Sometimes a pen is more powerful than a gun, United States Secretary of State John Kerry has said commemorating the World Press Freedom Day on Saturday.
“May 3 we commemorate press freedom day at a time when for too many, a free press is under assault,” he said in a statement.
“Journalists, bloggers, photographers, essayists, satirists, and essayists who give life to the words 'free press' are in danger,” he added.
The press is being abused “in too many places: journalists are intimidated into self-censorship or arrested without cause. They are imprisoned without judicial recourse or killed with outright impunity.”
“I still remember the reporters who sometimes rode with us on our boat in Vietnam. They didn’t carry a gun. They carried a pen. Sometimes, that’s more powerful.”
“So today we pay tribute to all our truth tellers in a noble cause: The people who put their lives and liberties on the line to tell the stories the world would otherwise never know.”
“We reaffirm our commitment not only to stand by them, but to stand up for them this day and every day the world over,” he added.