LONDON, November 22 (IranMania) - Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad-Hossein Saffar-Harandi said that the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) member states should understand the priority for formation of a media union to counter the hegemony of the developed countries over media system, IRNA said.
Speaking to Malaysia's Bernama News Agency on the sidelines of the Conference of Ministers of Information of Non-Aligned Countries (COMINAC VI), he said that while chairing the Non-Aligned News Agencies Pool (NANAP), Iran has paved the way for formation of a new NAM media network.
"Due to the special atmosphere prevailing the international scene over the past years and limited activity of some NAM member states, such a goal was not fully materialized. That is why Iran welcomed the idea of reviving NANAP," he added.
Saffar-Harandi declared Iran's readiness to provide NAM member states with technical and training assistance to this end, IRNA added.
Expounding on the challenges currently imposed upon independent and non-aligned states by non-NAM countries and the pressures exerted upon them by the hegemonic media system, he called for convergence of NAM member states to change the present unequal conditions dominating the international media system.
In response to a question about the role of Iran and Malaysia in NAM, the minister noted, "Playing a crucial role in the movement, they are considered as two decisive political and cultural weights in Asia. They should proceed with taking practical measures to serve as a model for other countries."
He added that the southern states should bear in mind that under the current global conditions and in view of US unilateralism the grounds have been paved for formation of a major media union against the world hegemonic media system.
"Today, protest to US unilateralism has increased in the world, but the hegemonic system attempts to conceal such a truth," he added.
He expressed satisfaction over the present gathering of the ministers of information of NAM member states after a break of nine years, given that non-NAM countries attempting to have hegemony over the world abuse lack of communication between themselves and NAM member states, IRNA stated.
The sixth session of the two-day conference opened in Kuala Lumpur on Monday morning with the message of Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
