'We have press freedom', Putin tells World's editors

Rajpal Abeynayake

MOSCOW: "You could stand here inside the Kremlin Palace where the Communist Party met for its deliberations and talk of press freedom today. It's amazing to think of that happening - could it have happened 15 years ago,'' said Vladimir Putin, President of Russia (the Russian Federation) addressing the opening sessions of the 13th World Editors' Forum and the 59th World Newspaper Congress in Moscow on Monday.

Putin was replying to criticism by the President of the World Newspaper Association, Gavin O' Riley, who said that President Putin must do his utmost to ensure press freedom in Russia.

Putin, who arrived late due to unexplained reasons, said the private media owning enterprises in Russia have to do more to ensure press freedom than the Government does.

He said there are 53,000 periodicals and 3,000 television stations and countless regional newspapers in Russia, and asked "is that not press freedom.''

The president said the world leaders in the newspaper industry - Editors and managers of newspaper groups - are in Moscow in their large numbers, and said he is very grateful that they have chosen the city for the annual deliberations on press freedom.

The World Newspapers Accociation's The 2006 Golden Pen Award for press Freedom was awarded at the opening ceremony at the Kremlin palace to Iranian journalist Akbar Ganji, who was imprisoned and tortured for his independent views.

He said that "though people tried to scare off the world's Editors from coming to Russia citing issues of press freedom, the fact that world leaders in the newspaper industry came to the city to discuss the industry's future is a matter for celebration. We are grateful".

O' Riley earlier quoted Arthur Miller to say that a "newspaper is a nation speaking to itself." He showed a video clip that detailed on a region by region basis threats to journalists who have faced assassination and imprisonment in the practice of their profession.