“As long as Press TV is funded by the current Iranian regime, the closure of its London operation is a necessity,” Houriya Ahmed said in an editorial titled “Press TV is mere propaganda for Iran. It must close.”
The call comes on the heels of an announcement by the British government's broadcasting regulator, Ofcom, to impose a 100,000-pound fine on Press TV, despite the regulator's earlier threats to close down the alternative news network.
Ofcom announced last month that it has decided to remove the Iranian English-language news network from the Sky platform under the pretext that Press TV made administrative errors in its application for a license in 2007.
However, the British regulator later claimed that Press TV violated Ofcom's broadcasting codes by airing a 10-second soundbite belonging to a journalist, Maziar Bahari, in 2009.
In the 10-second clip, which was part of an interview conducted with Bahari, he said, “On Monday, June 15 [2009], I sent a report about the attack against the base, a military base of Basij to Channel 4 News as well as to Newsweek magazine.”
The 100,000-pound fine by Ofcom has now been imposed on Press TV over broadcasting the 10-second soundbite.
This comes while, in numerous later interviews with Western media outlets, Bahari himself readily confirmed what he had said in the 10-second soundbite, i.e. he was the person who sent the footage.
Independent analysts say Ofcom is under mounting pressure from the British royal family to silence Press TV's critical voice. The British royal family exercises an overarching power over all branches in the political system of the country, including the government and the parliament, as well as on Ofcom.
Press TV had criticized the royal family's lavish expenditures at a time of great economic difficulty in the UK. The royal family later sent a message to Press TV, asking the network to stop criticizing them.
Recent documents released by WikiLeaks have also revealed that US and UK diplomats had explored ways to limit the operations of Press TV in Britain.
The latest call to stifle the voice of Press TV adds further credence to the notion that previous accusations against the news channel have been no more than a pretext to counter the alternative news network.
This silencing of any dissenting voice by the UK stands in glaring contrast to the country's purported claims to “freedom of speech”.
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Full text of the editorial published in The Times
01.12.2011 20:11
Press TV is mere propaganda for Iran. It must close
by Houriya Ahmed, The Times, 1 December 2011
Closing down the Iranian Embassy in London is not forceful enough. After the storming of the British Embassy in Tehran by a mob of petrol-bomb-hurling hardliners, the British Government was right to move beyond impotent expressions of "outrage" and demand that Iran's embassy staff leave the UK within 48 hours.But Britain can do more in the face of what looks like officially orchestrated violence.
There is an arm — albeit unofficial — of the Islamic republic at work here that could be punished to show British disapproval: Press TV's London operation should be shut down.
Launched in 2007 as an "alternative" to Western media, Press TV is an English-language satellite television channel with a licence to operate in London. It is funded by, and acts as a mouthpiece for, the Iranian regime. Muslim and non-Muslim female presenters are required to wear the Islamic headscarf in front of the camera while broadcasting from London.
The truth is distorted and its reports manipulated to fit the Tehran regime's agenda. One former correspondent, Jody Sabral, recently resigned in protest over the way Press TV covered the uprisings in the Arab world. She castigated the channel for ignoring much of the protest taking place in Syria, an Iranian ally, while providing "urgent" coverage of the Shia protests in Bahrain — hardly an accident, given Iran's interest in fomenting unrest there to increase its power base.
The Iranian Green Revolution and the murder of Neda Agha Soltan by pro-regime thugs have been presented as Western conspiracies by Press TV. The channel even broadcast a coerced confession by Maziar Bahari, a Newsweek journalist while he was imprisoned on espionage charges. Ofcom is considering revoking Press TV's licence after its investigation found that the channel should have declined to air the interview as it was clearly obtained under duress. In response to Ofcom's findings, Press TV has claimed that it is a victim of "censorship" by "certain members of the Royal Family and Government".
Although Press TV is an instrument of propaganda, the Foreign Office has been apprehensive about closing it down for fear that it would be challenged under free speech laws.
The siege of the embassy and the expulsion of the British Ambassador demonstrate that Iran intends to heat up its public diplomacy war. Free speech laws should not extend to hosting the propaganda service of a belligerent government. As long as Press TV is funded by the current Iranian regime, the closure of its London operation is a necessity.
* Houriya Ahmed is a research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society Free speech should not extend to hosting a belligerent government
addition
Another addition
02.12.2011 00:02
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Ashe
If it bothers them so much
03.12.2011 22:30
This would of course be somewhat hypocritical given that the British media is also biased in favour of the country's government, at least to the extent that the BBC et al will broadcast or print government statements without analysing their truthfulness or commonsense. But they can't have it both ways. Or should I say, if they want to have it both ways, perhaps they should consider that it's only authoritarian regimes that allow freedom of speech only to the media outlets they approve of . Like Iran.
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