Media and Conflict in Myanmar: Opportunities for Media to Advance Peace

"To build trust and reduce fear between citizen and state, respondents tended to prioritize media interventions, such as a participatory radio or television talk show that features state and national officials interacting with citizens."

This report is based on the Intended-Outcomes Needs Assessment (IONA) methodology, created by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) to help donors, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), policymakers, and local stakeholders in Myanmar determine which media initiatives can effectively be used to assist in mitigating conflict and building peace. IONA offers a systematic process for integrating conflict and media assessments by considering both media and nonmedia factors in the design of locally led initiatives to bring about social change in fragile states.

As the authors explain, Myanmar's democratic reform, economic development, and peacemaking progress have been rapid since 2010, though several episodes of communal violence and the continued military offensive in Kachin State have tarnished the country's improving image. Findings reveal a deeply rooted, intractable, and dynamic conflict landscape. The developing media environment has been a central feature of the transition. Lifted media restrictions have led to "an explosion in the availability of information across multiple media formats. People have new access to information that can, for example, hold wrongdoers accountable, promote transparent governance, and increase understanding and exchange between previously competing ethnic and religious groups. This opening should be supported. However, increasing access to information also carries conflict risks. Fed for decades on a restricted diet of state-sponsored half-truths, the population at large has little media literacy and a tendency to attach as much validity to rumor as to reported fact. Most notably in relation to the communal violence between Buddhist and Muslim communities across the country that has marred the transition period, media (particularly social media) have been used as vehicles for hate speech and tools to mobilize antigroup (particularly anti-Muslim) sentiment and action. Antigroup attitudes, suppressed under the military regime, are surfacing in the new climate of openness and, according to some interviewees [see below], are being mobilized by certain elites - particularly those resisting the reform efforts - for political gain. Media opening in Myanmar creates both benefits and risks."

The project team comprised senior Myanmar media experts, in-country conflict advisers, and key staff from USIP. Data collection included extensive desk research; field research included 2 workshops, individual and group interviews, and follow-up meetings with more than 100 local peace and conflict experts, legislators, technologists, state and nonstate representatives, creative professionals, non-Bamar ethnic leaders, civil society representatives, and media professionals. The IONA analytical framework can be distinguished from traditional conflict assessments by its focus on knowledge, attitudes, and behaviour (KAB) change. The framework relies heavily on substantial local input to characterise the culturally unique KABs of the intended population; the intended outcomes or goals of media initiatives are similarly defined as specific KAB outcomes that respondents argued will best support conflict management and peacebuilding. "For example, Myanmar's Bamar ethnic majority is often not aware of or misunderstands the aspirations of the country's non-Bamar ethnic groups, which can drive attitudes and behaviors that sustain conflict or make collaboration for peacebuilding difficult. Thus, an intended outcome of media interventions is for Bamar populations to gain widespread awareness of non-Bamar ethnic history, language, and culture and perceive these communities' aspirations as legitimate."

This study considers 3 primary conflicts (or sets of issues that generate violent conflict) in Myanmar and details the knowledge, attitudinal, and behavioural elements that compose them. These 3 conflicts are characterised for the purpose of this report (and described there in detail, with a table for each one outlining the existing problem and desired outcome for each KAB) as:

1. State-society: Proposed media initiatives intend to promote transparency, accountability, and equitable resource sharing in business and politics and build trust and confidence in (and the use of) the political process as a means of sharing power and resources and advancing mutual interests.
2. Ethno-political: Marked by: (i) identity differences (The country officially recognises 135 ethnic groups) - "Wary of disintegration of the Union, Myanmar's leadership has at times sought to galvanize national solidarity by a policy of Burmanization, whereby Bamar language and culture and Buddhist religion have been promoted to the exclusion of other ethnic identities." (ii) political exclusion - "Ethnic nationalities have long desired a political dialogue process in which their historical grievances can be aired and root causes of conflict with the state resolved." (iii) Control of resources - "The parts of the country populated by Myanmar's non-Bamar ethnic groups are rich in natural resources but relatively poor in terms of average income and quality of life." Proposed media initiatives seek to raise awareness and change attitudes in support of peacebuilding and reconciliation between ethnic groups.
3. Intercommunal: "International commentary often presents the violence as the result of interreligious tensions between an aggressive Buddhist majority and a persecuted Muslim minority. Religion is a convenient oversimplification to discuss the conflict but tends to obscure the separate and interconnected social, economic, and political causes - each with discernible knowledge, attitudinal, and behavioral elements....The media initiatives recommended by this study thus urgently seek to raise awareness and shift attitudes while guarding against the potential for media to fan violence in the short to medium term. Such initiatives aim to generate better interreligious understanding in Myanmar, promote tolerant and nondiscriminatory interreligious attitudes and practices, counter misinformed or anti-Islamic messaging, enable hate speech to be monitored and shut down, promote media literacy, and support the vision of Myanmar as a diverse, multifaith country."

