DOCSLIB.ORG

Written Evidence Submitted by Link For

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Written Evidence Submitted by Link For Written evidence submitted by Link for Freedom Foundation (UKI0017) We are a diverse group of ordinary citizens, brought together by our support for Iranian citizens who seek democratic and non-sectarian freedom in their homeland. We formed the Link for Freedom Foundation (LFF) to safeguard our own democratic values and perform what we see as our civic duty: to mobilise and co-ordinate other ordinary citizens to help us challenge our government, international agencies such as the UN, and the media about their policy decisions. LFF Answer to Question 1 - Relations between the UK and Iran, and vice versa: history, evolution, and aims In February 1979, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini hijacked the popular revolution which saw off the Shah. Driven by a number of factors, not least the enduring need to secure energy supply, Western powers including the US and Britain supported him. They didn’t want to see oil nationalised as it had been by Mosaddegh in 1952. Khomeini offered the people a referendum to establish Iran as an Islamic Republic, and this was almost unanimously voted for. However, the people’s vision of a republic, in which the majlis (parliament) would play a prominent role, swiftly led to disillusion and worse when Khomeini betrayed the democratic parliamentary process by overlaying it with his concept of velayat e-faqih (absolute rule of the clergy), honed in his 13 years of exile in Iraq. Hard- wired into a new constitution was the principle of Sharia Law, an Islamic justice system which gave absolute authority to the religious leaders, with Khomeini and, since his death in 1989, Khamenei as Supreme Leader. Sharia also constitutionalised misogyny, defining the status of women as less than that of men in every respect. Rights for women in marriage were cancelled, Islamic dress codes introduced and reinforced with impromptu, often violent 'justice'. Western cultural influence was banned and music and performance stopped. The documented suppression of religious and other minorities has continued, with new inhuman innovations further oppressing Iranian women. Who can forget the acid attacks by the regime's Basij thugs on motorcycles? All of this has continued, with a number of the original regime members remaining in high office today. The parliament was reduced to an ineffectual sham where, to ensure the purity of the Islamic system and using a false bifurcation to limit candidate choices whilst claiming to support democracy, the Guardian Council allowed to stand for election only those candidates who passed a rigid filtering process. Enforcement of the principles of this theocratic dictatorship was handed to thugs and bullies, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, the Basij (militia) and the like. Although clearly not what the people of Iran had envisaged or wanted, the general need for oil to power modern economies has had unpleasant effects in Iran, as it has in all the oil-rich countries, with most world governments turning a blind eye to wholesale repression and abuse of human rights in order to maintain the regime as a lucrative trading partner. The absolutist structure and consequent baleful simplicity of the parliamentary system become impossible to influence or change, and have set the tone of the theocratic regime ever since. Long prison terms await any would-be reformist. The specious claims of Iran’s supporters that hardliners be opposed and supposed ‘reformists’ be supported are a long- running tactic laid bare when all are seen to be siphoning off the Iran National Development Fund wealth. As by definition dictators normally don’t willingly give up power, the structure stays in place until others remove the regime, replacing it with something hopefully better. It’s time for the UK Government’s policy of appeasement and collusion with the regime to change. The 2020 election process reached new lows, evidencing the inherent weakness of a system that can brook no opposition; over 90 sitting parliamentarians were barred from seeking re-election. There can be no real reformists in this system. It is a brutal theocratic dictatorship and it’s time for the people in Iran to be empowered to change it. From day one, from Khomeini to Khamenei, this regime has murdered, imprisoned, tortured, assassinated, kidnapped, and stolen from marginalised or otherwise oppressed Iranian citizens, including women and children. It has on multiple occasions broken every single one of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)’s 30 articles; many of these breaches are documented and witnessed. Whilst external intolerance of the regime’s unacceptable practices has increased, the regime’s inner circle at home has sought to protect itself through a strategy of creating war abroad, fomenting unrest throughout the Middle East. It has assisted Syria’s President Assad to kill hundreds of thousands of Syrian civilians, including