2003 SEAPA Fellowship Program

July 20, 2003

A selective group of Asean journalists concluded their six-week fellowship program here last month to discover there are much more to cover and discover about their own region.

They admitted the program, the first of its kind to bring Asean journalists to customize about their own region improved their understanding of the media in the neighborhood and of the region. This was despite the fact that some of them have encountered cultural barrier and difficulty covering stories in the neighbors’ backyard.

“I have learnt lot from this program which broadened my knowledge in gathering data in a foreign land, understanding more about Asean neighbors, ”said Salome Ortega Villaflor, senior reporter of Mindanao Times.

“I am quiet satisfied because most of the program is about field work and not merely discussions and workshop. It thus program provides first-hand experience and exposure to the journalists covering the issues that they have chosen, said Yee Siong Tong of Malaysiakini.com.

They were among six journalists from Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand who were chosen for Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA)’s second fellowship program. The program which run from May 18-June 26, 2003 oriented them on major conflicts confronting the region and its implications. Besides, it gave them a real opportunity to cover stories of their choice in Asean countries, some of them never visited before.

Titled “Covering the Region in the Rising Conflicts”, the program came on the heels of the US invasion on Iraq to depose its ruler Saddam Hussein and the broken peace process in Ace. These incidents therefore spiced up the seminar, the first phase of the program since they not only fit into its selected theme but also invoked a lively discussion on the implications of these incidents on the region.

Besides, six fellows and two observers from Cambodia and Burma, SEAPA invited 13 resource persons. This included SEAPA Chair Kavi Chongkittavorn, who himself a veteran journalist on regional affairs and former Indonesian Human Right Minister Hasballah M Saad. Muslim scholar includes Profs. Patricia Martinez who is an academic expert on Middle East and Islamic studies at University of Malaya.

The seminar explored various aspects of conflicts confronting the region. These included low-key conflicts and potential conflicts between states and within states. Prof. Chaiwat Satha-anand, an expert on peace study quoted a Peace Journal statistic collected between 1989-2000 which showed the number of armed conflicts in Asia remained high compared to the global declining trend. He also pointed out there was a higher number of people killed in Thailand during the anti-drug campaign (February-May) than those killed in Aceh during the same period.

The discussion on Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), a member of Osma bin Ladin’s al-Qaeda network was both intellectually stimulating and news-oriented. It dwelled on the cause of the Muslim extremism and thee survival and expansion of their network. It also touched on the different perception of Asean states and people toward the JI group and the US-led anti-terrorism drive in the region.

Fellows also got update on Aceh conflicts as one of the speakers was former Indonesian Human Rights minister Hasballah and current adviser to President Megawati on the issue. They also learnt the root cause of Aceh conflicts as well as Gum movement’s relationship and the people.

Besides, each fellow spent four weeks in countries (Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines) they chose to cover before reassembling in Bangkok on June 23,2003 for a three-day reassessment of their discoveries and evaluation. SEAPA will start to publish their stories in September. Please see Fellowship about the fellows and their stories.