Sayyid Ammar al-Hakim: No freedom without the freedom of speech, no dignity without freedom, awareness without active and interactive media

Head of the National Iraqi Alliance, Sayyid Ammar al-Hakim, urged Iraqi journalists to fight on two fronts at the same time and location, and to remove the corrupt and the deviant people who disguise under masks of press and media, and exploit the freedom of thought and speech to damage the thought and repress expression, describing this category to be similar to terrorism, that prohibit the people under its control from any freedom of speech, expressing any opinion and even access to information.

His eminence stressed that no freedom without freedom of opinion expression and speech, no dignity without freedom, awareness without active and interactive media, and counted journalists the pioneer builders of communities, and soldiers armed with thoughts and information, and they are only by preceded soldiers who carry weapons to defend Iraq and community from terror attacks abhorrent Takfiri terrorism.

This took place during the National Conference to Support Press Freedoms in Iraq in cooperation with the Journalistic Freedoms Observatory, held in his eminence’s office Baghdad Wednesday 17/5/2017.

His eminence addressed the conferees by stating \"Your role in political process is no less important than the role of politicians, politics is a world of decision making and gain more area in the community to implement projects and programs that build the country and develop society, some politicians are only concerned is expanding their influence in a given space to maintain their presence in the political forefront over the focus on public concerns and interests, \"adding,\" but you journalists and media professionals and writers, you are mostly creating opinions for society and not for gaining influence and control, \"explaining that “politicians may change from time to time, but the journalists remain active and interactive with the community, \"noting the importance of presenting extraordinary awareness and the pure national culture, stressing that journalist and media professionals should not be tools in the hands of others because they would be very harmful tool to society and themselves. Searching truth, spreading truth and defending truth, increasing awareness is the sacred mission of journalists, journalists are not corrupt, but some corrupt and deviant people disguised by the mask of journalists and wore the mantle of press,\" affirming \"there is no professional, influential, honest journalist with national values, yet is corrupt and a pen for rent, and there is no media that respects its name and credibility and accept to be a means of disorder and promote lies and denial to values and ideals.

His eminence stressed that to defend the people is through making them aware of their rights, not by demotivate them with a flow of negativities, in which truth is mixed with lies and truth is mixed with wrong, and that the to defend the people is by guidance not by provoking. Some crimes are committed against the people with the cover of defending them, the people are greatly suffering since 35 years and experienced the all sorts of humanity suffering and continues to offer martyrs and pay the endless blood tax.” His eminence called for healing of wounds without manipulation, hoped for a conscious and courageous Iraqi generation of journalists, writers and credited influencers, who do not hold complexity and do not stoke the crises of the past, for they are the hope to make a leap in social consciousness that we need and at the same time be the strict and decisive censor.

His eminence stressed that Iraqis are fighting against the worst thought produced by deviant reading of Islam, which distorted Islam and turned it into an accused religion in the eyes of millions of people who receive a flow of complex and contradictory information about the religion of humanity and compassion. His eminence pointed out that Iraqis proved that they are fighting fiercely and insistently defending the homeland, life, freedom, human right and peaceful living, the victory is coming with the Eid, God willing, so that the joy of Iraqis is doubled, warning that terrorism will not leave this country easily as long as it finds an nurturing environment, stressing on making Iraq a superordinate priority and eliminate this environment in which terrorism is able to nurture in, along with political success to be able eliminating the environment of terrorism, when all Iraqis feel the rights of citizenship away from discrimination, it will eliminate this environment, when we serve people and we eliminate corruption, we will eliminate this environment,\" warning, “terrorism is feeding on our contradictions\" and the longer these contradictions last, terrorism lasts more.

His eminence pointed out that the upcoming elections will be decisive and crucial and will determine the future of Iraq for the next 12 years. Therefore, ensuring integrity and free it from flaws and worries is very important for many people. His eminence called for a fair electoral law for provincial councils and the Council of Representatives to promote political stability and encourage the cohesion and collaboration of political powers, protects and represents Iraqis before any other purpose, and stressed speeding the selection of the new Board of Commissioners to run the upcoming elections, no extension of current commission or its members yet expressed appreciation for their efforts, described the next major battle, after the battle against terrorism, that Iraqis should prepare for is \"the raising war against corruption, furiously and strongly, and without declaring this war, we will not go forward,\" His eminence called for fighting corruption effectively and bringing corrupt officials to justice regardless of their political and social status, curing malicious diseases is done by ablation not by living with it, because society and corruption cannot coexist, and will destroy the body of society sooner or later.

His eminence counted Iraq a vital part of an important regional area, stating \"we hear high tone of threat and intimidation among countries of the region and we frankly say it, whatever the reasons, wars are destructive to countries and there is no winner no matter how great victories seem.\" His eminence wondered “is it while the rest of the world cooperate and concentrate on development and open trading, the drums of war are stroked and the smell of gunpowder is spread?” His eminence called for convening a regional conference that brings Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq to discuss all controversial issues and reach a minimum consensus, otherwise everyone will be a loser and the peoples of the region before.