countless women and children, kidnapped Western foreigners and dual nationals in a very successful formal 40- year-long economic warfare programme, fomented unrest in Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, Nigeria and elsewhere, and murdered dissidents in other countries. It has imprisoned, tortured and murdered thousands of prisoners of conscience. We highlight the imprisonment of 56 water conservationists, and 50 or so dual nationals taken from Canada, USA, France, Britain and elsewhere over the years. One may recall the 1988 massacre of 30,000 prisoners (see Justice for the Victims of 1988 Massacre in Iran (JVMI) iran1988.org). In 1989 Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa ordering Muslims to kill Salman Rushdie (see UDHR Articles 5, 19, 28, 30). The fatwa still stands 31 years later, with money continuing to flow in to find and pay an assassin. The Iranian people want none of this. In spite of brutal oppression, with 1,500 dead after the November 2019 petrol price hike protests and thousands of citizens newly incarcerated, the pace of uprisings continues to rise, despite the on-going coronavirus crisis. At an unnamed parties’ meeting at Chatham House in August 2016 regarding Iran’s Politics and Foreign Policy, one speaker said: ‘Building on these frustrations and suspicions, another speaker stated that ‘Saudi Arabia excels in the region when there is order while Iran excels in the region when there is chaos.’ The speaker noted that from the Gulf Cooperation Council’s perspective, it does not appear that Tehran is interested in regional peace and stability.’ Human Rights Watch has reported continuing foreign human rights abuses, stating that ‘Shamefully, many of those unlawfully detained were often working hard to connect Iran to the global community in order to benefit Iranians.’ High profile detentions include those of Ghoncheh Ghavami (sentenced for two years and now disappeared without trace), Aras Amiri, and the conservationists. There are others held. Should there be any doubt about the Iranian regime’s intentions towards seizing dual nationals, we suggest that the Select Committee Google the following keywords: Iran dual national detention Many take the side of the Iranian regime, some of them with apparent oil and gas industry connections. These include the presently-disbanded All Party Parliamentary Group on Iran, of which the Rt Hon Jeremy Corbyn was a member for several years, including whilst Leader of the Opposition. He resigned when newspapers reported on this. (Mr Corbyn himself has an uncomfortably deep connection with the Iranian regime, leading to around 15 documented incidents well beyond the Press TV appearances.) See: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmallparty/171108/iran.htm In this list, Mr Corbyn’s APPG co-member Lord Lamont is supportive of the oil industry. See: https://www.qmul.ac.uk/ccls/media/ccls/docs/events/Iran-and-the-West-Final-Thought- Leadership-Piece.pdf and deeply connected with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps through his longstanding association with the British Iranian Chamber of Commerce. See: http://www.bicc.org.uk/ab-bicc-board.html (Since the shooting down of Ukrainian Airlines flight 752 by the Iranian regime on 8 January, the APPG has apparently not reconstituted itself.) Then there is the INSTEX 3E membership, working to avoid US sanctions and expand trade with the Iranian regime, where oil and gas sales were a declared, if presently frustrated aim. Whilst acknowledging the heinous nature of the Iranian regime, newspaper coverage of COVID-19 around 29 April 2020 strongly condemned US sanctions as threatening the Iranian people. It also ignored the fact that the regime will intercept all help; the people will not see any it, as they saw none of the $50Bn freed up after the signing of the JCPoA, where infrastructure improvement was part of the deal. Several Foreign Affairs Select Committee members will recall first-hand the Iranian regime’s iron-hard response towards Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe following the consequences of Boris Johnson’s appearance in front of yourselves, when he wrongly stated: “When I look at what Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was doing, she was simply teaching people journalism as I understand it”, see BBC 6 November 2017 - ‘Fears for Nazanin Zaghari- Ratcliffe after Boris Johnson remark’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41890885 This remains the Iranian regime’s official line. We show here two examples; there are many others (note dates): ‘The 39-year-old mother-of-one was arrested after it became clear that she had run an illegal course to recruit and train people for the BBC Persian Television, a channel Iran deems is an extension of Britain’s
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Satellite Jamming in Iran: a War Over Airwaves
