Identifying Obstacles to Peace Journalism in Sri Lanka and Nepal

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study examines the feasibility of practicing Peace Journalism (PJ) in Sri Lanka and Nepal. The conflicts in these two countries highlight the particular nature of contemporary conflict in South Asia—internecine, ethnic and class-based. This study concludes that there is a tremendous need to practice PJ in the post-conflict/conflict societies of these two countries and that there are avenues available to do so, but that these differ from country to country and depend on the nature of the conflicts and the landscape of the media industry in the context of the varying professional, institutional and socio-political and ideological conditions. The media culture of Sri Lanka suggests that it would be more difficult to successfully implement PJ in the country than in Nepal; this is a result of the deep ethnic division that permeates Sri Lankan society and its media. In general terms, the lack of professional training, the nature of media ownership, political censorship and media suppression are all obstacles to the practice of PJ in these two countries.