Censorship of the press not only keeps the citizens in the dark but also starves the government of vitally important information, said Indian Nobel laureate Amartya Sen at a conference of media executives in New Delhi yesterday.

Sen, who received the Nobel prize for economics in 1998, told editors, publishers and journalists attending the [#1] International Press Institute [/#] (IPI) World Congress that "the information lost as a result of censorship of the press can devastatingly mislead the government".

"No substantial famine has ever occurred in any democratic country with a relatively free press," he said, referring to his extensive research on famines.

"Indeed, the Bengal famine in 1943, which I witnessed as a child, was made viable not only by a lack of democracy, but also by severe restrictions on the local press on reporting and criticism."

Sen said that the disaster received attention only after Calcutta's The Statesman broke ranks by publishing graphic accounts and stinging editorials, which led to the colonial British government to organise relief operations.

The famine ended a month after the media exposure, but not before 2.5 million to three million people had died of starvation, lamented Sen.

"The absence of a free press and the suppression of people's ability to speak to, and communicate with, each other directly impoverishes human freedom and impairs development, even if the authoritarian country that imposes this suppression happens to have a high GNP per capita or have accumulated a large mass of physical wealth," he said.

Obligations

However, Sen said that it was also important to take a critical attitude towards the press "even as we defend and fight for the freedom of the press".

"Press freedom deserves our strongest support, but the press has obligations as well as entitlements. Indeed, the freedom of the press defines both a right and a duty, and we have good reason to stand up for both," he said.

According to Sen, the issues that the media must confront include the invasion of privacy that can ruin lives, and the problem of misreporting.

He cited an example about him being wrongly quoted by a prominent newspaper.

"If we tear our hair in frustration, it is mainly because we cannot find suitably accessible journalists to tear their hair in comforting abandon," he quipped.

'Malaysiakini' honoured

The three-day meeting of IPI, a global network of editors and other media executives, also presented its Free Media Pioneer Award 2001 to Malaysiakini.com for its contribution in using new technology to circumvent censorship.

Editor Steven Gan, who received the award on behalf of the malaysiakini team, urged the 500 editors, publishers and journalists at the meeting to remain vigilant in defending press freedom.

Gan added that the award is greatly appreciated by all Malaysian journalists who believe in press freedom.

"I don't think we at malaysiakini have done anything extraordinary as journalists for I believe that each and everyone of you, given the same challenge, would have done the same, if not more," he said.

Weapon to expose truth

Meanwhile, another Nobel prize winner, the Dalai Lama of Tibet, told the conference that investigative journalism is an effective weapon in exposing the truth.

"Journalists have a right to investigate (on others) regardless of whether these people are businessmen, politicians, religious leaders, even Nobel laureates," he said.

He added that he is pressing for China to accord a high degree of autonomy to Tibet, which is crucial in preserving the culture of his country.

Now living in exile in India, the Dalai Lama said the Tibetan problem is not because of civil war, but due to the problem where "we have a new guest without proper invitation".

China sent troops into Tibet in the 1950s, forcing the country's spiritual leader and thousands of his followers to seek refuge in neighbouring India.

The Dalai Lama also said that if autonomy is granted to Tibet, he would hand over his authority to a legitimately elected local government.

"We are not going back to the feudal system where the Dalai Lama is considered the absolute leader," he said.

"We have made it clear that a future Tibet will be a democratic and secular state, and we shall practise both the good values of socialism and the market economy."