    SATELLITE JAMMING IN IRAN: A WAR OVER AIRWAVES A Small Media Report // November 2012 // This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License Satellite Jamming in Iran: 3 A War Over Airwaves TABLE OF CONTENTS 6 executive summary 1 how disruptive is satellite jamming 35 for broadcasters and audiences? 1 6.1 Broadcasters 36 5 introduction 6.2 Viewers 42 2 what is the importance of satellite 7 television in the islamic republic of iran 9 is satellite jamming a health risk? 47 3 8 historical overview of satellite jamming 15 international responses and 52 the role of satellite providers 4 8.1 The role of satellite providers 56 what is satellite jamming, how does it work, 19 9 how much does it cost? recommendations 63 4.1 Orbital jamming 22 4.2 Terrestrial jamming 24 10 4.3 How easy is it to jam a frequency? 26 footnotes 67 5 satellite ownership and jamming legislation in the islamic republic of iran 29 Satellite Jamming in Iran: 1 A War Over Airwaves EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Satellite jamming is a problematic and pervasive reality in Iran, a country where, for the vast majority of inhabitants, satellite television is the only access point to information and entertainment not regulated by the authorities. “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Satellite Jamming in Iran: Executive summary 3 A War Over Airwaves // There are at least 120 Persian-language satellite TV channels // Throughout this report, we emphasise the issues raised Glwiz.com, an online broadcasting into Iran from the diaspora, incomparable with by those who have been directly affected by satellite jamming aggregated ‘on demand’ the use of satellite TV in any other diasporic community in the or are directly involved in the fight for freedom of information.
    [Show full text]
  • Foreign Affairs Committee Select Committee Announcement
    Foreign Affairs Committee Select Committee Announcement Foreign Affairs Committee House of Commons London SW1A 0AA PN 9 (Session 2009-10) 5 February 2010 NEW FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE REPORT: THE WORK OF THE BBC WORLD SERVICE 2008–09 In its new Report, published today, the Foreign Affairs Committee provides an assessment of the work of the BBC World Service during 2008-09, focusing particularly on its activities, performance and administration. On the World Service’s performance, Committee Chairman Mr Mike Gapes MP said: “2008-09 was a good year for the BBC World Service in terms of its performance. We particularly welcome the unprecedented growth in online audiences, which exceeded all targets.” On BBC Persian television, Mr Gapes said: “We congratulate the BBC World Service on its success in the launch and delivery of BBC Persian television. This provides an invaluable service to the people of Iran and other Farsi speakers in the region by providing an objective news service during a period of great tension. We support the ongoing efforts of the World Service to remove the technical blockages imposed by the Iranian government.” “We welcome the BBC World Service’s temporary extension of the Persian service to 24 hours of broadcasting and regret that this could not be continued due to financial restraints. We see great value in a 24 hour service and recommend that the BBC World Service make this a top priority for 2009-10.” The Foreign Affairs Committee will publish its report on The Work of the BBC World Service 2008–09 at 11.00am on Friday 5 February.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 February 2013 Page 1 of 16
    Radio 4 Listings for 26 January – 1 February 2013 Page 1 of 16 SATURDAY 26 JANUARY 2013 SAT 07:00 Today (b01q7fjj) The Art of Seduction Morning news and current affairs with John Humphrys and SAT 00:00 Midnight News (b01pzvvz) Justin Webb, including: Colour, wit, insight, analysis from correspondents around the The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. globe: Followed by Weather. 0752 Staff at the BBC's Persian television channel in London and Kevin Connolly in Jerusalem says keep that election bunting journalists' family members in Tehran say the government in close at hand - Israelis may have to vote again before long. Will SAT 00:30 Book of the Week (b01q0lcc) Iran has stepped up a campaign to intimidate them. Peter Self goes to the Romanian capital, Bucharest: millions live there The Pike: Gabriele D'Annunzio, Poet, Seducer and Preacher of Horrocks, director of BBC Global News, explains the situation. but he's of the opinion that it would be hard to find a less War homely place. The Chinese authorities say they're tackling the 0809 Great Smog of Beijing, but Martin Patience doesn't expect Episode 5 An armed man broke into a betting shop in Plymouth last night, great change any time soon. A tale of violence, bribery and the customers overpowered him and took his gun away, he later corruption from Brazil's Amazon frontier is told by Sue Haydn Gwynne reads from Lucy Hughes-Hallett's biography of died. Chief Inspector Ian Drummond Smith from Devon and Branford. And in Paris, John Laurenson examines the shocking this remarkable Italian poet and political agitator whose words Cornwall Police describes the incident.
