World press freedom day 2018
Today, May the 3rd, we celebrate the “World press freedom day”. Instituted in 1993, this day remembers the journalists and bloggers who risk their life every day in order to let know to each of us what happens in every corner of the world. Especially in that one where there is no place for freedom and democracy, where the crime dominates and the fear to express your own opinion is too strong.
“I ask the governments to strengthen the freedom of the press and to protect the journalists. Promote free press is fundamental to our right to the truth”, says Antonio Guterres, secretary of Onu. (transl. from https://tg24.sky.it/mondo/2018/05/02/giornata-mondiale-liberta-di-stampa.html)
The principal event has been organized by Onu and the Republic of Ghana where it has taken place. The themes addressed embrace politics, culture and the increasing importance of the media and their influence on the society.
This day is celebrated everywhere. In Rome, in the Liceo Tamiani, journalists like Paolo Borrometi, president of Art. 21, has talked about their life constantly menaced by crime. Let’s remember Peppino Impastato killed in Sicily by the killers of Mafia because he wasn’t afraid to say the truth about crime in his region.
The Italian president Mattarella has sayed «On the occasion of the XI Memorial Day dedicated to journalists killed by mafias and terrorism organized by the National Union of Italian Reporters, I wish to express first of all my feelings of closeness and solidarity to family members, friends, life and workmates, who assisted to the end of the existence of their loved one. […] They have put their professionalism at the service of the growth of society. And thanks to these men and women, to their work, where before there was widespread silence, now there are often symbols of associations against the Mafia. Where there was silence dictated by fear, or by connivance, now there are the words, strong and courageous, of our boys. Where there was indifference or resignation, now legality is taught. A new season of violence against the press, in Italy, in Europe, in the world, seems to reappear: even today aggressions and intimidation threaten the work of those reporters who don’t bend to the logic of illegal interests and powers and crime, thus bringing a significant contribution to the cause of democracy. It is necessary to support their work because they defend our social life and our personal and family freedom through aggression, through free and correct information. It is necessary to protect their voices that refuse every abuse. Freedom of information, as our Constitution attests, is the foundation of democracy “.(translation of http://www.ilsecoloxix.it/p/cultura/2018/05/03/ACKSV2TD-liberta_mondiale_giornata.shtml)
Maria Domenica Depalo
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