SIGNIS calls for support for immediate ceasefire in Lebanon

(July25, 2006): - SIGNIS, the World Catholic Association for Communication, on Tuesday,-July 25 supported the call by UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon. Expressing solidarity with its members in that war-torn country, SIGNIS President, Augustine Loorthusamy, called upon the news media to ensure that their reporting contributed to building a culture of peace in the region, by giving a true, fair and balanced sense of the complexity of the situation. The Association’s statement said : “SIGNIS urges all governments to heed the call of the UN Secretary-General for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon and the wider appeals by Pope Benedict XVI, for an end to the widespread suffering of innocent civilians in Lebanon and across the Middle East. We also express our heartfelt solidarity and support for our members in Lebanon, and we pray for all those communicators, who are struggling to bring messages of hope and peace in this time of war and destruction. As a World Association of Catholic professionals in communications, we re-commit ourselves to follow the principles set out in the SIGNIS Declaration of Lyon, in November 2005, so that we continue to ensure that in Lebanon and across the Middle East, the “voices of the voiceless” are heard and the “faces of the faceless” are seen in the media.”