Congolese media meet military press attaches to improve relationship. Michelle Betz/IMS

Journalists from North and South Kivu met with military press attaches and police in a bid to improve relations between journalists and security forces

The meeting organised by International Media Support and held in Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in July, brought together representatives from Journalistes en Danger, Search for Common Ground, the National Union of Congolese Press as well as press attachés from the Congolese National Police and the military. The meeting came about following some incidents between media and military across the DRC over the past year.

Climate of mistrust

Journalist Dominique Kalonzo said there is definitely a climate of mistrust between the media and security forces in eastern DRC and that this should be addressed. Many of the journalists were quick to agree that much of the mistrust resulted from poor journalistic behavior.

- Journalists simply aren't familiar with journalistic ethics which results in ethical infractions, one journalist said. This then often leads to journalists accusing the military of injustices. Another journalist emphasized the need for tact when journalists deal with the military.

One police press attaché said part of the problem is that journalists simply don't know who to go to or how to treat certain information. He added that it seemed like many journalists believe that freedom of the press means they can report on anything in any way they like.

- Part of the problem is arrogance on the part of journalists. They think the law doesn't apply to them in any forum, said  Jean Ebengo, police press attaché for North Kivu.

But, although most of the journalists were quick to take responsibility, they also said they had difficulties getting information from security officials and that it is often difficult to know who to approach to get information. In response, the press attachés said they felt it was incumbent upon them to convince their superiors to make themselves accessible.

Need for further dialogue

Ultimately, it was clear to both parties, however, that the biggest problem was ignorance. As a result, the participants came up with several recommendations and emphasized the need for further dialogue between the parties.

Recommendations included:

• - Journalists need to respect the hierarchy of security forces;
• - Journalists need to be accredited;
• - When there's a change in command structure there should be a meeting with journalists or editors to inform them;
• - The mission of the police and the military should be publicized;
• - All parties should respect their code of ethics;
• - There is a need for the reinforcement of media capacity regarding coverage of stories involving security forces;
• - There should be regular meetings and a permanent dialogue between the parties;
• - Work should be undertaken to facilitate a greater understanding of each other's role.
• Participants said they hoped this meeting would be the start of a process of dialogue between media and military.