Ambassador Ford Commemorates World Press Freedom Day 
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The U.S. Ambassador Ford Commemorates World Press Freedom Day
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The U.S. Embassy in Algiers, in conjunction with the National Syndicate of Journalists (SNJ), participated in the commemoration of World Press Freedom Day with a seminar organized in cooperation with MEPI on Tuesday, May 1st, 2008 at the Hilton Hotel in Algiers. The seminar entitled “Journalistic practice between violation of press laws and the challenge of self regulation” gathered imminent lawyers and experts in information law, human rights activists, editors, journalists, and the coordinator of the International Federation of Journalists in Algiers.
Ambassador Robert S. Ford, through his participation in the celebration of this symbolic date, illustrated the U.S. commitment to the advancement of an independent, responsible and professional press in Algeria. In his speech delivered at the seminar, Ambassador Ford took the opportunity to praise the progress made towards greater freedom of the press in Algeria over the past decade, but he also highlighted the necessity for Algerian journalists to raise their professional standards and resist the tendency towards self-censorship. Moreover, Ambassador Ford expressed the concerns of the U.S. and of the international community over the use of prison sentences by the Algerian judiciary as a penalty for defamation.
Ambassador Ford highlighted the United States’ continuing efforts to assist the Algerian press through concrete initiatives geared towards journalists and editors, such as the MEPI funded Journalism Development Group (JDG), the “Edward R. Murrow International Visitor Program” which allows journalists to spend three weeks in the U.S. to examine the rights and responsibilities of a free press in a democracy, and various other Speakers Programs and Digital Video Conferences on topics relating to the press. Since 2001, almost a dozen Algerian journalists each year benefit from training and exchange programs in the U.S.
