Communication: the key to ignite peace

(Paper prepared by R.K. Regmee for presentation at the seminar "Peace: how are we going to promote this?" organized under the auspices of FES at Godavari on August 22, 2005)

The theme of the seminar demands analysis of two elements: peace and the means to gain it immediately and for good. The former refers to a societal ecology marked by absence of violent move. The notion should be studied against the backdrop of decade-long violent Maoist movement in Nepal. It has challenged the democratic constitutional process and pushed the country's government, civil society, general public and political sector into serious crisis. The insurgency has damaged the economy, halted socio-economic growth and compelled all to live in constant fear. The scenario has further worsened after dissolution of elected parliament and after expiry of term of elected local bodies. Failure of politicians to unite and bring about a working strategy to face the conflict has led the country to a point of no option.

In the present context of Nepal it would mean cease fire and its guaranteed continuity. Both appear on the surface to be in the territory of those who are active in combat. Could communicators intervene in it? Yes, of course. They could spread the message of peace by highlighting dialogue, and emphasizing the reality that weapons have never settled conflict and would not do so in Nepal. Encouraging combatants to consider ceasefire and create a climate of talk could be one way. The thread for starting this process could be traced in recent statements of leaders of both sides. The same may be utilized for confidence building measures. Picking up on it bit by bit, peace should be allowed to fan out.

As for the means to consolidate peace, once ceasefire is in effect; the talk should follow in full trust. Communication channel should be opened in both in full confidence and steps for conflict management undertaken. Irritants in the process should be cleared one by one and piece by piece. Meticulous care should be taken in order not to break the process or not to allow the process roll back to square one.

As a sound background to the process, what Nepal has lost in the past decade in terms of development, growth, employment and production because of conflict should be analyzed well. The opportunities Nepal will lose in future due to the same should also be stated. Conflict actors should be given a sense of the irreparable loss during the time in terms of the dead, the injured, the displaced and the psychologically affected population.

Following Paul Collier, economist of Oxford University, some consider countries' civil war loss of 2.2 % of GDP per year as highly serious. (This might put Nepal's loss in 2003 as 66.2 billion rupees and some 75 billion in 2005.) Viewed against the huge disappointing back drop of the conflict - over 12,000 dead, hundreds injured, and thousands displaced, over 30 billion rupees (usually mentioned in recent public talks) lost in destruction of physical infra structure and over 15 billion rupees (tourism speakers often use this figure) reduced in tourism revenue, several types of economic setbacks caused by series of closures, highway blockade, and unrest and educational backwardness due to disturbance in school premises- the need for peace suggests itself as priority number one at present. It is disappointing to note that the past seven months did not result in any comfort in this direction. If this trend continues, no substantial progress will be made in the next two years and a half, the time period that the February One Move has sought for fulfilling its mission.

Peace through communication

Various skills related to interpersonal communication, group communication and mass communication are used in the process. Journalists have opportunities to approach various sorts of people in conflict zone as they go on reporting. Their interpersonal communication during reporting plays a key role in peace building. In a sense it constitutes the foundation for peace. Most people do not recognize the importance of the interactions media people have in reporting phase. They do not usually explore the possibilities of using reporters' interaction with people for peace. Reporting should not be taken as one-way collection of facts and figures. It is actually a full -fledged dialogue with those who have information. It is a way of ensuring openness and transparency in society. A well -trained reporter could play a very useful bridge-role in conflict. The tool is composed of words, expressions, body language and an approach, which is human in style and sensitive in substance.

Group communication is another treasure that reporters could utilize effectively for peace. It is in this situation that various sections of community come and voice their feeling. By reporting it fairly, they could provide the group an identity and voice, which may be useful in generating peace process in the group.

One other option for media persons is the vast arena of mass media: the print, the radio, the television, books, and films. Mass communicators actually perform three jobs in one exercise: they collect information through inter-personal means and amidst group communication scenario; they report it in a pro-peace style (not hurting any side of conflict but providing a fair deal to all sides) and they produce their products through mass medium of newspapers, radio and television.

All of the above could, however, misfire if reporting is not fair, factual and focused. Biased reporting could breed mistrust among people, groups and mass. The possibility of spreading propaganda in the name of information flow is always present in communication situation. Precaution and special skill in reporting could check this possibility. If adequate precaution is not taken, communication could produce series of misinformation, which would further poison issues in conflict situation and wrongly motivate conflict actors to behave in peace-unfriendly manner.

How to build peace?

The issue of building peace is very complicated but is not beyond human capacity. A well- thought and well implemented peace programme could institutionalize peace on a permanent basis. Whether the task should pursue top down approach or bottom up depends on circumstances. In many cases both should be followed in a blended manner.

The issue of adopting an effective approach to building peace within a population has kept scholars and communicators busy for long. Some have forwarded Communication Skill Approach to promote peace. Others have suggested Sulha practice. John Paul Lederach, in Building Peace:Sustainable Reconciliation in Divided Societies ( Washington, D.C.: United States Institute of Peace Press, 1997), 39 has prescribed a peace-building pyramid that has three levels: the top elite, the middle ranges and the grassroots.

Communication Skills Approach

This approach is conscious of the role that communication can play in exacerbating conflicts. It has at the same time strong faith in the role of communication as a tool to offer communication strategies, which promote productive conflict management. It is interesting to those who seek an understanding of the role of communication in conflict, and the communication skills needed for building peace. A five- stage procedure is usually prescribed under this: Diagnosis, recognition, participation, programme and evaluation.

1. Peace building gets underway with diagnosis of problem. The motivation behind conflict is assessed; the actors involved are surveyed against the backdrop of their goal and status of communication.
   
