Independent World Media Rush to Support Intifada
The two-day Islamic Media Forum for the support of the popular Palestinian uprising (Intifada) is sponsored by Islamic Republic of Iran's Broadcasting (IRIB) and is being held to highlight the role of the media in revealing the truth about Zionist atrocities.
In an interview with the TEHRAN TIMES, the secretary of the conference, Hojjatoleslam Ali-Akbar Mohtashamipour said that the Islamic world media have a duty to advocate the Palestinian Intifada. He said that by reporting on and broadcasting the reality in Palestine, the Islamic media could encourage Muslim nations to support Palestinians and prevent further atrocities by the Zionist regime and the U.S. When the international community sees that public opinion opposes the Zionist regime's crimes, it will be forced to take appropriate action according to the United Nations charter and create international peace.
Mohtashamipour also said that the Zionist regime takes any kind of measure in order to achieve its goals in the region, while Palestinians are forced to fight in an attempt to regain their rights defend their state and property.
Using its media, the West spreads propaganda against Palestine, he said, and it does not allow the public to understand the suffering of the oppressed Palestinians. Therefore, the Islamic media must counteract this and tell people the truth about the situation, and when the people understand the realities about the Palestinians, many of the problems will be solved.
Also, the leader of the Amal Movement's Information Office of Lebanon, Talal Hatoun, told the TEHRAN TIMES that the Arab and Islamic media have a very important role to play in explaining the real picture of Israeli crimes and their massacre of Palestinians.
Hatoun said that the Western media censors the Zionist's crimes and they deceive the world by creating a false picture of what is really happening in Palestine.
He praised the Islamic Republic of Iran for hosting the event and suggested that it would provide strategies for the media to establish closer cooperation. Although the conference is a good step, a general policy is needed to let the press know how to combat the Western media without resorting to propaganda.
Meanwhile, the manager of Palestine's Al-Qods Radio, Fadel Shrourou, told the TEHRAN TIMES that Iran knows that accurate information dissemination is very important, particularly for the Intifada. He added that the conference would be useful to all newspapers, as well as radio and television networks.
Shrourou said that if the Islamic world media shares each other's methods they could better support the Palestinian Intifada. The Western media, who are supported by the U.S. and Zionist regime, claim that Muslims and Palestinians are terrorists and the Islamic world media should not use their news.
Also, Malaysian writer S. Hussein Allattas told the TEHRAN TIMES that when we see Islamic media reports, we angered by the terrorist actions of the Zionist regime. He also said that the Western media have adopted a double standard role and as such do not tell the truth about what is happening in Palestine.
Allattas urged Muslims from different cultures around the world to unite and not look at the issues from different perspectives, but instead set a standard. He said the United States wants to dominate the world and uses the media to achieve its goals, however Muslims know what is really happening in the region.
In his opening speech at the conference, President Mohammad Khatami appealed to world countries to boycott the racist Israeli regime and asking the United Nations to set up a criminal court to try Zionist war criminals.
He also called on the UN, the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) to adopt necessary measures to end 'the hard conditions of the Palestinian people' as well as the 'ongoing tragic and atrocious situation' in occupied territories.
"A resolute condemnation of the Zionist regime's inhuman acts by the international community and support for the establishment of a fund to collect aid for the Palestinian Intifada" are among those measures, Khatami said while inaugurating the Islamic world media conference for the support of the popular uprising.
According to IRNA, the Iranian president hailed Intifada for serving as "the defending language of a nation which is being subjected to the most severe pressure, suppression and terror" amid world silence.
"The Intifada of the oppressed Palestinian people is far from violence and terror; it is instead against violence and terror; that is why it must be hailed," Khatami said.
He invited world intellectuals, including mediapersons, and news dissemination agencies to pay more attention to the ongoing human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian lands, saying inattention in this regard will make the world susceptible to more terrorism."
"The existing situation of the world requires that the intelligentsia and elite thinkers make more reports on the apprehensible impacts of inattention to the rights of this nation and violation of international conventions," Khatami added.
He also asked the 'well-wishers' among American intellectuals to enlighten the U.S. state governors of the consequences of the White House's wholesale backing for the Israeli regime.
"American (actions) have brought about massive costs on the region and the world through support for the Zionist regime and inflexibility toward the realization of the minimal demands of the Palestinian people," the Iranian president said.
"Today, not only are the Palestinian people and fighters are repressed, with the government of the Palestinian Authority being under the most severe pressures, but the policy of muscle-flexing (practiced by the Israeli regime) is formally being backed in different forms," he added.
Khatami slammed the ongoing smear campaign, launched by some sections of the Western media, in trying to portray Muslims as 'violent' and 'bellicose'.
"Let me announce this in plain words that every Muslim, because of his/her religion, condemns violence, terror and violation of human rights.
"We, the Muslims, are both being victimized in the light of ongoing terror and violence in the world and, at the same time, accused of being behind the terror and violence," Khatami declared.
He also reiterated Iran's stance on the Middle East crisis, saying lasting peace in the occupied territories is only possible with the return of all Palestinians to their homes, liberation of the occupied lands, holding of a democratic referendum and creation of an independent government with Bait-ul-Moqaddas as its capital.
"The oppressed Palestine belongs to Muslims, Christians and Jews. We do not just back the Muslims. We support the entire oppressed people of Palestine," Khatami said.
Over one hundred representatives from more than 30 countries are participating at the 'Islamic Media Conference to Support the Palestinian Intifada', sponsored by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB).
Also attending the conference, Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi while underlining the innocence of the Palestinian nation thanked the sponsors of the conference for their initiation to support Intifada.
Referring to the Zionist regime's vast influence on world media, Shahroudi said the world of Islam was in dire need of a campaign against media of the world of arrogance, a term used to refer to the United States and its oppressive allies.
Also, two commissions were set to be formed in support of Intifada during the conference.
The commissions were due to have a session yesterday evening, one presided by Hamid Mowlana of the United States and the other by Mohammed Heidar of Lebanon. The commissions were expected to review propagation aspects of support for Intifada.
He said the Zionist regime has enormous influence over the global media and Islamic world was in dire need of a campaign to confront this arrogance, a term he used to refer to the United States and its oppressive allies.
Also, two commissions to support the Intifada were formed and met yesterday evening, one presided over by Hamid Mowlana from the United States and the other by Mohammed Heidar from Lebanon. The commissions were scheduled to discuss and review propagation techniques to encourage support for the Intifada.