SAARC stickers for 50 journalists from each country
Apr 2, 2007 - 8:24:29 PM
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Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama spoke about the need for free flow of thoughts and backed an unhindered access of journalists in the region.
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By IANS,
[RxPG] New Delhi, April 2 - SAARC foreign ministers Monday took a defining step to promote greater mental connectivity in South Asia by deciding to grant special stickers to 50 journalists from each member country that will enable them to move freely across the region.
'They decided that 50 journalists from each country of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation will be given SAARC stickers for freer travel in the region,' Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon told reporters at the end of the daylong meeting of foreign ministers who finalized the agenda for the two-day SAARC summit that begins here Tuesday.
The ministers directed immigration officials of each country to meet within two months and flesh out the modalities of the SAARC sticker, Menon said.
The visa stickers will be issued by the respective governments. 'The decision will be that of the government,' he said.
In the afternoon, the South Asian Free Media Association -, which concluded its two-day conclave Monday, had vigorously pushed for SAARC stickers for 50 journalists from the mainstream media so that they don't have to suffer cumbersome procedures of intelligence clearance for visas.
In its resolution entitled New Delhi Declaration, the SAFMA also demanded that ten journalists each from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh should be allowed to regularly report from each country. There was, however, no official word on it.
Earlier in the day, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who took over as chair of the SAARC council of ministers, told a SAFMA conclave that SAARC foreign ministers had decided to remove restrictions before the next meeting of the council of ministers, which is expected around November.
Hours after Mukherjee's assurance, foreign ministers cleared this proposal much to the delight of journalists who have been pressing for this for a long time.
'When you meet next, you will not have much to complain about,' Mukherjee said.
Mukherjee went even a step further and said that India would also 'unilaterally liberalise the visa process so that journalists can travel freely in the region.'
The issue of free movement of journalists and media products in the region - a longstanding demand of the SAFMA - was extensively discussed by the ministers.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri, who also spoke at the conclave, lauded SAFMA for promoting 'better understanding' in the region and promised to work with India to enable freer movement of journalists in the region. 'I will endeavour to work with the current chair - to the best of my ability for this,' said Kasuri.
'We hope we will be able to achieve this,' Kasuri said. Bangladesh foreign advisor in the interim administration, Iftikar Ahmed Chowdhury, backed the demand for a freer travel regime for South Asian journalists and underlined the need for promoting SAARC as an instrument of development of the region.
Afghan Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta called for freedom of the media and greater coordination among journalists in the region to fight the scourge of terrorism. 'Fighting terrorism needs more cooperation among countries of the region. This won't be possible without the support of a free press,' Spanta said.
Nepalese Foreign Minister Sahana Pradhan - the only woman to hold this crucial portfolio in the region presently -lauded the Nepalese media for playing a crucial role in brining about democratic change in her country. 'Media has an important role in narrowing perceptions among countries of the region,' she said.
Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama spoke about the need for free flow of thoughts and backed an unhindered access of journalists in the region.
Supporting a free movement of journalists in the region, Maldives Foreign Minister Ahmed Shaheed called for more open dialogue at various levels in the region. 'We should make SAARC a people's movement,' he said.
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