[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 18 (Monday, May 8, 2000)]
[Page 985]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on World Press Freedom Day

May 3, 2000

    On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, I want to salute 
journalists in every country who dedicate their lives--and risk their 
lives--to increase our understanding of the world and to shine a 
spotlight in support of truth and accountability.
    This past year around the world, from Colombia to Chechnya to Sierra 
Leone, more than 30 journalists were killed, many more were imprisoned, 
and more than 100 nations still exert forms of harassment that inhibit 
press freedom. Right now, Governments in Iran and Serbia are cracking 
down on journalists, closing news organizations, and trying to block a 
public dialog that is so essential to human rights and freedom.
    As a nation long blessed with liberty, the United States has a 
responsibility to stand with those who are upholding the values we 
cherish, to speak up for press freedom, and to speak out against 
repression so that journalists can do their jobs without risk or 
restraint, and citizens have the knowledge they need to exercise the 
power of self-government.