    [Show full text]
  • State, Dissidents, and Contention: Iran, 1979-2010
    STATE, DISSIDENTS, AND CONTENTION: IRAN, 1979-2010 HAMID REZAI SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCE COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2012 ©2012 Hamid Rezai All rights reserved ABSTRACT State, Dissidents, and Contention: Iran, 1979-2010 Hamid Rezai Why after almost a decade of silence and “successful” crackdowns of contention during the 1980s has Iran witnessed once again waves of increasing popular protest? What are the processes and mechanisms behind the routinization of collective actions in Iran since the early 1990s, which continue despite state repression? Why and under what circumstances does a strong authoritarian state that has previously marginalized its contenders tolerate some forms of contention despite the state’s continued repressive capacity? And finally, to what extent are available social movement theories capable of explaining the Iranian case? In “State, Dissidents, and Contention: Iran, 1979-2010” I engage theories of social movements and contentious politics in order to examine the emergence, development, and likely outcomes of popular contention in contemporary Iran. My study is the first project of its kind to focus on elite factionalism and its impact on popular mobilization in contemporary Iran. Although other scholars have extensively written on elite factionalism in postrevolutionary Iran, they have not analyzed the implications of the inter-elite conflict for the emergence and development of social protests against the Islamic Republic. While this study primarily utilizes political process and resource mobilization models, it acknowledges the importance of economic, ideological, and breakdown approaches for the interpretation of the emergence and development of popular mobilization in contemporary Iran.
    [Show full text]
  • Part Two: Annual Report and Accounts 2008/09
    SHARING IDEAS/ CREATING VALUE/ Part Two: Annual Report and Accounts 2008/09 The BBC Executive’s review and assessment BBC EXECUTIVE’S REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT 2008/09/ 001 002 / / OVERVIEW BBC PURPOSES / FINANciaL perForMANce / THE YeaR EW AT A GLANCE / DIRECTOR-GENERAL ForeWorD / RVI DELiveriNG creative FutureS / PARTNERSHIPS / E OV 020 / PERFORMANce OBJectiveS / teLeviSioN / RADIO / FUTURE MEDIA & TecHNOLogY / JourNALISM / coMMerciaL / 084 / GOVERNANCE Executive boaRD / SUMMarY GoverNANce report / 094 / ResPONSIBILITY OperatioNS / 104 / FINANCIAL stAteMENts OvervieW / RISK ouTLOOK / HigHLigHTS / auDitoRS’ STATEMENT / SUMMarY FINANciaL StatEMENT / IFRS / coNtact US / otHer INForMatiON / OVERVIE W/ 003 / EW RVI E OV 004 / BBC PURPOSES/ 005 / FINANCIAL PERFORMANce/ 006 / THE YEAR AT A GLANCE/ 008 / DIRECTOR-GENERAL FORewoRD/ 012 / DELIVERING CREATIVE FUTURes/ 014 / PARTNERSHIPS/ OVERVIE W/ OvervieW/ purpoSES AND FINANciaL perForMANce/ BBC purpoSES/ THE BBC’S Six pubLic purpoSES – buiLT ON our priNcipLES to ‘INForM, EDucate AND ENtertaiN’ – UNDerpiN ALL THat WE DO, AND HELP US to FocuS ON OFFeriNG everYONE IN THE UK MEMorabLE AND DIStiNctive coNteNT AND ServiceS THat ENricH THeir LiveS. SoME HigHLigHTS FroM THIS Year INCLUDED: 004 CITIZENSHIP COMMUNITY The BBC has a worldwide reputation for its The UK is an incredibly diverse place, and we aim reportage and analysis of the world we live in. Our to reflect this diversity at national, regional and / UK-wide, international, national and local channels local levels. We offer services in English, Scottish EW and services cover a wide range of stories tailored Gaelic and Welsh, and programmes in over 30 RVI for a diverse range of users. This year we led the languages from Bengali to Urdu.
