responsibility to present information that can foster peaceful conflict resolution.

According to him, when uncertainty rises due to conflict, news agencies like ANTARA must increase the intensity of reporting from both domestic and foreign sources, in order to counter less credible information, such as AI-generated content.

“That is what we must fight against. Because in times of war, in crises where uncertainty appears, mainstream media institutions, such as our ANTARA news agency, must increase the intensity of reporting, increase mass coverage from inside and outside,” Benny said.

He explained that the reporting also needs to strengthen conveying the Indonesian government’s official stance on the conflict.

According to him, the stance should be escalated into broader political pressure, not only from Indonesia but also from other countries with similar principles.

“Why? Because many countries with principles similar to Indonesia oppose colonialism, oppose wars that devastate civilian life and the global economy,” he added.

Benny further stated that the escalation of reporting can be done by including regional perspectives such as ASEAN countries or those in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

In addition, Indonesia also has a strategic position as chair of the D-8 to strengthen the collective voice of developing countries.

Through this approach, he said, the reporting is expected to widen international political pressure so as to push conflicting parties back onto the diplomatic track.

“Because our aim is to bring them to the negotiating table. The negotiating table will be utilised. There are doubts, but we must try to break through with an offer, and I am confident the President has an offer,” he said.

In addition to strengthening reporting, ANTARA is also committed to maintaining information quality with a strict verification system to ensure the news conveyed remains accurate and does not worsen the situation.

“Because we also have verification tools. So we know what kind of news we have, and we will explain it from Indonesia’s interests, as well as the interests of partner countries,” Benny said.

He added that ANTARA has also stationed reporters in Saudi Arabia to monitor developments in the Middle East directly.

Yet, according to him, such deployments carry high risks given the region is in a state of conflict.

“We have placed our reporters in Saudi to monitor directly what is happening in the Middle East, but in a relatively risky status, because Saudi is also in a state of war. But that is the risk of journalism, building trust, building the capacity of our news agency,” Benny said.

As is known, the United States and Israel have conducted a series of strikes against targets inside Iran, including in Tehran, with reports of damage and civilian casualties.

Iran has responded with missile strikes against Israel and US military facilities in the Middle East as acts of self-defence.

Iran has launched the ninth wave of attacks against Israel and US targets in the Middle East, according to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Sunday (1/3).

“The ninth wave of Operation True Promise 4 has begun against targets across the occupied territories and US targets in the Middle East,” IRGC said, quoted by the IRIB television station.

IRGC stated that Iran’s air force had destroyed the THAAD missile defence system in an attack in Al Dhannah, United Arab Emirates.

As a result of the conflict, around 200 tanker ships were stalled at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf of Oman on Tuesday (3/3), bringing the total number of stranded vessels to 300, according to MarineTraffic data analysed by RIA Novosti.

Currently no tanker ships are transiting the Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. Geographically, the northern coast of the Strait belongs to Iran, while the southern coast is shared between the United Arab Emirates and Oman.

Foreign Minister Sugiono stated that President Prabowo Subianto is prepared to act as mediator if Iran and the United States wish to open space for mediation.

“If both sides want (mediation), then we, the President, are ready to be mediator. But if there is a view that there will be no further negotiations, we will return it to them,” Sugiono told reporters at the Presidential Palace Complex, Jakarta, on Tuesday (3/3).

The statement was made in response to developments in Iran’s stance regarding the possible lack of further negotiations with the United States.