Comprehensive media laws

Culture and Islamic Guidance minister said here Monday cabinet is drafting a comprehensive law on media, hoping to be presented for ratification to Islamic Parliament, Majlis in upcoming September. Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini who was speaking in a commemoration service on the occasion of the Reporters Day in Sari, the capital city of Iran’s Mazandaran Province added, “Once this bill would be ratified and turned into a law most of the problems with which the reporters and the media representatives in various fields are entangled with today would be eliminated.” He also spoke of launching a Reporters Information Bank in line with regulating the activities of the professionals working in this field, pointing out, “In order to provide facilities for the media reporters, as well as providing insurance for the activists in the media field, there are no limits.” He added, “The law on hazardous nature of reporting, and the one on retirement of the reporters after serving for 20 years, too, have both faced difficulties, but related bills are under survey and their completion is near at hand.” Hosseini pointed out that the government spends its entire efforts aimed at serving the various social groups, including the reporters, sparing no effort in that respect. The minster added, “Fair criticism and reflecting the services of the system’s servants so that the various social groups would be informed about them are among the important duties of the reporters and the other activists in this field.” The Culture and Islamic Guidance Minister pointing out that reporting is a kind of praying, added, “The reporters are the pioneers in the field of information dissemination, and quite humbly, just because of their love for their career, and enthusiasm for enlightenment of the public opinion, they pursue their activities wholeheartedly.” According to IRNA, Hosseini also said, “In order to ensure that the Islamic system would achieve its objectives as stated in its Twenty Year Perspective Document we must stand side by side of each other, preserve our unity and harmony, and pave the path of the country’s advancement and development seriously, and in materializing these exalted objectives the reporters and media representatives play very important roles.” He said that the status of the media and the reporters is unique and quite exalted, adding, “The mass media reporters have always been harmonized and sympathetic with the officials of the Islamic system and been working aimed at accelerating the development and advancement trends of our system and our country.” Elsewhere in his address, Hosseini said, “The mass media play decisive roles in carrying through the culture of selflessness, martyrdom, self confidence, sacrifice, unity, harmony, solidarity and national solidarity.” He pointed out that the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution has special emphasis over promotion of the culture of book reading in the society, arguing, “We all must do our best to make that that objective would come true, and one prerequisite for it is expansion of our library spaces, and participation of the reporters in promoting the book reading culture in society.” The Culture Minister said that freedom of expression is part and parcel in the career of mass media reporters, arguing, “Freedom of expression and freedom of speech, along with respecting the dignity of the human beings, which are all stressed in our holy religion, Islam, must be atop the concerns of the activists in this field.” The Governor General of Mazandaran province, too, said at the commemoration service, “The mass media reporters have quite an exalted status in the Islamic system.” Seyyed Ali Taha’ie added, “The government attaches special importance to this field, and spares no effort in this respect.”