“Press TV speaks for itself” – so right!

I work at Press TV because it broadcasts the truth about what is happening in the world.

Says Roshan Muhammed Salih, Press TV’s head of news in London. A regular writer for the Iranian propaganda channel, he wrote in today’s Guardian’s Comment is Free defending what many of us would not even begin to comprehend defending: why he actually enjoys working for his Islamist – totalitarian – human rights abusing – homosexual executing – employer. Really.

He says:

The channel is willing to give a platform to legitimate actors whom the western media will not touch, such as Hamas and Hezbollah, while at the same time reporting what the authorities are saying.

So terrorist organisations that condone and encourage suicide bombings, the killing of innocent civilians (Jewish children are legitimate targets according to Hamas), propagate anti-Semitic filth, kill and maim political opponents, and are constructed and run by Islamist fascists are legitimate?

He does not stop there:

It is simply not fair to characterise Press TV as a mouthpiece for the Iranian government. It is true that we are state-funded (like the BBC World Service) but that does not mean we slavishly follow the Tehran line.

Salih’s right – he does not forcibly have to follow Tehran’s line. Otherwise why would he work there, right? Instead, he willingly and lovingly follows the Tehran line:

I believe it [the Islamic Republic of Iran] is a fundamentally decent government run by a fundamentally decent man [Ahmadinejad is a homophobe, holocaust ‘fact correcting’, Israel wiping - genocidist wanabe]. The Iranian government supports Islam [Islamism] and resistance movements [Hezbollah and Hamas] in the Islamic world and opposes western interference in the region [he would rather Saddam remain his neighbor?]. It also doesn’t go around invading sovereign nations, killing their people and occupying their countries [they get their puppet terrorist groups to do the dirty work]…

Moreover, many feel that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a corruption-free man of the people who speaks truth to power [he supposedly had more than 100% of votes in some provinces - he is accused of rigging the recent elections]. They like the fact that he looks un-presidential and that he spends most of his time with the poor and powerless…

I do not agree, however, with everything the Iranian government does. For example, I support the right to peaceful protest and the right of journalists to report freely.

So why does Salih not criticise in this article the Ahmadinejad government and the regime when they imprison journalists and aid workers, and kill protesters?

But wait! The Iranian government has reasons for doing what it does:

What everyone must understand is that Iran is a country under threat and countries under threat restrict freedoms. Western-sponsored wars, economic sanctions and destabilisation programmes have taken their toll. Iran’s institutions have not been allowed to develop in the same way that Britain’s have, so it is unfair to judge it by the same yardstick when we talk about freedom. That said, Iran remains a stable, peaceful country in a region of chaos and turmoil. Its people have more liberties than perhaps any other country in the Middle East and it has a government that rules with the consent of the majority. It is heading in the right direction.

Iran may be more democratic than other Middle Eastern countries in terms of elections. But can someone who completely opposes the Islamic Republic of Iran and what that means, stand for election? Of course not! We will judge and compare the Iranian regime by the same yardstick when we talk about freedom because we live in the 21st century, where every country and its rulers are subject to international human rights standards. And no – Iran does not have more liberties than any other Middle Eastern country – governments in that region have varying degrees of providing certain liberties for its citizens whilst denying others.

Salih also adds:

We are also regulated by Ofcom, which means we must stick to strict broadcasting regulations regarding balance, due impartiality and objectivity.

Does Salih honestly think Press TV is any where near the standards of other broadcasters like the BBC? Press TV is light years away. Impartial, objective and true? Have a look at Press TV’s website and its coverage of Iran’s post election unrest. Press TV conveniently chose to ‘objectively’ portray the post-election protests and violent deaths as a conspiracy by Western powers in interfering in the internal affairs of Iran – the Tehran line.

Salih ends with:

And Press TV is a young channel with a minuscule budget… So if the anti-Iran brigade really want the country and its institutions (such as Press TV) to reform, they should call for an end to economic sanctions, military threats and destabilisation programs. Above all, they need to engage with us.

Press TV is not a mouthpiece for the Iranian government. Oh wait it is – it is one of the country’s ‘institutions’, of which all are controlled by this nasty so-called ‘Islamic’ regime.

The only ‘engaging’ we will do with Press TV is to prove what a joke it is. At least Salih is honest enough to admit where his sympathies and admiration truly lies. I guess Salih’s position is not so surprising after all.