Media Centre For Peace Journalism and Conflict Reconciliation in Maluku and North Maluku

by : Wahyuana
Date : januari 2002

I. Title : Media Centre to mend the ties between media and journalists in Maluku and North Maluku and to develop peace journalism to reconcile conflicts in Maluku and North Maluku

II. Programme Activities:
Main Programme:
- Establishing media centre
- Equipping the media centre
- Media monitoring
- Protection and advocate for journalists and media.
- Producing peace journalism news
- Creating and Publishing news website and newsletter
- Monthly discussion and biweekly training
- Peace journalism Training
- Peace journalism Training for NGOs and community members
- Facilitate reconciliation for all people and community members
around
- Promoting peace and conlict resolution

III. Organisation name : Maluku Media Center (MMC)

IV. Justification :
Social conflict amongst religious groups in Maluku and North Maluku which has been going on for two years is not yet resolved up to now. Despite the declining tendency of the intensity, sentiment between the clashing groups remains very high. All sectors are not yet regain their normal growth. Almost everty aspect of local people’s life has been affected by this lengthy conflict. There is no guarantee that new incidents will not erupt because various social, economic, political and legal problems has not been taken care of.
Social unrest happened in Maluku and North Maluku is very complex and had caused ecessive damages so that we can not merely depend on the government and security personnels. Refugees problem and psychological trauma haunted all people especially children, require join action amongst the government, security personnels, non governmental organisations and society groups. A long term join action putting all available resources together.
Journalist and media are important factors in stopping violence and conflict reconciliation. Media can be both friend and enemy in conflict reconciliation process. In this case, journalist is not merely trapped in conflicting situations but has been used as a war propaganda as well. Journalist and media related professions have been split amongst the conflicting groups. This situation requires interventions to put journalist and media related professions back on their professionalism values and to encourage them to reduce the tense and resolve the conflict. Peace journalism or humanitarian journalism is a must for this area.
Maluku and North Maluku Journalists and Media First Meeting held in Bogor, West Java on 25 February – 3 March 2001 is an good initial step to regain interaction amongst journalists in Maluku without consideration on their religions and encourage them to regain their professionalism. Previously there was practically no interaction amongst Moslem and Christian journalists in Maluku and North Maluku. This meeting resulted an agreement to eliminate that religious difference and start professional cooperation. They agreed to end their involvement in the conflict, return to professionalism and practicing peace journalism.
After the Bogor meeting, a significant change took place in media practice in Maluku and North Maluku. Number of media practicing war journalism drastically decreased though several media and journalists are still trapped and being used as war propaganda. This positive progress was not only admitted amongst the media but also by bureaucrats, security personnels, and local society leaders. But since peace journalism is closely related to journalistic ability and professionalism of the practitioners, the Bogor meeting was continued by second meeting in Palu and Poso. In these areas participants got the chance to directly cover conflict erupted in Poso involving Moslem and Christian society in that area, a social conflict with similar characteristic with the one erupted in Maluku and North Maluku.
Maluku and North Maluku Journalists and Media Second Meeting held in Palu-Poso, Central Sulawesi on 26 May – 2 June 2001. This meeting was held to train technical skill, broaden participants’ knowledge and understanding in the discharging conflict, and the most important thing is to mend the relationship amongst journalists. Journalists from different religions were taken together to cover the conflict scene and encouraged to reflect their profession that journalistic work needs togetherness and cooperation.
This Poso meeting involved 38 participants, 22 amongst them had just consented upon their agreement resulted from the previous Bogor meeting. They also expected follow up from their Poso meeting in term of activities conducted in Media Centre. Therefore Media Centre is required as a place to interact amongst journalists, media or source persons from the bureaucrat and from the clashing groups. Media Centre also functions as a protection for journalists facing risky job in conflic area, training centre and discussion place for journalists.

V. Problem Definition
- Social conflict in Maluku with its religious background has taken place for two years and have not yet shown any resolution because unsolved problems on legal, political, social, economic and security matters.
- Journalist and media can not be separated from conflict sentiment, divided into conflicting groups.
- Journalist and media perceived by the people as if they flared up and prolonged the conflict.
- There has been no means and activities to mend the tie and solidarity in the journalist profession in Maluku and North Maluku.
- There has been no media centre or other independent place for journalist to interact and cooperate in crosschecking the information among journalists.

VI. Programme Objectives
General Objective:
To rebuild the reconciliation amongst journalist and media, and mend the tie between media and journalist as well as developing peace journalism in Maluku and North Maluku. And promotion peace and conclict reconciliation.

Specific Objective:
- To give an interaction place for journalists who are split in conflict sentiment.
- To give protection and advocacy for journalists.
- To conduct media monitoring
- To publish bulletin, peace journalism news site, and produce news or video to campaign for peace and conflict reconciliation.
- To conduct training and workshop for peace journalism
- To conduct training to enhance journalistic skill.
- To give assistant for coverage and production of peace journalism
- To facilitate coverage to conflict areas which are difficult to enter.
- To facilitate discussion amongst journalist.
- To facilitate activities designed together by Maluku journalists
- To facilitate reconcile, to meet, and peace house together for all people
and comunity member around.
- Building networking for peace and conflict reconciliation promotion.

VII. Subject and Programme Location
Subject : Maluku and North Maluku journalist, news source
person, society related to journalism profession and the media, NGO activists for conflict reconciliation in Maluku.
Sex : Male and female
Religion : All religion
Location : Programme area covers Maluku and North Maluku.
Media centre established by renting a house at
Ambon.

It is aimed that subjects will realise the urgency to apply peace journalism in conducting their duty in Maluku and North Maluku, understanding the conflict, and become conscious to be responsible in helping the peace making process and conflict reconciliation.

VIII. Co-operation with related institutions
For the sake of the programme accomplishment, programme officers will make any networking effort and bring together common commitments to support the programme, along with many institutions such as:
1. Maluku Civilian Emergency Authority c.q the governor of Maluku.
2. Public relations of government offices in Maluku.
3. Pattimura Military Command.
4. Maluku Police Department.
5. Media and publishing institutions in Maluku.
6. Media leaders in Maluku.
7. Senior journalists.
8. Journalist Organisations.
9. Prominent public figures.
10. Top leaders of conflicting parties.
11. Religious leaders.
12. BakuBaeMaluku Groups.
13. Local NGOs.
14. Humanitarian aid and voluntary organisations in Maluku.
15. Concerned individual and social groups.

IX. Programme Sustainability
To ensure the programme sustainability in the first two years, it is expected that, in the mid of second year, solidarity and network of journalists in Maluku and North Maluku would be come into being. All journalists will be no longer fragmented in the conflicting sentiments, and they will sharpen no issues of difference between themselves. It is said fairly that Maluku conflict has calmed down. Thus, peace journalism has been a skill and consciousness of journalists when they in action to cover given conflict eruptions. In the mid of second year, so it is expected that good journalist organisations come into existence in Maluku. Furthermore, it was those organisations that will handle the centre’s activities in the days to come. And then, fund rising will be strived for the sake of programme sustainability that was entirely in the hands of Maluku journalist with none to interfere, neither in facilitation nor mediation.


X. After words
We have explained all about Media Centre for Humanitarian Journalism and Conflict Reconciliation in Maluku as well as North Maluku. And the complete description is our ultimate concern in this case.