Winners of top journalism prize to be announced Friday

The winners for Southeast Asia of the IFJ Journalism for Tolerance Prize, which recognizes journalists for work that promotes deeper understanding of ethnic, racial, religious, cultural and other differences, will be announced in Manila on June 25, 2004.

The awarding ceremonies, for work done in 2003, will be held at the Grand Ballroom of the Westin Philippine Plaza at 12 noon on Friday. The awarding ceremonies will be preceded by a forum, starting at 9 a.m., on the theme "Ethnic Tolerance: Trends and Challenges in Journalism."

The IFJ Journalism for Tolerance Prize, an annual competition among journalists from all sectors of the media, is administered by the Brussels-based International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the world's largest organization of journalists. The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, the IFJ's Philippine affiliate, hosts this year's awards for Southeast Asia.

The prize is supported by the European Union and is awarded in five regions around the world: Latin America, Central and Western Africa, Eastern and Southern Africa, South Asia and South East Asia. Each region will have a total pool of 3,000 euros (around Php200,000) to award the winners.

The Southeast Asia finalists were chosen from 128 entries submitted from the region. They were selected by a jury composed of Southeast Asian media practitioners.

The Southeast Asia finalists for print and online media are:

Jose Torres Jr. (Philippines), for his story, "Troubled Return of The Faithful," published in i magazine, a publication of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, and ABS-CBN Interactive, in 2003;

Nezar Patria (Indonesia) for "May 1998, The Razing of Jakarta" published by Tempo Magazine on May 26, 2003; and

Karaniya Dharmasaputra and Iwan Setiawan (Indonesia) for their story "A Life Snatched Away" printed in Tempo Magazine on May 26, 2003.

The Southeast Asian finalists for broadcast media are:

Helmayanti (Indonesia) for "A Bitter Life of the Tionghoa Ethnic," aired on Radio 68 H in December 2003;

Ayu Purwaningsih (Indonesia) for "Indonesian Migrant Workers, the Neglected Foreign Exchange Heroes" on Radio 68 H aired in December 2003; and

Masrur Jamaluddin (Indonesia) for "For A Piece Of Paper," aired on Metro TV on December 28, 2003.

During the forum, a representative from IFJ Southeast Asia will present "Crossfire: An overview of how media has covered Southeast Asian ethnic issues, and how journalists have been casualties of conflicts."

Maurice Malanes, a member of NUJP-Baguio and a correspondent of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, will talk on "development aggression" and the need to give voice to indigenous peoples as they struggle to preserve culture and livelihoods amid encroachment by government and commerce.

Noralyn Mustafa, the Jolo-based columnist and correspondent of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, and Jose Torres Jr., a senior editor at ABS-CBN Interactive and
award-winning journalist, will tackle the different forms of intolerance that breed what has been referred to as "ethnocide" in Mindanao.

Mustafa will navigate the convoluted history of the Bangsamoro struggle in Mindanao and untangle the stereotypes that fuel alienation and radicalism among
Filipino Muslims.

Torres will talk about the "silent death" that stalks the Lumads (indigenous people) of Mindanao, particularly the Subanen tribe, of which he is a member. He says Mindanao's Lumads are dying slowly, victims of wars of aggression and rampant land-grabbing of their traditional homelands.

Merpu Roa, editor of Freeman Mindanao and a member of the board of the Center for Community Journalism and Development, will present "Beyond War," which acknowledges the role of peace and development workers in Mindanao. Roa's presentation will tackle this question: "Which comes first, peace or development?"

Carlos H. Conde, secretary-general of NUJP and editor of the online journalism site PinoyPress, will talk about the lies, deceptions and double-speak by sources - mostly from government - in the war against terror in the Philippines.

A group of panelists will then react to the presentations. The panelists are Rony Diaz, publisher of The Manila Times and a veteran development worker; Abhoud Syed Lingga, executive director of the Institute for Bangsa Moro Studies based in Cotabato City; Joan Carling, secretary-general of the Cordillera People's Alliance; and Prof. Georgina Encanto, a journalism professor at the University of the Philippines and one of the prize's jury members.

The IFJ Journalism for Tolerance Prize, according to the IFJ, "celebrates the work of those journalists who have offered a deeper understanding of ethnic, racial, religious, cultural and other differences." The prize, it says, "encourages journalistic work that acts to promote a thorough and deeper understanding of the issues surrounding conflict and tension."