No press point foreseen at the EU-India summit made Asian reports upset
by Emanuele Bonini
«There is no respect not only for press and freedom of information, there is no respect for citizens, who must know». The decision of not holding any press conference at the end of the EU-India summit raised complaints from Pakistan. No jokes, no fakes. OK, rivalry between India and Pakistan is well known and still huge for historical reasons. Nevertheless, Pakistani journalists sent to Brussels to cover the event reacted by blaming the decision of so-called «democracies» to act as non-democracies. From a western point of view, Pakistan is not take as one of the major examples of democracy, but from the East came lessons of democracy from Pakistani reporters. The traditional final press conference has been «cancelled», apparently under Indian pressure. Issues like human rights and the Italian marines are still sensitive, and this could be the reason behind the agenda changes. «I could understand China which is not a democracy, but India is supposed to be as well as Europe, so...».
Pakistan pressmen can't believe in the 21st century media opportunities are deleted just because of guests' request, and for Western people is hard to see that in Asia there is a deeper sense for democratic values than in the supposed land where democracy was born (just in theory, apparently). Western people can't believe democracy is so weak in front of non-democratic economic power, but apparently are especially non-Westerns to be shocked. Tomorrow Eastern press will tell stories about the European model in contrast with European own interest and credibility. But that's it.
«There is no respect not only for press and freedom of information, there is no respect for citizens, who must know». The decision of not holding any press conference at the end of the EU-India summit raised complaints from Pakistan. No jokes, no fakes. OK, rivalry between India and Pakistan is well known and still huge for historical reasons. Nevertheless, Pakistani journalists sent to Brussels to cover the event reacted by blaming the decision of so-called «democracies» to act as non-democracies. From a western point of view, Pakistan is not take as one of the major examples of democracy, but from the East came lessons of democracy from Pakistani reporters. The traditional final press conference has been «cancelled», apparently under Indian pressure. Issues like human rights and the Italian marines are still sensitive, and this could be the reason behind the agenda changes. «I could understand China which is not a democracy, but India is supposed to be as well as Europe, so...».
Pakistan pressmen can't believe in the 21st century media opportunities are deleted just because of guests' request, and for Western people is hard to see that in Asia there is a deeper sense for democratic values than in the supposed land where democracy was born (just in theory, apparently). Western people can't believe democracy is so weak in front of non-democratic economic power, but apparently are especially non-Westerns to be shocked. Tomorrow Eastern press will tell stories about the European model in contrast with European own interest and credibility. But that's it.
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