5 December 2013 - The chairman of the National Defense Institute (IDN, Portuguese acronym ) of Guinea-Bissau, Lieutenant Colonel Terence Mendes, today called on the ethics of journalists during the electoral process at the opening ceremony of the conference on "Media and National Interest", supported by UNIOGBIS .

Terence Mendes made his address in a hotel of the capital and caught dozens of participants' attention on the sensitive political and social situation: "So join the Forces of Defense and Security and civil society to discuss in an open, frank and friendly way, the problems which hamper the development of Guinea-Bissau" he said.

"The media play a very important role in information, education and entertainment of the population," he said, concluding: "What is socially acceptable may not be in agreement with the national interest".

From his part, the Secretary of State for Social Communication, Armindo Handem, said that "news is a construction of reality and therefore do not have to reflect implicitly the reality itself."

The secretary of State stressed that "official structures cannot replace journalist's work for citizenship, making people conscious about their rights and duties".

"It is necessary for the State and the media to work in harmony", he advised, stressing that "the electoral process shall create a new platform for democratic debate".

The conference was composed of fourth themes: "The Media and the National Interest", "Journalism and Citizenship", "The Role of the Media" and " "The Relationship between Media and Defense & Security Forces".

This third conference of the IDN follows previous ones on "Civil and Military Relationship" and "Youth and the Security & Defense Forces".