Undersecretary of the ministry of culture and information for internal information Abdulrahman al-Hazza said three matter govern the process of publication and media work in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He elaborated that these matters include: the religion, the state and the society, adding that the ministry of culture ad information will never remain indifferent as regards any violation in these matters. Addressing a press conference here today, along with Ahmad al-Hamdan, the chairman of the Arab publishers society, Al-Hazza said there are more than 1300 publishing houses in the Kingdom with more than 4000 libraries. This stands as a witness for the existence of the cultural movement in the Kingdom, he said. The Arab publishers house will organize on Tuesday and Wednesday the first conference for the Arab publishers in cooperation with the Saudi publishers society and the ministry of culture and information under the motto of 'The future of publishing industry in the Arab world'. Al-Hazza pointed out that no country in the world is free from restrictions on publication and there is no place in the world where freedom of thought is 100 percent, adding that 'each county has its own regulations and traditions'. Al-Hazza said the issue of rights of the author has become an international concern in the light of the spread of electronic publication. The world trade organization has been giving a great attention to this issue, he said adding that there is an integrated administration at the ministry of culture and information for the rights of the author. As regards translation, al-Hazza said 'we are facing shortage in this respect. He noted that there are certain administrations and authorities, notably the prize of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques for translation, which are concerned with the issue of translation. --more
