By Dr Khalid Al-Saleh

the political crisis between US President Richard Nixon and the Washington Post newspaper because of the war in Vietnam, the Post in 1971 was able to uncover a series of special reports about the contents of what was called the “Pentagon Papers”, which was a study prepared by the Pentagon on relations between US and Vietnam between 1945 and 1967.

The paper came under much pressure to cease publication, then after discussing the dispute at the supreme court, Justice Hugo Black wrote “the press was to serve the governed, not the governors”. This is the press that serves the homeland, the press that believes in responsible freedom, that cares for the people and does not hesitate to serve them. We miss this type of journalism greatly in our Arab countries, including Kuwait. Tens of major thefts of public funds took place in Kuwait, in which people’s rights were lost, and our press did not investigate them and reveal their secrets to the people.

Rather there are newspapers that shield public funds thieves and in fact opened the doors for them to own them and take over the freedom in them. Sometimes, our press will assist the thieves and wage war against their enemies. I still remember the stand of one or two newspapers towards an audit committee that I personally participated in at the health ministry to uncover thefts of systems, only for those papers to attack the honorable members of the committee in favor of the thieves.

Free press should not be owned by a limited group of persons, except if those took themselves away from conflicts of interest. Free press means a fourth authority that aims to expose corruption to fight the corrupt, and not accuse the honorable for the sake of threatening and intimidation. Our press made everyone fear freedom, because they may become victims of slander and fraud. Confidence in papers must return.

Papers must practice the fourth authority, so that journalistic investigations deal with collecting information with integrity and professionalism, and the law must side with this journalism, which the constitution has guaranteed freedom. Honest journalism is one that stays away from rumors, is not under the control of interests and not for revenge.

Free press satisfies people’s needs, as they look for truth among tweets by bogus names and mercenaries’ lies on social media. Free press is the support of the sincere members of parliament, to be their eyes and ears with which they hear and see the truth. Free press is a dire democratic need that we wish to see in Kuwait.

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