TEHRAN, April 29 (MNA) � Iran�s president has said to celebrate books, the government should guarantee the �freedom of speech� for creators of cultural products.
Hassan Rouhani opened 27th�Tehran International book fair today morning, where he congratulated all �cultural activists, publishers, creators of books and authors.�

Rouhani asserted that books embodied the human thinking and reason. �To the extent that thinking is respected, the thinkers themselves and their products, that is, books, should inspire respect and honor,� he added, �however, to respect the cultural producers is impossible only through lip service; the law and the government should work to support and protect the place and the dignity of authors and cultural creators; without freedom of speech, no thinking and idea would be created in the books� pages or virtual electronic pages.�

Rouhani believed that just as Islam was not to a specific geography and ethnicity, �books belonge to all humanity and thus it should not tolerate restrictions and bias; books transfer us past cultural heritage, inviting us not to forget our future, and to re-read and re-understand our past,� Rouhani told in the opening ceremony.

Rouhani emphasized that if books were to advance the society, �it should be along with true criticism; thought and criticism are twin factors which complement each other; no criticism would survive and work without thinking; neither any thinking would wield even trace of impact without criticism,� he said.

�We should provide the atmosphere so that the writer and critic think and pen down their thinking and critiques free from any restrictions and threat of censure,� he added and that �we believe criticism is the right of all groups; however, those who consume public money should not use the platform for uttering false criticism and defamation would mislead people to wastelands through figments of their petty imaginations.�

Rouhani went on to say that if some �specific groups� sought to �impede people�s moral excellence,� �should remember that the current year was the year of �culture and economy,� not the �year of lies; defamation; and false flags.�

By Mehr News Agency

 

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