2. This is followed by actors of conflict recognizing each other, and understanding their role, desire and perspective.
   
3. The third procedure involves in making the actors participate in peace building with a sense of cooperation.
   
4. A specific programme would then be launched to pursue specific goals. The implementation should be supplemented throughout with proper communication.
   
5. Evaluation of the process is initiated; lessons learnt are analyzed and corrections made where necessary.

Sulha

Scholars say Sulha practice has been present in Middle Eastern cultures since ancient times. It had its historic emergence in early Semitic writings and in later Christian records dating from the first century, A.D. It continued in Arabic desert culture and literature through the pre-Islamic period and the common historic era. Sulha met the test of time primarily because it is based on common legal principles and collective wisdom recognized within pluralistic communities and formed across religious, political and ethnic differences.

Sulha, some researchers maintain, has in modern times adapted to various contexts. Some employ Sulha as an addition to, rather than replacement of, the civil and criminal law practiced by the state; while under tribal law, it was once the only means for passing and enforcing rulings. The basic goal has always remained the same through the centuries: restoration of peaceful relationships between individuals, families, family groups and villages, and the curing wounds between disputing parties.
Pyramid

According to the pyramid, "The top level elite leadership comprises the key political, military and religious leaders in the conflict. They are the primary representatives of their constituencies and are therefore highly visible. By virtue of this high profile, they are often locked into positions regarding the conflict's substantive issues. They must maintain an image of strength, which makes it difficult for them to accept anything less than their publicly stated goals. In many cases, they find it difficult to maneuver."

"The middle-range leadership, including leaders of mid-level NGOs and GOs, comprises those who function in leadership positions but are not necessarily connected with formal government or major opposition movements. These middle-range actors are far more numerous than top -level leaders, and their status and influence derive from their relationships with others. Leaders in sectors such as education, business, agriculture, and health are likely to know and be known by top-level leadership, and yet have significant connections to the constituency that the top leaders claim to represent. They serve as an important connection between the top and grassroots levels. In addition, because these middle-range leaders have lower visibility, they tend to have more freedom to maneuver than do top-level leaders. "

"Finally, the leadership at the grassroots level includes those involved in local communities, members of indigenous NGOs carrying out relief projects, health officials and refugee/displaced camp leaders. These grassroots leaders represent the masses, those who often experience a day-to-day masses, those who often experience a day-to-day struggle to find food, water, shelter, and safety in violence-torn areas. Because local communities are often split into hostile groups, grassroots leaders witness firsthand the deep-rooted hatred and animosity associated with conflict. "

Peace approach

Although peace - approach is as old as human civilization, the hide and seek between it and violence turns out to be the continuing reality that mankind has seen always in various parts of the world. "Peace has lower priority, as seen clearly when we compare the size of the professional war and peace establishments of states, " some say. Others refer to the connotation of peace: ability to handle conflict, with empathy, nonviolence and creativity. TRANSCEND literature indicates the ABC - triangle meaning "Conflict =Attitudes + Behaviour + Contradiction." At the root of the conflict is a contradiction, the incompatible goals. The conflicts that emerged after the Cold War in various parts of Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa are not exceptions. The conflict Nepal has been witnessing at present also follows more or less the same track and creates series of problems including displaced journalists. The approach advocated by Peace Journalism could be the best way to handle victim journalists. (refer to R.K.Regmee's May 13, 2005 write-up SOS signal from news-diggers)

The term Peace Journalism, it might be recalled, began to be used in 1970s. Galtung found War Journalism as pursuing the style of Sports Journalism with more "focus on winning as the only thing in a zero-sum game of two parties." He preferred to compare Peace Journalism to Health Journalism. "A good Health Correspondent would describe a patient's battle against cancerous cells eating away at the body. But he or she would also tell us about the causes of cancer -lifestyle, environment, genetic make-up, etc. as well as the full range of possible cures and preventative measures."

Fuel for peace

The peace should receive fuel from the political parties, government, rebels and the civil society on a permanent basis. Their negligence in supplying the fuel would result in further conflict. Moreover, the factors that have divided Nepalis and made them rebels should be addressed properly in time with justice. The years of discrimination, denial of opportunities, exploitation of labour and disrespect should give way to respect of citizens, equal treatment, delivery of justice and availability of opportunities.

A special programme for building peace should be launched involving all actors of the conflict. For this consensus should be built and national security system should be institutionalized. The state machinery should get itself ready to amend rules and regulations and laws for the purpose. All political groups operating in the country have to be mobilized. Points of agreement should first be implemented allowing the areas of disagreement to be discussed further for lasting solution.

While it is very difficult to bring together all political forces together in the country, efforts for the purpose should not be discontinued. Patient and steady exercises for the purpose should be launched to ensure permanent peace. The February 1 move has also failed in first half year to score anything notable in this respect. Misunderstanding among politicians and continued violence in the country present a rather dismal worrying picture prompting pessimists to declare that the country is heading for a failed state. Optimists, however, believe that something can still be done and much could be expected if the municipality elections could be held as pledged and planned by the Election Commission. Of course, all political parties' participation in it will play a crucial role in ensuring representative bodies at the local level. If they abstain from it, further political complications will emerge allowing the conflict to continue.

Application tool

A working tool could be developed for application in specific conflict situation. This could ensure peace over time. In the following Table stage represents the sequence of procedures while job 1, job 2 and job 3 point out the special emphasis on a particular act in the stage. Performer indicates the key actor in the process. This tool could be used in developing a specific peace plan in conflict situation. The tool is based on the assumption that free flow of information takes place to the benefits of all engaged in conflict.

If handled carefully and professionally, the tool will be effective in producing a Peace-Bomb, that will not only rescue the country out of the conflict but also chart a reliable road-map for future.