Freedom of press is paramount to holding the government accountable – President Solih

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih stated that freedom of press is crucial in order to see the administration progressing on the right track. The President made this statement while addressing the gathering at the ceremony held this evening at Dharubaaruge to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Maldivian Journalism.

According to the President, the Maldivian Constitution came to existence with the promise of creating an independent platform for journalism. However, 75-year journey of journalism was scattered with attempts at controlling the media and that this administration vows to change it and create a free, independent environment for journalists where freedom of expression will always be encouraged.

In his speech, the President highlighted that in the modern day democracy, journalism is a self-regulated system and stated that this would be the best option for Maldivian Journalism as well. He further stated that this would allow the Maldivian media to create their own limits where they would be responsible to create a best practice and to set acceptable standards to follow through while disseminating information to the public.

“While we celebrate the courage of journalists today, it is also important for us to remember those we have lost; The forcefully disappeared, journalist, Ahmed Rilwan of Maldives Independent and blogger Yameen Rasheed who was brutally murdered.”, the President solemnly said.  

Furthermore, President stated that the purpose of creating the “Commission on Investigation of Murders and Enforced Disappearances” is to solve these kind of cases and appealed to all the members of the commission to commence their work and find the reality of the cases.

Speaking in this regard, the President also noted that this administration would never go after journalists for expressing a certain thought, and emphasized that freedom of speech is necessary for this administrations longevity. 

“To ensure the rights of the people, it is better to have a free press without a government than to have a government without free press”, stated the President.