Free trade needs free media too: Int'l symposium

Free trade needs free media too: Int'l symposium

By Ati Nurbaiti

VANCOUVER, Canada (JP): An international gathering on the
media concluded here Wednesday that improved trade relations
within the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum would
be impossible to bring about without a free media.

"A freer and more balanced media is essential to improved
trade relations within APEC and therefore should be formally
incorporated into the official agenda for the upcoming APEC
forum," said organizer Gordon Floyd of the Canada-based Institute
for Media, Policy and Civil Society.

The one-day symposium, titled "Open Media, Open Market" and
attended by about 100 journalists and academics, proposed that
APEC leaders "recognize that freedom of expression and
association are conditions for the expansion of trade".

As a body, APEC should "commission an independent study ... on
the relationship between the free flow of information and trade
liberalization," the participants said in a statement.

"It would be in the direct interest of business groups, for
instance, to have full access to information on potential
investment interests," the statement said.

The symposium also demanded that APEC make all its documents
available to the media.

Organizers said the agenda of the fifth APEC meeting, which is
to be capped off by a heads of states meeting, termed "economic
leaders", here from Nov. 25 to Nov. 26, has largely been kept
secret for security reasons.

The symposium's statement also said a dialog should begin with
the APEC Business Advisory Council, chaired by host Canada, about
the relationship between free markets and a free media,
"especially the role of the media in exposing corruption".

Floyd said the proposals would be forwarded to Canadian
Minister of Foreign Affairs Lloyd Axworthy, who would be "urged
to discuss these proposals with his colleagues from member
economies".

APEC, since its first meeting in Seattle, USA, in 1992, has
resisted demands that non-trade issues such as human rights be
placed on its agenda. APEC maintains it is a forum aiming for
trade liberalization based on "voluntary, unilateral"
deregulation measures by each of its 18 members.

To attract attention to non-trade issues, non-governmental
organizations have organized a "People's Summit" parallel to APEC
meetings since its third gathering in Osaka, Japan.

East Timor

The symposium on the media was one of 17 talks before and
after the formal opening of the People's Summit at the Plaza of
Nations. East Timor separatist leader and Nobel laureate Jos
Ramos-Horta addressed the formal opening Wednesday.

A concert, street theater, rally and march are also scheduled.
Events scheduled for Nov. 20 include a special session on East
Timor and a "public tribunal" on labor rights presenting, among
others, the detention of labor leader Muchtar Pakpahan.

The media symposium also raised the need for APEC members to
formally address the issue of freedom of expression and the free
flow of information via the Internet.

"Many APEC nations have censored or are attempting to restrict
Internet usage and contents," said a joint letter signed by
dozens of participants.

After the symposium, Indonesian journalist Ahmad Taufik who
was released from his two-year prison term in July this year, was
presented with an award from the Canadian Committee to Protect
Journalists.

Participants and speakers sharing experiences came from
various countries, including Mexico, China and Indonesia.
Participants were curious about the notorious "envelope culture",
referring to the bribery of Indonesian journalists.

Discussions attempting to seek models of a free media, and how
they could apply to the Asia-Pacific region, ended without any
success.

Canadians said their media was largely influenced by private
ownership, and Japanese Yayori Matsui said Japanese journalists,
despite being free from government control, do not reflect
critical journalism and "promote their self-interest".

Participants were divided on how much to expect from
governments. Kavi Chongkittavorn, the executive editor of
Bangkok's The Nation, said Thais have little trust in
governments.

Frances d'Souza of the London-based Article 19, an
organization monitoring freedom of expression, said
the ratification of United Nations conventions, which refers to
freedom of expression, is legally binding for countries.

But she said this does not mean much to those working in the
media in certain countries.