This week we joined our colleagues worldwide in commemorating World Press Freedom Day. A day that was set aside by the United Nations General Assembly to celebrate the fundamental principles of Press freedom, evaluate Press freedom around the world, defend media freedom and pay tribute to media practitioners who face danger in the line of duty.

World Press Freedom Day was established by the UN General Assembly in December 1993 in the wake of a seminar on Promoting an Independent and Pluralistic African Press that was held in Windhoek, Namibia in 1991.

For us, in the public media, the commemorations came at a time six of our colleagues from Zimpapers and Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings, who had been placed on European Union sanctions for writing contrary to Anglo-Saxon interests, were removed from the sanctions list.

We will not applaud the EU for that gesture as the sanctions, which were an unwarranted attack on media freedom, should never have been imposed in the first place.

We call on the EU to urge their cousins across the Atlantic to follow suit and stop victimising journalists who do not toe the Western line.

This year's theme of "New Voices: Media Freedom Helping To Transform Societies", is providential for us in Zimbabwe as we strive to get our voices heard amidst the Western bedlam.

Be that as it may, we joined our colleagues worldwide in celebrating this day that is geared at promoting professionalism, work ethics, freedom of the Press and socially responsible journalism.

As the perceived fourth estate of the realm of governance, the best way we can work towards building mutual understanding is by strengthening a culture of freedom with responsibility.

This usually manifests in a media that is vibrant, independent, pluralistic, inclusive and fair, editorially free and beyond censorship and influence from inimical interests - political, commercial, or otherwise - only a free media will innately contribute to the dialogue and understanding across divides.

A responsible media defends the national interest and is an indispensable partner in nation building.

The rest is here:

Zimbabwe: Freedom Comes With Responsibility