President Rouhani stresses Iranian citizens' right to freely access internet

President Hassan Rouhani underlined the Iranian people's right of free access to the internet, unless this would lead to a violation of the codes of ethics and values. "When it comes to social issues, codes of ethics and values are important to us, and we don’t see any other (rules of) expediency," Rouhani said, addressing Information Technology and Communications Festival in Tehran on Saturday. "We recognize the right of connection with the world wide web (internet) as a right of every citizen," he added. He, meantime, said that this doesn’t mean negligence of national security and secrets of the country, since even the developed countries are sensitive to their national security issues. The Iranian President has on many occasions underscored the necessity for respecting the people's social rights. In relevant remarks in April, he underlined that the Islamic Republic pays much respect to women's social rights and tries to provide the ground for their equal chance with men both for study and work. "Women should enjoy equal opportunities, immunity and social rights; we have a long way to go on this path before we reach the destination," President Rouhani said, addressing a ceremony to commemorate the National Women's (Mothers') Day in Tehran. He referred to the government's measures to pave the ground for women's scientific progress, their employment and opportunity for studying at higher levels, and said the Iranian women are now present on various cultural and economic scenes. Rouhani also described expansion of electronic marketing as a good ground for creating better working conditions for women.