solhkhabar | Peace International News Agency Peace International News Agency , Peace News , International Agency News of Peace
Speaking in an interview with the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) on the occasion of the Executive Board meeting of the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA) in Tehran, Managing Director of NINA Shafiq al-Obeidi said resisting against the US hegemony should be a priority for OANA.
He described the US policies as dangerous for the region and the world, noting that OANA members should counter these polocies.
The official referred to the US unilateral sanctions against Iran and said that all OANA members should take position in this regard.
Elsewhere in his remakrs, al-Obeidi lauded good relations between the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) and OANA and called for improvement of cooperation between the two news agenices.
Elaborating on the capacieties of OANA, he said that Iraq won the media war against Daesh (ISIS) through support of OANA members.
Al-Obeidi pointed to the US, Zionist lobby and colonial powers' support for world mainstream media including AP, AFP and Reuters and said that OANA members are not at the present time, powerful enough to break up the monopoly of colonial powers' media.
In the meantime, he said that NINA has good experience in war reporting and it is ready to transfer its experience to other countries.
Iraqi war correspondents played a big role in preventing the powers' mainstream media to demoralize the Iraqi forces by releasing false news of the battlefield, NINA chief added.
OANA was formed in 1961 on UNESCO’s initiative. It provides a news wire service containing articles donated by its members.
The 43rd meeting of the executive board of Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA) will be hosted by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) in Tehran on September 3.
The day-long meeting will be attended by heads and senior officials of 18 news agencies from Russia, Republic of Azerbaijan, China, Qatar, Turkey, Oman, Mongolia, South Korea, Kazakhstan, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Bulgaria, and the Iranian Mehr News Agency.
Most of the participating news agencies are members of the executive board, and some are invited as the observers and special guests in Tehran meeting.
The OANA was founded with the goal of facilitating information dissemination in the region, supported by the UN cultural entity, the UNESCO. The organization covering two thirds of the world population has now 44 members from 35 countries of Asian and Oceania.
Iran, as a long-standing member, has been the rotating president in 1997-2000. The period was followed by a term of vice-presidency until 2016. The country is now a member of OANA executive board.
The last (16th) general assembly of OANA was held in Azerbaijan's capital city, Baku, in 2016 to submit the presidency to the Central Asian country.
At Tehran meeting, South Korea is expected to assume the rotating presidency for the coming three years.
The executive board comprises of 13 members with Azertac, ITAR-TASS, Xinhua, Yonhap and Anadolu as its current board of directors members.
9191**1771
Follow us on Twitter @IrnaEnglish