In Response to the White House Press Release

Washington DC May 2, 2008//RPS Blog - Farid Ghadry// -- Yesterday the White House issued a press release under the title "Advancing Freedom And Democracy Around The World" as a token for May 3, the World Press Freedom Day.

The press release starts by saying: "May 3 marks World Press Freedom Day. We stand with journalists, editors, and bloggers who continue their work in spite of the risks. 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."

RPS is thankful for the White House, and especially president George Bush, for remembering those who risk their lives in pursuit of freedom of expression and human rights. No other US President, or administration, has been as forthcoming as president Bush in supporting the free words uttered by journalists, bloggers, dissidents, and activists around the world working hard for a better future for their countries.

While the press release demonstrates without a doubt the White House commitment to the freedom agenda, one can also notice that almost all of the White House activities (With the exception of democracy budget increases) have taken place in 2005, 2006, and 2007. None has taken place in 2008, five months into a very decisive year not only because of the expanding of the influence of Iran in the region and beyond, the destructive policies of Syria with its support of terrorism, the bad influence of Venezuela in South America, and the spreading proliferation of N. Korean nuclear know how but also because of more oppression by countries around the world be it in Tibet, Myanmar, or Belarus.

In 2008, as in years past, Bloggers, journalists, and activists need the White House to continue on its path of forging new trails of freedom far and beyond the oceans of freedom surrounding America. Prisoners of conscience are being detained in record numbers and those who have been imprisoned have been forgotten. Human rights activists are under constant pressure when they highlight atrocities in their own countries or attempt to improve the situation and any support, no matter how minute, is a shot in the arm to those who feel forgotten by other countries and people that take freedom for granted.

For 2008, and as a sign of commitment to the freedom agenda, RPS urges the White House to gather, in the Rose Garden, all the people that fight for freedom in their respective countries to celebrate their work and to show the world that this US administration is as committed as it has been in the past. If July 4th is a celebration of freedom in the United States, let July 5 be a celebration of the freedom dissidents pursue around the world.

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

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