VOA’s 70th Anniversary Draws VIP Crowd

With hundreds of employees and alumni in the audience, the Voice of America marked its 70th anniversary on Wednesday receiving video greetings from some very important personages.

President Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Myannmar’s Nobel Peace-Prize winning opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the Dalai Lama all weighed in on the importance of the U.S.-based international broadcasts in defeating overseas censorship and promoting political freedom.

Obama and Clinton each offered tribute to VOA reporter Mukarram Khan Aatif, who was shot and killed by Taliban militants in January in Pakistan’s ungoverned tribal region.

Guests present in person at VOA’s Southwest Washington building included 95-year old Walter Roberts, the last surviving member of the small team that organized the first U.S. broadcasts to Nazi Germany during World War II.