India on Friday offered to introduce visa-free travel facility for journalists in South Asia to enable them to play a constructive and positive role in promoting peace in the region.
Minister of information and broadcasting S Jaipal Reddy mentioned this after inaugurating the 6th Conference of South Asian Editors Forum in Hyderabad.
He suggested that initially the facility of visa-free travel could be extended to editors, proprietors and editorial staff of newspapers and television channels. Later it can be extended to all the journalists.
Exuding confidence that journalists could be "ambassadors of peace and amity", Reddy said if members of Parliament and judges can have visa-free travel in South Asia, journalists should also have similar facilities.
"The amount of work journalists can do for the cause of peace in South Asia, no other group can. Today, the mood is in favour of peace, and if we have to cash in on it we should facilitate movement of journalists," he said.
He pointed out that the idea could be realised only if all the South Asian countries supported it. "Our government is already in favour of this," he added.
Emphasizing the role of newspapers in indigenous languages, Jaipal Reddy said, "If relations among South Asian countries have to improve, they have to be at emotional level. That can be done much more through language newspapers than English newspapers."
Editors of language newspapers from India, Pakistan, Nepal and other countries of the region are attending the conference.
Former information minister of Pakistan and co-convenor of the forum, Javed Jabbar, said that while the role of the media was important, the challenges for the media were also growing enormously.
He said the peace process is like a tournament which both (India and Pakistan) have to win. "But we do not know which round we are in. We are certainly not even in quarterfinal stage. We have gone past only the first round," he remarked.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy suggested that the Line of Control between India and Pakistan should be converted into a "line of actual cooperation."
Vijay Darda, chairman of Lokmat Group of newspapers and co-president of SAEF, hailed the developments in the peace process between India and Pakistan.
He noted the media on both sides of the border played a major role in improving ties. However, he expressed concern over the developments in Nepal and Bangladesh and growing intolerance in these countries towards free press.
