International Conference on Media Laws Concludes in Nepal

By Altaf Hamid Rao ‘Pakistan Times’ AJK Bureau Chief

http://www.pakistantimes.net/2007/04/15/top8.htm

KATMANDU (Nepal): The three-day International Conference of journalists on Media Laws concluded in Katmandu on Friday providing an in-depth knowledge for the journalists how to successfully face media laws during the course of their professional duties.

Topic of the international moot was "Media Laws - the Media and the Law: A difficult relationship", organized jointly by the Singapore-based NGO KAF’s media programme and legal programme.

Besides a three-member journalists delegation from Pakistan, some media persons and legal experts from various other Asian countries including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Indonesia, Korea, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Singapore participated in the three-day conference.

The delegation from Pakistan comprised Altaf Hamid Rao, Mirpur-based Staff Correspondent of state-run news agency Associated Press of Pakistan, Ms Huma Amir Shah from Current Affairs department, AAJ TV and Mahmood Iqbal, Peshawar-based Correspondent of Daily ‘Dawn’.

Inaugurating the conference Werner Busch, Director, Media Program Asia for the host organization said “The main aim of holding of the seminar was to bring together journalists and legal experts from Asian countries in order to examine the role of media laws as a protection or a threat for journalists, how responsible journalism can be practiced, where are the limits of the freedom of the journalists and are press councils a practicable way to avoid courts cases”.

Media and Law - this is at best a neutral relationship, very often a strained one. And yet, a stable and comprehensive legal basis would help manifold: The papers, its readers, its subjects and the legal system itself, he said.

Journalists and legal experts from Nepal including Editor of Daily Katmandu Post Preetak, Singapore, Korea, India, Pakistan, Philippines, Bangladesh and other countries attending the conference addressed the conference besides participating in the discussion to Media and Media Laws elaborating in-depth analyses on the relationship between media and the Media laws

Participating in the discussion delegate from Pakistan Altaf Hamid Rao said that such conferences are proved to be major sources of guidance and knowledge about all faculties of the media including the topic of the congregations – the media laws.

It would indeed help in to guide the journalists across the globe including in Asian countries how to face media laws and the general law during the course of their professional duties.

The Katmandu global moot sets out to explore perils and possibilities in the workings of Media-Laws - in connection with the journalists, the legal system and those who feel wronged by the writings of the newspapers.

It also tries to advise journalists on how to put Media-Laws to good use, be it in not crossing the boundaries from critical reporting to slander, be it from stopping lower courts jailing journalists, not employing already existing Media-Laws.●