    [Show full text]
  • Territory Jam: Tehran
    Territory Jam: Tehran Observers of Iranian politics can be forgiven for ignoring this recent headline: Police clamp down on satellite TV users.1 The crackdowns on rogue television viewers have been reported periodically for the better part of two decades, though they’re usually overshadowed by news of international eco- nomic sanctions, rigged parliamentary elections and the specter of war with Israel. Nevertheless, the satellite dish, or mahvareh, has been a fixture on Tehran’s roofscape since the early Rudabeh Pakravan 1990s, serving up American reality shows, Latin American telenovelas, University of California, Berkeley domestic and international news, and dozens of other illegal alternatives to the ideological and religious conformity of the six state-controlled channels. The Iranian Parliament banned satellite dishes in 1995, as part of an effort to limit the influence of “Western culture,” but enforcement has proved dif- ficult. Despite door-to-door sweeps by security forces and electronic signal jamming, satellite use in the capital is at an all-time high. (Although reliable statistics are hard to come by, a reported 40 to 65 percent of the capital’s population has access to satellite television.2) Tehranis flout the ban, pay the fines, secretly reinstall receivers, engage in all manner of camouflage and subterfuge—anything to keep the TV on. Until a few years ago, apart- ment dwellers would hide satellite receivers behind air conditioning units or laundry drying on the line. These days, the typical Tehran roof is so crowded that residents simply place dishes in the open and resign themselves to peri- odically replacing those destroyed by police.3 Revolutionary guards who are denied entry to an apartment have been known to scale a building’s walls with grappling hooks to dismantle receivers.
    [Show full text]
  • Responses from the Government and BBC World Service to the Committee's Third Report of Session 2009–10
    House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee The Work of the BBC World Service 2008–09: Responses from the Government and BBC World Service to the Committee's Third Report of Session 2009–10 Second Special Report of Session 2009–10 Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 6 April 2010 HC 464 Published on 9 April 2010 by authority of the House of Commons London: The Stationery Office Limited £0.00 The Foreign Affairs Committee The Foreign Affairs Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration, and policy of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and its associated agencies. Current membership Mike Gapes (Labour, Ilford South), Chair Rt Hon Sir Menzies Campbell (Liberal Democrat, North East Fife) Mr Fabian Hamilton (Labour, Leeds North East) Rt Hon David Heathcoat-Amory (Conservative, Wells) Mr John Horam (Conservative, Orpington) Mr Eric Illsley (Labour, Barnsley Central) Mr Paul Keetch (Liberal Democrat, Hereford) Andrew Mackinlay (Labour, Thurrock) Mr Malcolm Moss (Conservative, North East Cambridgeshire) Sandra Osborne (Labour, Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock) Mr Greg Pope (Labour, Hyndburn) Mr Ken Purchase (Labour, Wolverhampton North East) Rt Hon Sir John Stanley (Conservative, Tonbridge and Malling) Ms Gisela Stuart (Labour, Birmingham Edgbaston) Powers The Committee is one of the departmental select committees, the powers of which are set out in House of Commons Standing Orders, principally in SO No 152. These are available on the Internet via www.parliament.uk. Publication The Reports and evidence of the Committee are published by The Stationery Office by Order of the House. All publications of the Committee (including press notices) are on the Internet at www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/foreign_affairs_committee.cfm.
