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'Pak taking advantage of media reports'

'Pak taking advantage of media reports'

Author: UNI
Publication: The Daily Excelsior
Date: June 9, 2004
URL: http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/web1/04june09/news.htm#8

Indian media was today cautioned against blowing events out of proportion as Pakistan was taking advantage of unsubstantiated reportage involving the armed forces, to achieve its own ends, an Army official said.

"Pakistan has achieved its aims by compiling Indian media reports, carried extensively in the Pakistani media, in cases such as the Siachen fake killings and the Tehelka episode," said Brigadier R S Sujlana of the Army Liaison Cell, Army Hq, New Delhi.

He was addressing journalists at a two-day 'media workshop on defence' here, organised by 'Golden Katar' Division of the Indian Army at the Parbat Ali Sainik Institute (PASI) from today.

While emphasising transparency in the Army-media relationship, he said it did not mean compromising the force's strategies and tactics against the enemy. "How could we have told a persisting reporter where we were sending our armoured vehicles," he asked, narrating an experience during the stand-off between India and Pakistan when their armies stood eyeball-to-eyeball on the border after the terrorist attack on Parliament in December 2001.

He applauded the media's role during the 1999 Kargil conflict for creating a public opinion in national interest.

Outlining the Army's media policy, Brigadier Sujlana said the forces in a democratic country like India realised the tremendous impact media have in shaping the public mind.

It affected decision-makers and influenced public and political opinion, built morale of the troops, and encouraged respect for human rights. But, at the same time, the media should ensure that the enemy did not derive advantage from news such as those related to the alleged human rights violations, he said.

The media should also ensure that while assisting the armed forces in countering terrorist propaganda, it did not propagate and give credence to the misdeeds of terrorists. In such cases, the armed force's aims could be compromised and operation hampered, Brigadier Sujlana said. Earlier, Major- General Tejinder Singh VSM, General Officer Commanding (GOC), 11 Infantry Division, in his opening address, lauded the role of Indian media as a pillar of democracy that built morale and public support for the armed forces.

He said there was no other Army in the world that, after the World War II, has successfully liberated a country of the size of Bangladesh. Its international role, too, had come in for praise from United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

He also appealed to the media to cooperate with the armed forces, given the fact that these forces have to operate under certain constraints.
 


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