President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev shared a post in his social media accounts on the occasion of July 22, National Press Day.
News.Az presents the post.
148 years ago, on July 22, 1875, the first issue of the "Ekinchi" newspaper, founded by Hasan bey Zardabi, one of the prominent representatives of the enlightenment movement of his time, was published, and thus the foundations of the national press in Azerbaijan were laid.
"Ekinchi" laid the foundation for a truely democratic and people's press in the Azerbaijani language. This newspaper, only 56 issues of which was published, became the mirror of the people, the standard-bearer of Azerbaijani journalism.
During the period of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the foundations of a free press, a new approach to the ongoing events, were laid. The next stage covers the period after the occupation of the ADR by the Bolsheviks. 70 years of the 147-year history of the press are connected with the period of the communist dictatorship.
At that time, the Azerbaijani press touched upon existing problems, resorting to hidden subtext, because the press was the mouthpiece of the policy and ideology pursued by the USSR. At that time it was forbidden to think and write differently.
Starting from the second half of the 90s of the last century, the Azerbaijani press enters a new stage of development. This is also the period of formation of Azerbaijani statehood, democratic state structure. The foundations of this stage of development were laid by National Leader Heydar Aliyev, who always highly appreciated the influence of the press on society, carried out consistent activities aimed at developing freedom of the press and speech, strengthening the material and technical base of the media. During the period of independence, Heydar Aliyev also signed the first decree on the Azerbaijani press.
In general, the national leader signed more than 10 orders and decrees related to solving the problems of the press. In 1999, the law "On Mass Media" was adopted in accordance with international requirements. By order of Heydar Aliyev dated August 6, 1998, censorship was abolished in Azerbaijan.
The country pays great attention to the development of the media, freedom of the press and speech. President Ilham Aliyev signed important orders for the development of a free press, strengthening the material and technical base of the media, and improving the socio-economic conditions of journalists.
