A primary reason for 'World' commemoration days that promote a specific cause, usually publicised by the United Nations or another global organization, is to not only encourage support for positive causes such as national health or the battle against diseases like breast cancer, it is also to give both leaders and citizens in any given country the chance to reflect on how their land measures up to the rest of the world.

So on World Health Day, we are all encouraged think about our eating and exercise habits, as well as question what the government is doing to promote good health. When World Breast Cancer Day comes around, queries should be raised about how proactive local groups and government are on that score, and so on.

To many, the most important global cause days involve the word 'freedom.' There are few things that the collective society in any nation desires more than to be free to follow positive pursuits, and not to be deliberately impeded by government or any other source.

World Press Freedom Day was commemorated on May 3, and given some of the recent well-publicised, government-imposed lockouts of local journalists, serious concerns should be raised about just how 'free' citizens in the Federation are to learn about what their leaders are doing, via the tireless investigations of the press.

On March 10 there was a lockout of the media during the Opening of Parliament ceremonies. Then, on March 30, journalists were prevented from being on the tarmac when a British Airways plane touched down after a newsworthy flight, instead being told that pictures would be distributed to them at some later time.

To cap it off, on April 29 the Hon. Sam Condor, during his first press conference as Minister of National Security, caused a huge stir when he went on a literal tirade against the members of the press, railing repeatedly against media 'second-guessing.'

Ironically, the ability to second-guess is the primary reason that a press core in any country exists in the first place. If not for the independent examination of facts concerning a nation's governance, one might as well have a government-controlled dissemination of news that interprets all events in a light that reflects most positively on its activities.

Unfortunately, such a sad state of affairs exists in many places around the world. In a way, the ability of the Federation's press to have a verbal 'tussle' with a member of government is a good thing because it shows that journalists are doing their job - investigating and reporting - causing discomfort to cabinet ministers, but not being thrown in jail or shot at.

The United Nations General Assembly established World Press Freedom Day to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press and to remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right to freedom of expression enshrined under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Let us fervently hope that the recent negative trend in St. Kitts and Nevis regarding press freedom and access are reversed, and that the government will hold true to the guiding principles of the global Day.