Ahmadinejad gives festive speech
BBC
24-Dec-2008 (4 comments)

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will deliver Channel 4's alternative to the Queen's Christmas Day speech this year, it has announced. He will be shown telling British viewers "the general will of nations" is for a return to "human values". His speech, in Farsi with English subtitles, will be the channel's 16th alternative Christmas message.

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His speech

by Toofantheoncesogreat (not verified) on Thu Dec 25, 2008 03:36 PM PST


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David ET

hamash zir sar inglisast

by David ET on Wed Dec 24, 2008 02:06 PM PST

;-)


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SCE Campaign

To: Mr. Luke

by SCE Campaign on Wed Dec 24, 2008 01:16 PM PST

To: Mr. Luke Johnson

Chairman

Channel 4 News

news@channel4.com

viewerenquiries@channel4.co.uk

//www.lukejohnson.org/

Re: Alternate Christmas address by Ahmadinejad on Channel 4 News, UK //www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/dec/24/irania...

Dear Mr. Johnson and the Board of Channel 4,

As an Iranian born Canadian and human rights activist, I am highly
offended by Channel 4 News' invitation to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to give
an alternative message to the Queen's Christmas address.

Channel 4 is demonstrating a commitment to free speech which is to
be honoured; but it should be aware that it is giving a voice to the
person who robs many millions of people of theirs.

Just in the last few days officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran
shut down Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi’s human rights centre and
executed 10 people this morning. Iran has the highest number of
executions in the world after China and holds the number one spot for
child executions. One of the 140 children on death row in Iran, Behnood
Shojaee, was supposed to be executed earlier today but his name was
pulled at the last minute. These are hardly symbols of “seasonal
goodwill”.

Why is Channel 4 giving a platform to a President who was not
democratically elected and does not represent the majority of Iranians?
Next year, should we expect Kim Jung Il address a message of goodwill
and cheer on Christmas, or how about Robert Mugabe?

How can Channel 4 host a man that supports the execution of
children, gender apartheid, stoning for adultery, the persecution of
religious minorities, the death penalty for homosexuals and apostates,
dismembering of limbs for stealing, discrimination of ethnic
minorities, and the detainment and torture of students, journalists,
webloggers and human rights defenders as political prisoners?

How can Channel 4 broadcast a man that humiliates Iranian citizens
and the world community with his anti-Semitic remarks and denying the
existence of the holocaust?

If Channel 4 is more concerned about ratings than the human rights
of the Iranian people, may I suggest an “alternative” to the
“alternative Christmas address”?

Ahmadinejad is warping religious values, using Jesus’ name to
ostensibly spread peace and love, yet back home in Iran Christians are
persecuted for being Christian. I suggest Channel 4 interview people
like Azita and Ahmad Reza Shafaghat, an Iranian-Christian couple, who
were imprisoned and tortured, and then fled Iran to practice their
religion in peace. A few years ago, they lived in hiding in Iran until
they escaped via mountains in Kurdistan, Iraq and Turkey to get to
Greece. The Greek police caught them and sent them back to Turkey where
they spent over 9 months in prison. Before they obtained refugee status
from UNHCR, I remember the fear in their voice at the prospect of being
deported back to Iran. I helped this couple for a year and a half with
UK citizen Reza Pardisan to try and get them asylum. Thanks to the
gracious support of the Canadian government, they will soon settle in
this free country. When they turn on the news, how will Channel 4
respond to why a platform is being given to one of the men responsible
for having them, and hundreds of thousands of Iranians, uprooted from
their homeland to escape oppression?

This story is not unique. If it is more convenient, an interview can
be conducted with an Iranian-Christian family that is being held at
Yals Wood Detention Center in the UK and will be sent back to Iran on
December 28th unless people living in the free world, like the
directors at Chanel 4, take Iran’s violations of human rights
seriously. The family fears for their life due to the new apostasy law
in Iran that calls for the execution of converts from Islam to another
religion.

This alternative Christmas message by Ahmadinejad is in poor taste
and a slap to the face of billions of Christians and others who are
celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Under Ahmadinejad’s so-called
“presidency”, dozens of Christians have been arrested and face possible
execution, including Ramtin Soodmand, the son of a Christian pastor who
was executed in 1990 for the same reason. I get many emails and phone
calls from frightened family’s worshipping from basements in Iran
including the Sunni minority and Baha’is who are forbidden to attend
university.

By giving Ahmadinejad the honour of a Christmas address, an
alternative to the Queen, conceals the cruel reality taking place in
Iran.

Please consider cancelling Ahmadinejad’s “Christmas address”.
Otherwise, please have an Iranian human rights activist speak alongside
of him, or at the very least provide a platform to respond to his
address.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays,

Nazanin Afshin-Jam

Human Rights Activist

President and Co Founder

Stop Child Executions

www.stopchildexecutions.com


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IRANdokht

oh GEE     can't wait to

by IRANdokht on Wed Dec 24, 2008 11:38 AM PST

oh GEE     can't wait to hear that one!

IRANdokht


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