Most Western Journalists Unaware of Realities in Iran
Geneive Abdo, a regular writer for the London-based daily Guardian and International Herald Tribune, said that, for instance, the host of the BBC's HARDtalk program, Tim Sebastian, in his recent interview with some Iranians clearly showed that he lacked the necessary knowledge about the political system in Iran.
She made the above remark during a recent visit to the offices of the TEHRAN TIMES, where she met and exchanged views with the daily's Managing Editor Abbas Salimi Namin.
"It was clear from the way Sebastian talked that he was not familiar with the function of the Guardian Council or the Expediency Council," she added.
Among topics discussed by the two sides were some domestic and international issues as well as the distortion of facts in the Western media's coverage of events in Iran.
In November, the host of HARDtalk, Tim Sebastian, interviewed several Iranians, including former lawmaker Mohammad-Javad Larijani and Vice President Ma'soumeh Ebtekar.
"Mr. Larijani did a good job, but Sebastian made several mistakes and displayed an improper behavior," Abdo said, whose view was shared by Salimi.
Giving an example of Sebastian's improper behavior, Salimi said, "At one point he asked Larijani, in an insulting manner, Who are you?' Larijani corrected him by saying, Excuse me! Who are you?'"
Abdo is the author of a book on Islam that was published by Oxford University Press on December 25.
"I came to Iran several times in the past to study Islam," Abdo said and pointed out that she also lived in Egypt for some time for the same purpose.
Comparing Iran with Egypt, she said, "Although Islam is not the official religion in Egypt, contrary to Iran, the ruling system is secular in that country."
She also said that the Iranian society is much more religious, "But it is also a fact that Iranian youngsters want more flexibility."
Regarding Iran's diplomatic norms, Salimi said that there are certain restrictions observed by Iranian diplomats posted abroad. "For instance, they cannot shake hands with ladies, but this is part of our religion," he explained.
"Of course, under the former regime there was a secular system in this country, like the one in Turkey or Egypt," Salimi told Abdo.
Criticizing blind U.S. support for the Zionist entity, Abdo said, "The U.S. has been supporting Zionist atrocities against the oppressed Palestinians for the past half century, and the present Intifada or uprising in the occupied territories is a reaction to such atrocities."
She noted that Western countries, particularly the U.S., analyze events in Iran according to their own standards.
Referring to U.S. plots against Iran, Salimi said that after the victory of the Islamic Revolution the U.S. took several subversive measures like fomenting ethnic unrest in Kurdestan, Khuzestan and Sistan-Baluchestan provinces in order to topple the newly established Islamic government.
"The Kurdish terrorist group Komeleh, which was the brainchild of the Shah's dreaded secret police SAVAK and the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), dealt a heavy blow to the country," he recalled.
Salimi further said that the numerous plots hatched by Washington against Iran were the main reason for the seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran by revolutionary students in 1979.
"The seizure of the embassy was the only way for the students to foil those plots, which were exposed through the documents found in the embassy," he explained.
As for the treatment of U.S. hostages, he said, "The students did not inflict any harm on the U.S. hostages and treated them just like guests, unlike Britons who killed two Iranian students when they seized the Iranian Embassy in London."
Contrary to Egypt, the U.S. wants to see single party rule in Iran, said Salimi, recalling that during the presidency of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Washington wanted to get rid of leftists; now, during Khatami's presidency it wants to get rid of rightists in the country.
In Egypt, the U.S. once tried to have contact with the opposition, but Mubarak voiced his anger.
Abdo once again referred to Westerners' lack of knowledge about realities in Iran, saying that when Khatami was elected president, some Westerners thought that things were going to change in Iran.
"Some U.S. officials even said that Mr. Khatami was going to stage a revolution in this country," said Abdo, wearing a smile. In reaction to Abdo's remarks, Salimi said that U.S. officials are not aware of the views of the common Iranian people. "The U.S. officials wrongly believe that the views expressed by some pro-Western journalists represent the views of the whole Iranian people," he added. Abdo said that the U.S. holds a biased attitude against Islamic politicians throughout the world. To cite an example, she said that the former Turkish prime minister Necmettin Erbakan was barred from entering the White House during a visit to the United States.
Referring to the distortion of facts in Iran by some Western media, Salimi said that these media quoted some Majlis deputies who had recently visited a Tehran prison as saying that the prisoners were tortured, while the deputies had not said so.
"It's really a tragedy that the Western media even misquote our Majlis representatives in their dispatches," Salimi lamented.
Salimi referred to a recent report by Reuters misquoting deputies to the effect that the MPs had said political prisoners were tortured.
"However, during the Shah's time the same Western media kept silent about the torture of prisoners by SAVAK agents who received their torture equipment from the United States and Israel," he added.
But Abdo insisted that there is some evidence indicating that torture is applied in some cases in Iranian prisons even today. To prove her claim, she referred to a letter sent by a prisoner named Ahmad Behtavi, who is serving a 15-year term, to the Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi and President Khatami in which he claims he was tortured in prison. She said another prisoner, Manouchehr Mohammadi, has also made similar claims.
In return, Salimi said that we couldn't rely on Behtavi who is biased and has foreign links.
However, she admitted, "I believe torture is not a policy in Iranian prisons."
Salimi said that torture is an occasional practice in U.S. prisons, according to reports dispatched by international news agencies.
"I remember that in one case it was reported that a policeman tortured a prisoner and wire copies reported it," Salimi said. "But torture in prisons in Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia is routine. There may be mistreatment of prisoners in Iranian prisons, but not torture."
Citing another instance of the distortion of facts in Iran by the Western media, Salimi recalled a meeting between senior officials, including the president, and the Leader, which was aimed at consolidating national unity.
"But the Western media failed to name the president among the officials who had met with the Leader, thus distorting the fact regarding the meeting, contrary to the statement made by deputy Ali Akbar Mohtashamipour," he said.
Abdo also agreed with Salimi who said that the Western media kept silent for some 60 days about the hunger strike of political prisoners in Turkish prisons. "But when it comes to Iran, they don't hesitate for a single minute about reporting what they hear about the condition of Iranian prisoners, whether it is true or not."
Asked by Abdo whether foreign journalists would be allowed to stay in Iran, Salimi said, "Why not? They can stay in this country and report on various events."
She said that some circles are against the presence of foreign journalists in Iran. "For instance, the Persian-language daily Qods recently demanded that I should be expelled from this country."
In response to her comment, Salimi maintained that there is nothing wrong with the presence of foreign journalists in Iran as long as they do the job of information transmission in an impartial and honest manner.