    [Show full text]
  • Annual Review 2007/08
    Annual Review 2007/08 Review Annual Annual Review 2007/08 Osman Mohamed (left) and Fida Bassil present Newshour live from the BBC Arabic television studio in London. A YEAR IN BRIEF ANNUAL REVIEW 2007/08 A year in brief CONTENTS 01 A YEAR IN BRIEF BBC World Service’s weekly global audience estimate is 182 million. 02 OUR AIMS 04 DIRECTOR’S OVERVIEW BBC World Service is now available in 154 capital cities on FM, as A YEAR IN REVIEW: well as via satellite, cable, podcasts, mobiles and online – in addition 08 BBC ARABIC ENTERS THE FUTURE to short and medium wave. There were significant audience increases 10 PAKISTAN – REPORTING ON A NATION IN TURMOIL of 1.1 million in Nigeria and 0.9 million in India (where radio audiences 12 MAJOR PROGRAMME SEASONS are now over 20 million a week); a new audience of 1.2 million was 16 75TH ANNIVERSARY 18 FUTURE MEDIA & TECHNOLOGY recorded in Sierra Leone; and although the year also saw a decrease 20 GLOBAL NEWS – THE BIGGER PICTURE in Bangladesh, following a sharp increase in 2006/07, audiences there 22 BBC WORLD SERVICE TRUST remain well above 2005 levels. English language audiences overall 24 BBC WORLD SERVICE MANAGEMENT BOARD 26 MEASURING OUR PERFORMANCE were up by 2 million. BBC Arabic’s television channel launched. 30 FINANCIAL REVIEW It is the first Grant-in-Aid funded television channel for BBC World 31 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 34 STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTING POLICIES Service. The BBC World Service’s online sites attracted a record 36 NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 259.6 million page impressions in March 2008, compared to 48 REPORTS ON COMPLIANCE 189.8 million in March 2007 – an increase of 37%.
    [Show full text]
  • Isolate Or Engage
    ISOLATE OR ENGAGE ISOLATE OR ENGAGE Adversarial States, US Foreign Policy, and Public Diplomacy Edited by Geoffrey Wiseman Stanford University Press Stanford, California Stanford University Press Stanford, California © 2015 by the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system without the prior written permission of Stanford University Press. Printed in the United States of America on acid-free, archival-quality paper Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Isolate or engage : adversarial states, US foreign policy, and public diplomacy / edited by Geoffrey Wiseman. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8047-9388-9 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN 978-0-8047-9552-4 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. United States—Foreign relations—1945–1989—Case studies. 2. United States— Foreign relations—1989—Case studies. I. Wiseman, Geoffrey, editor. E744.I693 2015 327.73009’04—dc23 2014044179 ISBN 978-0-8047-9555-5 (electronic) For Donna, Brady, and Dylan Contents Acknowledgments ix Contributor Biographies xi Introduction 1 Geoffrey Wiseman 1 Soviet Union/Russia: US Diplomacy with the Russian “Adversary” 24 Robert D. English 2 China: American Public Diplomacy and US-China Relations, 1949–2012 59 Robert S. Ross 3 North Korea: Engaging a Hermit Adversarial State 85 Scott Snyder 4 Vietnam: American and Vietnamese Public Diplomacy, 1945–2010 110 Mark Philip Bradley and Viet Thanh Nguyen 5 Libya: The United States and the Libyan Jamahiriyya: From Isolation to Regional Ally, 1969–2011 140 Dirk J.
    [Show full text]
  • 882817.En Pe 477.133
    Question for written answer E-010440/2011 to the Commission Rule 117 Marietje Schaake (ALDE) Subject: VP/HR - Iran: censorship of BBC Farsi and building of 'halal-internet' Since 12 June 2009, deliberate interference (jamming) by the Iranian government in relation to TV satellites has affected the reception of (inter alia) BBC Persian Television and the Voice of America1. Consequently, Iranian viewers have been deprived of another source of impartial and independent news and information. On 17 April 2011, Ali Aghamohammadi, Iran’s head of economic affairs, announced the design and building of an Iranian ‘halal internet’ which would ‘conform to Islamic principles’2. This parallel internet would cut off Iranians from the internet proper, and would establish 100% control by the Iranian government of all content and internet use, so that Iranians would effectively lose all contact with the outside world. Given the ongoing violations of human rights by the Iranian regime, the EU should seek ways to maintain access for Iranians to the global internet and to impartial and independent information. Is the VP/HR aware of the jamming by the Iranian government? If so, can the VP/HR confirm whether the issue has been discussed with the Iranian authorities? If not, why not? Is the VP/HR familiar with the charges3 of censorship that have been made against the French company Eutelsat, the owner and operator of satellites relaying news networks, by the Iranian Nobel Prize laureate Dr Shirin Ebadi? Given that the French government has a 30% share in Eutelsat, is the VP/HR willing to consult the French Minister of Foreign Affairs to discuss these charges and/or to call for an investigation? If not, why not? Does the VP/HR agree that EU (based) companies should not be(come) complicit in human rights violations, e.g.
