The town of Bunia in the north-east part of the Democratic Republic of Congo might soon become the scene of a human rights catastrophe.

The fights between ethnic Hema and Lendu militias continues to claim numerous victims, even though an international peacekeeping force saw its first troops arrive 11 days ago. The violence has flared in the region since April, when Uganda began withdrawing troops it had stationed there. What is the role of the Congolese media in the ongoing conflict? How are the media reporting on this conflict? An Interview with M'Baya Tshimanga, president of Journaliste en Danger (JED), a Congolese press freedom organisation based in Kinshasa.

"The media coverage of the conflict in Bunia occupies a large place in the Congolese newspapers. However, at the same time the coverage is inadequate. It mainly shows the existing divide within the Congolese political class. The general opinion is that the coverage of the events in Bunia is partial. Some people are being pressurized and others are being mollified. And it is no secret that behind the ethnic clashes there is in reality a conflict going on between the Congolese, the Rwandan and the Ugandan governments," said M'baya Tshimanga.

He said the poor coverage of the conflict certainly depended on logistical problems, but that a bigger problem was the fact that most journalists have no training in how to treat information in conflict situations. Besides that, there is the problem of information sources: no Congolese newspaper has sent a journalist to cover the events in Bunia. "Available news comes from two principal sources: foreign media (Radio France International or Voice of America), or parties involved in the conflict."

Furthermore, most newspapers in the DRC have a clear position in the conflict: they are either pro-governmental or pro-opposition. There are of course some newspapers that try to be completely independent, but according to Tshimanga they are very few.

"The media - and they may not even be aware of it - serve as a platform for the warlords who use the rivalry between different ethnic groups in Bunia and the DRC only for their own profit. If we look at the history of DRC, exactly the same thing has happened several times before. It is what happened in Katanga in 1991 and 1992 when ethnic conflicts arose between the Katanga and the Kataï people. At the time, a prime minister of Katanga origin was replaced by one of Kataï origin. It resulted in a violent ethnic confrontation between two people who had always managed to live together in peace."

"The hate speeches of the conflict would not have had the same effects if the media had not agreed to play the role of mouthpiece for the different parties involved. The Congolese newspapers, both in general and in this case in particular, are being perfectly manipulated with all the imaginable consequences it has."

In a conflict situation like the one taking place in Bunia, Tshimanga thinks that the media should contribute to the pacific resolution of the conflict. He lists some points that all journalists should bear in mind.

They should:

- emphasize the things that unite the people, rather than what divides them

- give a voice to all the parties involved, without serving as a platform for hate speech

- push all the parties to a peaceful solution rather than to violence

- let the principle of doubt guide the daily work on conflict questions

- remain journalists and not take the place of the politicians, that only makes them lose credibility as journalists

- educate the people through pinpointing the snares of the conflict

In the town of Bunia there are only a few small newspapers that appear irregularly. "To our knowledge there are two or three newspapers that are published in that part of the DRC. Because of logistical reasons, they are printed in neighbouring countries, especially in Uganda. The most well-known one is 'Les Coulisses' which has been criticised for being too close to the government. The newspapers of Bunia also suffer from the general economic crises that the DRC is going through. The production costs are extremely high, and at the same time the readers do not have enough money to buy the newspaper."

"Thus the predominance of radio over newspapers. Not only can many people listen to a radio at the same time, but it does not demand a knowledge of the French language. The radio stations in this part of the country are, however, controlled by the warlords, with all the consequences this has in terms of independence for the journalists," said Tshimanga.