Shireen M Mazari

Director General Institute of Strategic Studies Pakistan

First of all I would like to extend my congratulations to the Kazakhstan National Khabar News Agency for organising the third Eurasian Media Forum. The forum comes at a crucial time of change and challenges that face the world today, and in which the role of media has become crucial in shaping the responses of the governments and leaders.

Unfortunately, however, the dominance of the superpower remains only too visible and all of us are affected by US policies in our regions. When Mr. Paul Bremer, the Bush Administration's proconsul in Iraq, sent American soldiers on March 28, 2004 to shut down and padlock a popular Baghdad newspaper - Al Hawza - for criticising the US occupation of Iraq, I was reminded of the autocratic regimes that the Americans have blamed for all the 'evil' in the world. One cannot have a one-sided view in this age of globalisation, and it is about time that all of us learn to live with dissenting views and news. I wish all the success to the participants of the Forum as they debate the role of media and how to confront the challenges and threats in the 21st century.