Library of Congress ISSN 1554-0391 RADIO AS PEACEBUILDER: A CASE STUDY OF RADIO OKAPI IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO Michelle Betz University of Central Florida By giving voice and visibility to all people - including and especially the poor, the marginalized and members of minorities - the media can help remedy the inequalities, the corruption, the ethnic tensions and the human rights abuses that form the root causes of so many conflicts. - United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan - I. INTRODUCTION An estimated one-quarter to one-third of United Nations member states are conflict-stressed states or emerging democracies and all of these are multi-ethnic states with racial and/or ethnic divisions. (Cholmondely, 2004). That means that these same countries are, at some point if not currently, going to be going through the process of nation building. One tool that can be used in this process is the media and radio has proven to be particularly adept. Radio has long been seen as an important tool in the social, economic and political mobilization of developing countries. There have been volumes (Fardon & Furniss; Head Manoff; Wedell; Hyden, Leslie & Ogundimu) written about social development and the utility of radio in addition to how radio might be used in post-conflict and nation building scenarios. However, there has been little, if any, examination of a more holistic approach of how both these bodies of work might be melded together providing some insight into how media, and more specifically radio, might be used as a peacebuilder. This paper seeks to draw elements from both social development and conflict resolution theories, bringing them together to examine how radio could be used in post-conflict and conflict resolution situations. An examination of Radio Okapi in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC; former Zaire) will serve as a case study of the role radio can play as a post-conflict or peace-building tool. impact among people who may be II. USE OF RADIO IN mostly illiterate; it is the most readily SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT available of all media. As a result, radio can play an important Radio has long been used in sub- mobilizing role in developing Saharan Africa due to its countries (Mwakawago, Wedell). accessibility, low cost and high Indeed, radio can play an important role in four areas: informing, suggests (A Thousand and One facilitating decision making, Worlds , 1992) in Myers in Fardon p. educating, and entertaining 95). However, Querre stresses that it (Mwakawago 1986, p.87). is up to the producers to “create the One of the longest standing right environment for broadcasting examples of the use of radio as a tool and a way of thinking familiar to for social development is that of the rural life. Dialogue will be genuine Food and Agriculture Organization and real. Concrete solutions to (FAO). Since the 1960s the FAO has concrete problems can be discovered been using radio as a means of together… They will preserve the assisting those in rural areas of cultural identity of their audience developing countries. The goal of and hand back to them their right to which was to assist rural workers so be heard.” they could come up with concrete solutions to the shared problems they Olorunnisola agrees. He faced together. Indeed, this has now writes that “the value of radio in become a model for much of reducing the stress attached to community radio in which it is used battling human, animal, and plant as an agent for social change; diseases, as well as the improvement perhaps it can even be examined in of housing and water supply was the context of nation-building or discovered” (1997, p.244). political development. Olorunnisola also suggests, however, that there may be some limitations There are other examples of with this view of broadcaster as radio’s ability to convey ideas and agent of social change. messages in basic education. The media were seen as crucial in the Olorunnisola (JRS 1997, p. UNESCO/UNICEF “Education for 243) discusses the social All” initiative taken at the Jomtien mobilization which radio may be conference in 1990. Some believe able to bring about, albeit with some UNICEF used the media effectively reservations. Indeed, he suggests for social mobilization in health and “the extent to which the social other basic education in a number of mobilization programs planned and developing countries. This was executed in rural Africa particularly effective in areas of [approximately 70% of the DRC’s conflict or former conflict where population is rural] have generally health and educational failed, may point to the likelihood infrastructures had broken down, and that, among other conjoint factors, where radio was one of the few radio’s potential as a viable medium sources of education as well as has never been fully tapped.” information. (Adam) Indeed, if radio’s potential As a result, this would has never been fully tapped, one suggest that the broadcaster is a must also ask how it could be. This development agent just as Querre author would suggest that if we can The Great Lakes Research Journal Vol. 1 December 2004. 39 look at radio as a development agent, independently of one another. He can we then take this a step further further suggests that there are and ask, or try to find, a primarily two approaches taken methodology that looks at the when facing a post-conflict media broadcaster as peacemaking agent, or task. The first involves those who to assist in the maintenance of peace believe that to counter war and hate in a post-conflict thereby tapping propaganda in many post-conflict into radio’s full potential that situations, the IGOS had to create Olorunnisola suggests has not yet alternative media outlets that were, at been achieved. Can radio be used in least initially, under IGO control. attempts to manage conflict or The second approach, “fostered and promote nation-building? Indeed, encouraged more by NGOs than this is where conflict resolution IGOs, appears less controlling. It focuses on strengthening local, III. USE OF RADIO IN indigenous media outlets, POLITICAL particularly those that strike a new DEVELOPMENT: POST- voice, in the hopes of building a CONFLICT AND public sphere, a civil society, and the PEACEMAKING long-term machinery for peace and reconstruction.” What is interesting For many political scientists and to note here is the traditional international agencies freedom of mandate of NGOs has been apolitical communication is a measure of the and geared towards social, not reality of political liberalization and political, development, yet at the in such contexts radio and the media same time peace and reconstruction in general are seen as core elements can be construed as political terms. that enable democratization. (Daloz Even if not intentional, there is and Verrier-Fechette in Fardon p. clearly an overlap – a mandate that 181) If the media are crucial for becomes social and political. Price democratization then would it not concludes that there needs to be stand to reason that this process increasing coordination between would include conflict resolution and IGOs and NGOs. As will be particularly in post-conflict discussed, this is precisely what has situations? If so, what role can the happened in the case of Radio Okapi media play and who controls the where one (IGO) is more political or media in such situations? conflict-oriented while the other (NGO) is geared towards social In a background paper prepared development yet both are working for UNESCO, Price (2000) says both together towards peacebuilding in NGOs (non-governmental the DRC. organization) and IGOs (international governmental In addition to the actors involved organizations) need to be factored in political development there needs into political development, although to be further examination into the historically they have acted role the media play in conflict The Great Lakes Research Journal Vol. 1 December 2004. 40 resolution. Robert Manoff, the transparency.” Heiber (CCR vol 7 director of the Center for War, Peace no..4 p.5) and the News Media at New York University, suggests that In addition to criteria “approaches that can loosely be legitimizing media intervention, grouped together under the rubric of there are also different types of ‘conflict resolution’ typically share a intervention. Howard (2002) greater interest in the potential suggests a model in which there are contributions of non-state actors and five types of media intervention might therefore be expected to varying largely on the stage of the provide a body of theory and practice conflict itself. Most pertinent to the more congenial to the development case at hand are types four and five. of media interventions.” (Manoff Type four is described as being Dec 1998) Manoff further suggests distinct from conventional numerous potential roles the media journalism and is rather a “pro-active can play in the prevention and media-based intervention, usually management of conflict including designed for a highly specific channeling communication between audience and purpose”. This type of parties, educating, confidence intervention is often the product of building, providing an emotional an outside actor such as a outlet, and framing and defining the peacekeeping force or NGO and is conflict – all elements of the conflict often used in a conflict or post- resolution process and traditionally conflict situation. Type five involves the role of diplomats. programming that is specifically intent upon transforming attitudes, Media and conflict experts from promoting reconciliation and around the world met at a 1998 reducing conflict and is usually conference in Geneva to examine the conducted by nongovernmental legitimacy of intervention for peace organizations. The content of the by foreign media in a country in programming in this case is conflict.