    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book I)]
    [May 1, 2008]
    [Pages 618-619]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Statement on World Press Freedom Day
    May 1, 2008

        May 3 marks World Press Freedom Day. Just and open societies protect
    and rely on the freedom of the press. That freedom is enshrined in the
    first amendment to the United States Constitution, because freedom of
    speech is integral to a free society.
        Brutal regimes and others who seek to stifle liberty often do so by
    closing down private newspapers and radio and television stations. They
    kidnap, arbitrarily jail, and beat journalists. Some journalists have
    been taken from their families for years, and others have been killed
    for speaking out. Many were killed by terrorists, extremists, and
    insurgents who seek to deny people even basic access to information as
    well as the right to free speech.
        Journalists should be able to report without fear of persecution. In
    countries such as Belarus, Burma, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Libya,
    North Korea, Syria, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe, repressive laws severely
    restrict freedom of speech, and those who attempt to report are often
    imprisoned. In 2007, for the ninth consecutive year, China remained the
    world's top jailer of journalists, followed by Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, and
    Azerbaijan.
        The United States condemns the harassment, physical intimidation,
    persecution, and other abuse that journalists, including bloggers and
    Internet reporters, have faced in China, Cuba, Egypt, Tunisia,
    Venezuela, and Vietnam, as well as the unsolved murders of journalists
    in Belarus, Lebanon, and Russia. We call on all governments to guarantee
    the inalienable rights of their people, including, consistent with
    article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
    the right to freedom of speech and the press.
        America stands with those who struggle for their liberty, including
    those in the press who continue their work in spite of risks. During
    fiscal year 2007, the United States provided $78 million in
    approximately 40 countries to promote media freedom and freedom of
    information. As President, I have met with many journalists and editors
    who are struggling against forces that seek to suppress media freedom.
    We salute these courageous individuals, and we recognize the importance
    of the right to a free press in spreading freedom around the world.

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