The Disgrace of a Major Act of Censorship

Roozonline - The long lines of people in Tehran and some other cities, waiting to donate blood to the victims of Saturday’s twin earthquakes that struck northern Iran, the organized collection of donations for the victims of the jolts and generally the public’s response to the national day of mourning all show that the joint efforts of the government and right-wing Kayhan newspaper to prevent the formation of “social networks” to assist in the efforts to help the victims of the earthquake in Azerbaijan province have failed. Kayhan newspaper, the mouthpiece of vali faghih (rule of clerics), unintentionally revealed the depth of the crisis that had been suppressed and censored on television and some media. Two days after the earthquake, it wrote the following in its special column: “The event (i.e., Saturday’s earthquakes) has provided the disheveled opposition groups a good excuse to reorganize and re-energize themselves,” implying that opposition groups are opportunistically using the calamity to gather supporters.

The director of the crisis center at the ministry of interior took two days to suddenly announce, “The conclusion of the assistance and rescue phase of the assistance operations” while the rescue operations were in fact still in progress, a signal to prevent the assistance-provision efforts of citizens.

But fortunately the administration and Kayhan have remained isolated and the maturity of some of the key news agencies in the country (such as ISNA, ILNA and Mehr), which have distanced themselves from the unannounced policies of the government regarding assistance and efforts for the victims of the earthquake, indicates that censorship cannot be always imposed on the public which is intelligent and smart. Take a look at the two following examples.

ISNA student news agency has published the public’s criticism and, quoting Asre Iran website, writes the following:

“The people of Azerbaijan need help while the news networks are publishing documentaries on Somalia and another network unfortunately are rejoicing at some events, and yet another one is even broadcasting amusement programs. You do not need or are expected to be scientific to know of the needs and tastes of your readers. Hopefully those responsible for these media outlets can open their eyes and look at the long lines of people who are willing to donate blood to the earthquake victims (something that has happened spontaneously and without a call by the state-run national radio and television network). Do the lines not show what the needs of the people are? Don’t these media read the comments and feedback of their readers? If you can’t hear these voices, then at least listen to what the Majlis is saying.”

Another example is what ILNA labor news agency has written. It calls the number of victims “incredible,” implying that the government is not truthful in the figures it has presented on the number of deaths and victims of the tremor:
“Haris, Ahar and Varzeghan country districts each respectfully comprise of 96, 325 and 110 villages almost all of which have been completely leveled because of Saturday’s earthquakes consequently destroying more than 500 districts between 80 to 100 percent. The number of deaths from the jolt is more than what officials have announced in the media.”

In its report ILNA also adds that, “When the number of deaths caused by the earthquake exceeds 251 people in Haris alone, the official published figure of 100 deaths is questionable.”

The government of Iran and Kayhan newspaper are both wrong. Saturday’s earthquakes are not good excuses for the opposition to reorganize or re-energize social networks. The natural events are just one event for people to break the walls of censorship and find each other. These are events that bring people together. The problem is with those associated with Kayhan newspaper who, like a bitten snake, are fearful of ordinary people, let alone those affiliated with the Green Movement.

By Mohammad Javad Akbarein