Media Role Critical In Resolving Conflicts: ICRC

JAKARTA, Mar 22 (Antara) - The International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) expects media to play an important role in resolving conflicts in a number of countries through independent and objective reporting. "I consider the media to play a critical and important role in reporting objective news on conflicts, because it has access to the areas of conflict," ICRC's President Peter Maurer said in a discussion with media here on Tuesday. Therefore, the ICRC has long time had a hotline for media, Maurer added. According to him, the ICRC and the media have similarities as both indirectly support each other's mission. "We facilitate your (media) work to broadcast true news, because a word that reports the truth is the true victim in a conflict," Maurer stated. The ICRC president is visiting Indonesia to explore the cooperation with the Indonesian government and other related sides in a different form than previously done. The 150-year-old humanitarian organization will learn a lot from Indonesia's experiences in resolving conflicts and addressing its impact on society. Maurer visited Indonesia along with the ICRC's Head of Regional Delegation to Indonesia and Timor Leste, Christoph Sutter. The ICRC is an independent humanitarian organization whose mission is to support and protect the victims of conflict and other violence throughout the world as mandated in the Geneva Conventions 1949.