My letter To BBG, IBB, VOA and VOA PNN,

I was invited for an interview on the occasion of the anniversary of the student uprisings of July 9, 1999, with Mr. Chalangi on his program entitled "News talk". Mr. Jamshid Chalangi and Mr. Ali Bijan Farhoodi, the producer of this program, had both confirmed the time at 12:00 pm on Saturday, July 10, 2010.

Today, I received news from your organization that a "special meeting" was held to discuss my presence on this program. Apparently the producer of this program faced a stern opposition to this interview and my presence by VOA PNN's editor in chief, Mr. Sajjadi, and one of the newscasters, Setareh Derakhshesh.

Setareh Derakhshesh and Ali Sajjadi, based their objection on, in their words, my "lack of credibility." Here is my question for Ms. Derakhshesh and Mr. Sajjadi. Do they also consider the "Congressional Research Service's report on Iran" that is based on a thorough academic research not credible either? Exactly which of their qualifications warrants the position to dictate who is and who is not worthy of airtime on VOA PNN?

VOA executive editor, Steve Reddish, reportedly rushed to side with Ms. Derakhshesh and Mr. Sajjadi. Mr. Farhoodi asked that if I lacked credibility, then why was I invited on VOA PNN's most viewed program, “Static,” hosted by Mr. Hosseini. They responded, "Static is a comedy show and we invited Fakhravar only to ridicule him." It’s very clear to me that these government employees in VOA PNN are using slander to discredit me and my organization in order to push their own personal agendas and viewpoints. Here is a part of the Congressional Research Service report that contradicts the allegations of the above mentioned.

Congressional Research Service, Iran: U.S. Concerns and Policy Responses
June 11, 2010, Page 4-5 www.fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/143901.pdf
Opposition/”Green Movement” (Rah-e-Sabz)
"All of the blocs and personalities below can be considered, to varying degrees, as part of the Green movement. However, overall leadership of the movement and decision-making on protest activities is unclear, with several components competing for preeminence. Some Green supporters have left for Europe, Asia, or the United States. ... Student Opposition Leaders/Confederation of Iranian Students. Staunch oppositionists and revolutionaries, many now favor replacement of the regime with secular democracy. Generally young and well-educated, want free and open media and contact with the West. One key bloc in this group is the Confederation of Iranian Students (CIS), led by Amir Abbas Fakhravar, who was jailed for five years for participating in July 1999 student riots. CIS, committed to non-violent resistance, is an offshoot of the Office of Consolidation Unity, which led the 1999 riots. At the time of those riots, most students were strong Khatemi supporters, but turned against him for acquiescing to hardliner demands that he crack down on the rioting. The crackdown killed four students. Student leaders currently attempting, with mixed success, to gain support of older generation, labor, clerics, village-dwellers, and other segments. CIS supports imposition of severe sanctions against Iran, including a total oil sale embargo, to deprive the regime of the funds it needs to pay its security forces. CIS and other student activists purportedly developing list of Iranian officials who they assert have committed major human rights abuses—an intended parallel to the “deck of cards” of alleged Saddam-regime “war criminals” developed by the United States before the overthrow of Saddam."

All this aside, it is not the responsibility nor is it the realm of a journalist or editor to sit and judge whether someone should be interviewed or not. They are paid to provide pertinent information and to ensure viewership. Besides, who better to interview on the anniversary of the Student Uprisings of 1999 than someone who was involved in it and who later was charged and arrested for this involvement? Instead, Mr. Sajjadi and Mrs. Derakhshesh strive for a uniform outlook throughout the programs that is aligned with their own views. Mr. Sajjadi's decision not to air Neda's death for three days after every other news media had done so and Mrs. Derakhshesh's inflammatory interview with the controversial cleric Kadivar, in which he deliberately altered a slogan chanted in Iran to falsely convey the idea that the Iranian people are staunch supporters of their government's policies towards the Palestinians, are just two examples of how far they will go towards this end.

In fact, Mrs. Derakhshesh is mentioned by name in Senator Coburn's letter to President Bush as the main culprit in "failing to provide Iranians with a clear and effective presentation of our foreign policy but provided another platform for its critics." "Setareh Derakhshesh editorializes that America opposes your policy in Iraq, including troop reinforcement. There is no poll cited or any other basis for this statement, but it is presented as fact." Mrs. Derakhshesh does not stop at undermining the U.S. foreign policy, but also attempts to undermine the Green Movement in an interview she did with Nasser Zarafshan on 12/5/09. Mr. Zarafshan was slandering the courageous Iranians, calling them a bunch of youngsters with no goal or plan. He said that he was clearly seeing "the hands of American Imperialism" in this movement and claimed that this movement was all but dead. During this hour long interview, Mrs. Derakhshesh agreed with everything he said. Notwithstanding their best attempt to discourage the Iranians, the following day on Ashura, they came out in unprecedented numbers and news of chaos and fierce clashes poured from Tehran, with some describing the city as a war zone.

Perhaps a documentary that was aired in the past two days on all Iranian television stations during their news broadcast on the occasion of the anniversary of the Student Uprisings of 7/9/1999, entitled "The Key Players of the Mayhem of 7/9/10", will shed some light on my credibility;

In this documentary, the Islamic Republic itself has named me as one of the "Key players" of this event. Clearly, they did not have access to Mr. Sajjadi or Mrs. Derakhshesh to ask for their approval prior to airing this program.


I hope that with the appointment of the new members of BBG, this kind of abuse of authority will be stopped. If I do not receive a reasonable response to this e-mail, I will file a formal complaint with the BBG for the unfounded cancellation of this interview, the derogatory remarks made by Mr. Sadjadi, Ms. Derakhshesh and VOA PNN management and the smear campaign that VOA PNN has directed towards me in the last 4 years.

Regards,
Amir A. Fakhravar
President of Iranian Freedom Institute
Secretary General of Confederation of Iranian Students
Info@Fakhravar.com