    [Show full text]
  • December 2010 Dear Friends, the Following Is a Copy of Our Appeal
    December 2010 Dear Friends, The following is a copy of our appeal letter for 2011. It includes news and updates about some of the recent activities at the Albert Einstein Institution. We hope to release a full newsletter, with many more details about these activities and others, in the spring of 2011. For now, we encourage you to take a couple of minutes to read this brief account of what we have been doing this year and what we have planned for next year. We are posting this appeal for informational purposes. However, if you feel moved to make a contribution, we would gratefully accept any amount, small or large. The best way to send a contribution is to mail a personal check to PO Box 455 East Boston, MA 02128. If you are more comfortable donating online or using a credit card, you can find us on the Network For Good website. All donations are tax deductible and we will send you a receipt as promptly as possible. Thank you for your continued interest in and support of our work. Sincerely, The Staff at The Albert Einstein Institution December 2010 Dear Friends, Referring to From Dictatorship to Democracy, by Gene Sharp, an Iranian activist told us in 2002: “this book appears to be written for us.” We found the statement to be surprising because, of course, it was not actually written for an Iranian audience, or any group in particular. In fact, this short booklet was originally prepared in 1993 at the request of an exiled Burmese democrat who asked Gene Sharp to write a piece specifically for the Burmese situation.
    [Show full text]
  • BBC Annual Report and Accounts 2012/13
    BBC Annual Report and Accounts 2012/13 The multiplatform games – BBC 2012 Olympics coverage on TV, radio, PC, mobile, tablet and connected TV BBC Annual Report and Accounts 2012/13 PRESENTED TO PARLIAMENT BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT BY COMMAND OF HER MAJESTY JULY 2013 Extended versions of the financial statements provided in Part Two of this report were also laid before Parliament on 16 July 2013 and are available online at bbc.co.uk/annualreport © BBC Copyright 2013 The text of this document (this excludes, where present, the Royal Arms and all departmental or agency logos) may be reproduced free of charge in any format or medium provided that it is reproduced accurately and not in a misleading context. The material must be acknowledged as BBC copyright and the document title specified. Photographs are used ©BBC or used under the terms of the PACT agreement except where otherwise identified. Permission from copyright holders must be sought before any photographs are reproduced. You can download this publication from bbc.co.uk/annualreport Designed by Further™ furthercreative.co.uk Prepared pursuant to the BBC Royal Charter 2006 (Art. 45) CONTENTS OVERVIEW OVERVIEW 02 THE BBC AT A GLANCE 02 OUR ROLE AND PURPOSE The BBC exists to serve the public, 03 TRUST IN THE BBC and its mission is to inform, educate 04 UNDERSTANDING OUR FINANCES and entertain. 117 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 117 GLOSSARY 118 INDEX IBC CONTACTS Cross referencing More Use the cross-reference boxes to find related PAGE PAGE information elsewhere in the report. 00 00 PART ONE 08 CHAIRMAN’S FOREWORD PART ONE 09 SETTING STRATEGY AND THE BBC TRUST’S REVIEW ASSESSING PERFORMANCE AND ASSESSMENT 10 SETTING STRATEGY 12 QUALITY AND DISTINCTIVENESS 20 VALUE FOR MONEY The Trust exists to get the best out of the BBC 26 SERVING ALL AUDIENCES for licence fee payers.
    [Show full text]