African media and conflict resolution
Pap Saine

African Media and Conflict
By Abiodun Onadipe and David Lord


Part Four - In Their Own Words

African Media and Conflict Resolution - By Pap Saine

The danger inherent in the ability of the mass media to stir up conflict cannot be overemphasised. This has amply been demonstrated by the activities of a radio station now in the centre of the Rwandan genocide trial.

Because of its reach and impact, the broadcast media is a potent weapon in manipulating public opinion for good or evil. Perhaps for this reason, dictators and coup makers' first task is to take full possession of the radio station as a strategic move in political control. The stage is then set for either the suppression of the existing independent media or press-ganging it into the service of the new regime. Under dictatorial regimes the media becomes a powerful propaganda tool with which the public is deceived, misled, and misinformed.

During peacetime, most of the state-run or state-sponsored radio stations become tools for use in propaganda or public relations, selling government's ideas, policies, projects and plans. The voices of dissent, the complaints of the opposition are either drowned or totally ignored. Only the government's side of the story prevails.

Post-independence Africa has, according to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, been characterised by "winner take-all" politics, where victory at the polls is translated into total control over the nation's wealth and resources. With the absence of proper checks and balances, inadequate accountability, transparency and lack of respect for human rights and the rule of law, political power has too often become a weapon for the few, rather than the instrument of the many.

Here Annan puts his finger on the nerve of African crises and conflicts. To put it bluntly, behind most African conflicts there are socio-political causes nurtured and propelled by the few in a bid to exercise control over the many.

However, the ultimate losers in this power game are the ordinary people -- a whole generation under the influence of canned information -- who live in the shadows of the truth. As George Orwell rightly observed, persistent propaganda becomes in the end the "truth" because the alternative is missing or deliberately withheld.

This provokes a pertinent question: Is the media doing enough under these circumstances to provide full information that can empower people, enabling them to discharge, through informed choices, their civic rights and duties?

As a watchdog, the media should give credit where it is due and criticism where appropriate. Acting as watchdog, the media should bark as an early warning when there is potential danger.

By heeding the early warnings and sounding the alarm, the media could act as a powerful tool in conflict management and prevention. All conflicts start as misunderstanding or tension between and among a group. If not quickly recognised for what it is or its potential, it can in time explode to engulf a larger section of the community or nation.

The African media can play a vital role in defusing tension, reducing and containing conflicts. It can do so simply by being deeply aware of the fragility of their countries’ social fabric, of the efforts being expended at unifying their countries, the weaknesses and strengths of governing impoverished, developing countries.

By gaining in-depth knowledge of their own countries, peoples and cultures then, and only then, are journalists in a position to use their skills, knowledge and experience positively and in the public good.

In our mission to inform and educate we must stop to think of our roots, African values, customs and traditions, so as to be better able to situate ourselves to report objectively, professionally and knowledgeably on the issues affecting our societies. A journalist, in this case, can be seen as a public servant with a public service to perform.

The African journalist should well remember that the African public is his constituency and is not situated in England or America. He is reporting for people in Africa within an African environment with its unique attributes.

When US President Kennedy was assassinated the tragedy affected Americans everywhere. But when, on the other hand, the Rwandan president was shot down one million innocent people, including women and children, died in the subsequent genocide. So the situation and the actors are very different. These are some of the realities to be considered in the African context. Where one can publish and be damned as in affluent and stronger countries, the African journalist must weigh the implications of printing such information, lest in his zeal he sets the whole house on fire.

As developing nations, our institutions are also developing. These institutions are a real reflection of our society. They, like the media, all perform at the level of development of a developing society.

Tribal allegiance is slowly being swamped by rapid urbanisation in many African countries, which leads to more homogeneous and peaceful African societies. It is part of the media's role, when conflict threatens, to report hidden facts, expose the dangers, and campaign for the restoration or redress of the situation, before it gets out of control. This way, the African media can be a powerful instrument for defusing conflict.

Where there are racial or tribal undertones, the journalist’s well-attuned instinct for danger should alert him to the fact that handling the situation as usual could trigger off ethnic conflict or an uprising in a country barely able to feed itself.

The accomplishments of generations can be swept away within a day in a storm of human anger. A brief statement or a word or two is all that is required for a nation to declare war against another nation. Such is the power of the word.

Conflict-mongers, trouble-makers all have one thing in common. They all manage to grab the headlines. Their dark exploits are reported with zest. Their victims' tales are never fully told. The media seems to feed on a menu of violence. Violence and the gory are rated for their transient high entertainment value in the media. Action films are rated according to their gory and violent content.

A nation that readily and avidly subscribes to this type of escapism will sponsor conflict or invent one where none exists. Hence we read headlines that invent storms in tea cups. Attempts at sensationalising trivial episodes or trivialising major issues are some of the charges often levelled against journalists desperate for scoops.

Desperate situations beget desperation, because everyone involved gets desperate. Those expected to manage the situation and those who report on it all get carried away by the excitement of the moment. All, therefore, wittingly, willingly or unwillingly become part of the problem.

As long as the journalist refuses to be drowned by this fleeting emotion, he ceases to be part of the problem and is ready to play a positive role in conflict resolution.

Pap Saine, is Co-Director of The Point, based in Banjul, The Gambia


African Media and Conflict
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