Noting that understanding the current media landscape in Myanmar is critical in determining how realistic a media intervention might be, the report next describes the capacity and potential of the media sector in Myanmar. In brief:

• Print: Myanmar features a vibrant print media landscape, with more than 300 newspapers, roughly one-third of which are based in Yangon. The literacy rate in Myanmar is estimated to be as high as 89.9% but is un-questionably lower in rural areas. One general problem is the lack of local-language print media that truly represent the communities. In fact, community media are scant. Overall, trust in the government-run newspapers is low.
• Broadcast: Before 2011, broadcast media were completely controlled by the state, and the transition has brought far less freedom to it than to the print sector. Outside city centers, radio is still the media of choice, especially for listening to international broadcasters, such as Voice of America (VOA) and BBC. "Ethnic radios are still heavily influenced by ethnic military groups, and almost no community radio stations truly represent the interests of their communities." By virtue of the concentration of television in urban areas, generally the more affluent members of society are television watchers. Due to the lack of local broadcasting in ethnic languages, television viewers are also largely Burmese speakers.
• Internet: Despite the low Internet penetration rates and relative dearth of users, social media such as Facebook have become extremely popular. "[T]he ability of activists in Myanmar to act instantaneously on the Internet has trumped discussion of controversial issues in the mainstream media, a potentially dangerous trend that has many worried about how to rein in inflammatory online content yet maintain some level of free expression."
• Mobile: According to 2011 data, 1.244 million people in Myanmar have mobile phones. According to Gallup, 16.6% of Burmese have a working mobile phone in the household. Mobile phone ownership has risen sharply in urban areas, from 13% in 2010–11 to 35.2% in 2012. In Yangon and Mandalay, almost half of the residents (45.7 percent) have mobiles. Short message service (SMS) usage is quite low, however: Only 4.3% of urban mobile users text at least once per week.
• Media training: "Across interviews with government officials, civil society, and media of all types, training is almost always the first area of need identified, especially because training of media was not allowed by the former regime....Another area of need identified by interviewees is the professional reporting on conflict....One consistent theme that has emerged in discussions about journalism training is that the many local-international partnerships to advance media professionalism are relatively ad hoc and uncoordinated."
• Business environment: "Overall, the opportunity for media in print and broadcast should be trending upward due to dailies coming on the market in April 2013, new television joint ventures, and more FM radio stations."
• Regulation: There is "motivation to revise the fairly restrictive media laws left on the books from the previous regime", which "have been heavily criticized by media in Myanmar as tools to imprison journalists and restrict freedom of speech." Interviewees also noted the importance of a Freedom of Information (FOI) law.
• Ethnic voices: "According to interviewees, state governments are now responsible for making decisions on registering local media, and the Ministry of Communications, rather than the military, currently controls frequency allocation. Both steps offer hope that community media, ultimately including community radio, can be established to inform local people and share credible information with mainstream Yangon-based outlets. Community radio is deemed especially critical by interviewees....Despite deeply entrenched beliefs regarding ethnicity, many interviewees acknowledged the need to bridge the divide between Burmese and other ethnic communities through media."

The recommended media initiatives, initially developed at the end of the interview process with a panel of local advisers, are designed to transform peoples' KABs in order to build peace. As illustrated in the report through descriptions and tables outlining technical elements and desired KAB outcomes, they are divided into two types: When outcomes are achieved using existing media capacity, media is the tool, and when outcomes require transforming the media or media environment, media is the target.

Examples of media as the tool: (i) a serialised peacebuilding television drama based on an educational curriculum that would feature a diverse group of characters from across the ethnic spectrum interacting in ways that would foster mutual respect and trust-building. (ii) a series of radio/television investigative reports highlighting heroes of Myanmar. Short reports would reveal how common people from different religious and ethnic backgrounds have done small acts of heroism to help others solve problems, assist in their communities, or prevent violence. (iii) a participatory radio-television talk show that would highlight local issues, based on audience input, that are also relevant at the national level; it would involve moderated audience participation and interaction with a varied slate of guests from differing ethnic backgrounds and government branches. (iv) a radio satire programme featuring characters considering the latest rumours while talking around a well, a popular venue for sharing information in rural communities. (v) multimedia conflict-sensitive reporting that could help inform the public on the root causes and potential solutions related to key conflict issues. This initiative would begin by using print and online media but could later be customised for radio and television.

Examples of media as the target: (i) The Guiding Star and Karen News, some of the few community media outlets, could serve as models for encouraging the proliferation of ethnic language content trusted by local communities. (ii) Advocacy should continue to amend certain provisions that still limit media freedoms and promote additional legislation related to access to information and telecommunications. (iii) Include representatives from media, government, and civil society in media training. (iv) A Peace Technology Innovation Workshop would connect civil society organisations working on peacebuilding issues with access to and understanding of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) in order to address challenges such as land-grabbing, corruption, and human rights abuses. The initial workshop would be the beginning of a longer-term engagement to develop the projects that emerge. (v) Develop mobile technologies as early warning and crisis response tools (e.g., in advance of key events with potential conflict, such as national elections in 2015). (v) Certain initiatives are needed to monitor and counter hate speech online and leverage social media and online mechanisms to advance social norms that support peaceful coexistence and tolerance.

In conclusion, the report reiterates that training for journalists, particularly in conflict-sensitive reporting, is a priority. Public relations for government officials and ethnic nationality leaders is recommended to increase awareness and foster accountability between citizens and state and to raise awareness on ethnic identity and peacemaking issues. Across all formats, training for ethnic nationality and Bamar journalists is encouraged to tackle ethnic identity and language issues in reporting. In addition, the regulatory environment must be further reformed to support a progressive press law, new legislation for access to information and telecommunications, and education among local stakeholders on how to implement such laws. These initiatives, among others recommended by the study, would support, not replace, nonmedia statebuilding efforts. "Given the pace of transition in Myanmar, it is possible to overlook certain avenues for building peace, but to effect real change requires careful consideration of what can ultimately shape the attitudes and behaviors of those leading reform efforts. Clearly media can play a vital part."