Yahoo Lifestyle Peter Greste Addresses The National Press Club
Peter Greste celebrated freedom with this picture on his Twitter in February. Photo: @PeterGreste twitter
Freedom of speech has never been so threatened as it is right now, Peter Greste has argued during a passionate address to the National Press Club today. The Al Jazeera foreign correspondent, who spent 400 days behind bars in Egypt and was freed in February, made the plea in front of an audience which included fellow journalists, family, friends and politicians including Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.
“The very idea of a free press is under attack,” Greste said. “Freedom of speech is being threatened in ways that we haven’t seen for a generation.”
In making his case, he cited statistics that, last year, 60 journalists were killed while reporting while 220 journalists were jailed for their work with China and Egypt two of the worst offenders when it came to imprisoning media. Only 14 per cent of the world has a truly free media, he said.
In his heartfelt and emotional speech, Greste thanked his family for the role they played in bringing him home, including his brother who ran a powerful social media campaign calling for his release. “I would not be standing here before you if it weren’t for my extraordinary family.”
Greste also thanked his fellow journalists for spreading the word about his cause and for putting pressure on the government both in Australia and in Egypt calling for his release. “The only time [journalists] ever walk in the same direction is if there’s a bar in view,” he joked. “How many times can you say politicians and journalists were on the same side? We must not lose that singular voice.”
The 49-year old concluded his address by making the case for the establishment of a Universal Media Freedom Charter. This document – which would have no legal authority but would hold moral significance in the manner of the UN’s Human Rights Charter – would set out a list of rights, responsibilities and boundaries between the media and the government, and would represent a benchmark by which both parties could be measured. Ultimately, he argued, it would protect the freedom of the press across international borders.
“We have to do something about the rights of journalists who are tortured and intimidated all over the world,” Greste said.
RELATED:
