Roshan Muhammed Salih: Apologist
Roshan Muhammed Salih is “Head of News” for Press TV in London.
He has published an article titled “Why I work at Iran’s Press TV”.
Here are some excerpts:
In a nutshell, I work at Press TV because it broadcasts the truth about what is happening in the world, and fills a void that the mainstream media has left wide open. Press TV is willing to give a platform to legitimate actors who the western media will not touch, such as Hamas, Hezbollah and anti-occupation forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
I can think of many ways to describe Hamas, Hezbollah and “anti-occupation forces” in Iraq and Afghanistan. Terrorists is the term I prefer. Mr Salih opts for “legitimate actors”. Who must be given a platform in the name of truth-seeking.
Yes, who would know anything at all about terrorists without the valiant services of Press TV? What would we do without the wisdom of Press TV presenter Yvonne Ridley, for example?
Salih continues:
It is simply not fair to characterize Press TV as a mouthpiece for the Iranian government. It is true that we are state-funded (like France 24/ Aljazeera, Russia Today and the BBC World Service) but that does not mean we slavishly follow the Iranian government line. Our international staff is comprised of a huge variety of worldviews and nationalities. And we fully realize that in a modern media environment where viewers have access to a plethora of information, state propaganda is a thing of the past.
Hmm. Perhaps the Holocaust denial work of Nicholas Kollerstrom, still available on the Press TV web site, is a subtle stroke of dissident genius, hitting the regime where it hurts.
And maybe this report on the murder of Neda Aqa-Soltan, as it appeared in toto on the Press TV website, was actually a call to criticise the regime.
Ahmadinejad orders probe into Neda’s ’suspicious’ death
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has asked the Judiciary chief to conduct a through investigation into the death of Neda Aqa-Soltan, an Iranian woman who was shot dead in Tehran’s post-vote protests.
In a letter to Iran’s Judiciary chief Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi-Shahroudi on Monday, Ahmadinejad called for a serious probe into the “suspicious” death of Neda and recognizing elements behind her killing.
“Neda Aqa-Soltan was shot dead in one of Tehran’s streets on June 20 by unknown elements in a completely suspicious way,” said the president.
“Amid vast propaganda by foreign media and many other evidence about the heartfelt event, it seems definite that opponents of the Iranian nation interfere (in Iran’s internal affairs) for their political misuse,” he added.
Neda, 26, became a symbol of post-election street rallies in Iran and an international icon in recent days after graphic videos of her death grabbed the attention of world media outlets.
Her death first became suspicious after revelations that she was killed by a small caliber pistol — a weapon that is not used by Iranian security forces.
Back to Salih:
Now let me turn to the Islamic Republic of Iran, from which Press TV gets its funding. let me be clear: I believe It is a fundamentally decent government run by a fundamentally decent man.
The Iranian government supports Islam, it supports resistance movements in the Islamic world and it opposes western interference in the region. It is also a government which doesn’t go around invading sovereign nations, killing their people and occupying their countries.
Many feel that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a corruption-free man of the people who speaks truth to power. They like the fact that he looks un-presidential, that he spends most of his time with the poor and powerless rather-than hob-nobbing with the rich and powerful. These are subjective views and I must stress that many of my colleagues at Press TV will disagree – this is the kind of diverse environment I work in.
I do not agree, however, with everything the Iranian government does. For example, I support the right to peaceful protest and the right of journalists to report freely. Despite this, I fully understand why the authorities have banned street demonstrations which have given fuel to a viscous anti-Iran Campaign.
Here is a brief report Salih made for Press TV on antisemitism in the UK. Note what he says at the end of the video:
But despite the fact that many British Jewish voices denounce the Gaza war, most Jews in the UK seem to wholeheartedly support Israel. And as long as they continue to do that, antisemitic incidents may well continue to rise.
““But despite the fact that many British Jewish voices denounce the Gaza war, most Jews in the UK seem to wholeheartedly support Israel. And as long as they continue to do that, antisemitic incidents may well continue to rise.”
This is a variant of “change your foreign policy or be bombed” rhetoric, which Salih has employed against the BBC:
The bombs in London aren’t going to stop if HT is banned or if Muslims denounce extremism. But they might if the British stop invading Muslim countries and stop supporting Muslim dictatorships. Why don’t you surprise us with a programme about a westernised Muslim who saw the error of his ways and became a non-violent Islamist, campaigning against the injustices perpetrated by Britain in the Muslim world. That person would be far easier to find than the unrepresentative likes of Shiraz Maher or Maajid Nawaz et al.
I think Mr Salih has indeed found the right employer.
Comments
| 15 July 2009, 12:09 am |
It is posts such as this one that make me realise why I like this blog so much. Well done habibi.
| 15 July 2009, 12:24 am |
An edited version of this is also on Comment is Free.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jul/14/press-tv-iran-ahmadinejad
I expect the editors will be kept busy.
| 15 July 2009, 12:27 am |
These are subjective views and I must stress that many of my colleagues at Press TV will disagree – this is the kind of diverse environment I work in.
Those colleagues who are moved to disagree are free to discuss the matter here.
| 15 July 2009, 1:13 am |
the authorities have banned street demonstrations which have given fuel to a viscous anti-Iran Campaign.
Slimy creeps, those anti-Iran campaigners! I always knew they were all about oiling their way in everywhere…
Is this press release a sign of the pressure on PressTV, starting with their problems in getting functioning spell-checkers?
Funny he should mention that OFCOM regulation in relation to its impartiality and accuracy.
| 15 July 2009, 1:38 am |
Very nice fisking job done by some of the commenters on the Comment is Free version of the PressTV article–they’ve picked up that the CiF version leaves out the bits from the PressTV original where he lauds the “anti-occupation forces in Iraq and Afghanistan” and also where he offers this view of the horrors that would happen if the Iranian regime fell:
After all, what is the alternative for the Islamic Republic to be overthrown and for Iran to descend into the kind of chaos we see in Iraq? And what for _ so that westernized women can remove their hijabs or so that the young can get drunk and listen to hip-hop?
So nice to know he’s striving to keep the young people of Iran free of the sound of hip-hop (though I do wonder how he knows about it)?
| 15 July 2009, 2:09 am |
I’m not sure what sort of animal Mr Salih is, but I can confirm he definately is one.
| 15 July 2009, 6:01 am |
If sections of the Irian opposition resorted to terrorism, I wonder if they would count as ‘legitimate actors’.
| 15 July 2009, 7:07 am |
David Attenborough -well in Hebrew, Roshan means tadpole….that might explain the viscous part too.
| 15 July 2009, 7:28 am |
Meanwhile Press TV UK Public – or BBC as its commonly known – has another fuck Israel piece http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8149464.stm
Where it uses the form “Israel SAYS it was in response to rocket attacks”…. It leads as if all the allegations MUST be true rather than a lead that might say “IDF dismisses anonymous testimony about Israel conduct”
| 15 July 2009, 7:37 am |
On the Ridley video, first time I watched it I thought she said “unlike God and Brown”.
| 15 July 2009, 7:43 am |
But despite the fact that many British Jewish voices denounce the Gaza war, most Jews in the UK seem to wholeheartedly support Israel. And as long as they continue to do that, antisemitic incidents may well continue to rise.
Ah, so I guess he’s saying that Muslims will engage in antisemitism against most Jews because they support Israel. (since he writes from an Islamic perspective)
Perhaps Jews should be wearing different coloured stars whether they support Israel, support Israel + Gaza campaign, support Israel – Gaza campaign, or “I’m a Jew but I hate being so – please leave me alone”.as designed by Alexi Sayle.
| 15 July 2009, 7:53 am |
Ref: antisemitism in this context
Right on cue MPAC UK comments give us “jew control”
http://www.mpacuk.org/content/view/5856/102/
We must dismantle zionist movement to Free the world (from jew control) giving them weapons to kill women,children is insincere to British value
Do these bots need any more feeding to their febrile racist brains?
| 15 July 2009, 10:22 am |
“But despite the fact that many British Jewish voices denounce the Gaza war, most Jews in the UK seem to wholeheartedly support Israel. And as long as they continue to do that, antisemitic incidents may well continue to rise.”
Funny that the “British Jewish voices” condemning the war (Sayle, Stephen Fry et al) are generally only Jewish in the context of the I-P conflict and are otherwise in no way identifiable as Jewish.
I also see this as a fairly clear admission that most attacks on Jews are carried out by extreme Muslims and fellow travellers, not BNP types. Middle Eastern events hardly enter the rhetoric of the far right groups, whereas the left/Islamist alliance never stops. Unfortunately any studies that tend to prove the anecdotals, such as the EU report on antiosemitism, are supressed because it would now doubt be damaging to communal harmony to show that the European Muslim communites that are usually portrayed as victims, harbour many active anti-semites.
He has certainly found the right employer.
| 15 July 2009, 10:33 am |
I guess this was also just a response to the I-P conflict by downtrodden French Muslims:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article6194815.ece
“Youssouf Fofana, 28, who led a loose-knit gang of youths from an immigrant housing estate, swaggered into court and shouted “Allah will conquer” as the court began hearing a case into a killing that horrified France and the world Jewish community in 2006.”
Meanwhile the “youths” have been out burning cars for Batille Day again:
Doesn’t happen in Golders Green (yet)…
| 15 July 2009, 11:03 am |
Doesn’t happen in Golders Green (yet)…
Last year two Orthodox Jews getting into their car were stabbed near Golders Green.
And this from CST http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?Attacks_on_Jews_have_risen_in_UK&in_article_id=461110&in_page_id=34
| 15 July 2009, 11:42 am |
What annoys me no end is that Islam teaches that Allah is ultimately in charge of the world, that events in the world are pre-ordained and totally at his command. Therefore, the world is as it is, because that is howd he wants it, and they should just put up with it. Or, is Allah’s ppower limited when it comes to non-Muslims? That non-Muslims have decided to invade and fight Muslims is something that is beyond his control. In which case, Allah possesses limited powers. Hummm….
| 15 July 2009, 11:56 am |
“Terrorists is the term I prefer.”
A spade is a spade, eh?
Well, “terrorists” is also the term I would apply to the war criminals who inflicted such terror, pain and suffering on the people of Gaza last winter.
But they are even worse than that. They are also disgusting cowards and war criminals.
Those who speak out against the crimes of the Israeli state are the real heroes:
| 15 July 2009, 12:02 pm |
Well, “terrorists” is also the term I would apply to the war criminals who inflicted such terror, pain and suffering on the people of Gaza last winter.
What Hamas?
| 15 July 2009, 12:19 pm |
“…disgusting cowards and war criminals.”
Yes, the people who fire rockets at innocent civilians in Israel; the people who recruit suicide bombers to attack civilians; the people who deliberately harry their Israeli enemy until they respond against military targets hidden behind Palestinian human shields and then delight in the propaganda value of collateral injury to their own civilians-that would be Hamas, absolute filth and their verminous Left-Islamist cheerleaders in the West.
| 15 July 2009, 12:28 pm |
interesting, that this guy wants to give a platform to Shia killers (”anti-occupation forces in Iraq and Afghanistan”) and considers them to be “legitimate actors” … at least on this point, his opinion seems to differ at least slightly from the official political line of the IRI
| 15 July 2009, 12:39 pm |
Spade’s comment is dispiriting. I don’t know why I bother but I have just written to the BBC to complain about its Radio 4 coverage of the latest Isreali ‘war crimes’ allegations. I pointed out firstly that its intense scrutiny of Israel in itself shows bias. Do other countries bother to report criticism of the British army voiced in Britain? The Gaza conflict is six months old, why is it considered so important? Secondly, the soldiers being quoted are not international lawyers, qualified to pronounce on war crimes. If their allegations prove unfounded, will the BBC take back what they said, or maybe allude to allegations against Hamas? I somehow doubt it. Thirdly, why would the IDF not prioritise the life of its own soldiers? Israel does not want and cannot afford to lose young conscripts. The IDF gives warnings, it is up to Hamas to protect their own people. Some smug, ignorant BBC editor’s assistant will probably answer that the coverage is ‘within the guidelines on impartiality’. As I said, I don’t know why I bother.
| 15 July 2009, 12:52 pm |
Nicole,
I agree-the BBC is very depressing. Personally I would scrap it tomorrow for a variety of reasons, by no means all Israel-related. Good for you for writing to them though. I do the same sometimes and wonder why. Maybe cumulatively it has some effect but I am dubious.
B.
B.
| 15 July 2009, 12:53 pm |
Don’t you find it strange that Hamas/Amnesty casualty figures in Gaza emphasise “mostly women and children”?
In that case, what happened to all the men firing rpg’s and AK-47’s?
Did they run away or were they hiding behind women and children as human shields?
Or, more likely the Palestinian/Amnesty figures are just propaganda lies from the same source.
BTW, that is a brilliant reframe by me!
| 15 July 2009, 1:52 pm |
I’m sorry, all I heard was dirka dirka dirka dirka blah blah kill the Jews.
| 15 July 2009, 2:02 pm |
Don’t you find it strange that Hamas/Amnesty casualty figures in Gaza emphasise “mostly women and children”? In that case, what happened to all the men firing rpg’s and AK-47’s?
Here is some pretty compelling research and scrutiny of the Palestine Committee on Human Rights (PCHR) statistics for “civilians” and “children” killed during Gaza war offensive that I don’t believe was given much, if any coverage at all in the media. I believe Amnesty relied mainly on PCHR stats for their reports and saw no reason, or need to corroborate PCHR claims.
| 15 July 2009, 2:43 pm |
” most Jews in the UK seem to wholeheartedly support Israel. And as long as they continue to do that, antisemitic incidents may well continue to rise.” Roshan Muhammed Salih
Now let’s apply this principle to Muslims. Not long ago in Dresden Marwa el Sherbini was killed by a man who emigrated to Germany from Russia in 2003. Based on above the fellow could argue, that because of the hangings in Iran, because of the genocide perpetrated by Muslims against Muslims in Sudan etc. and because of terror perpetrated by Muslims against Christians, he was justified to kill a Muslima, because most of the Muslims have not protested against those terrible violations of Human rights.
This is the logic of Roshan Muhammed Salih.
Despicable.
| 15 July 2009, 3:07 pm |
I suppose you saw the letter in the Guardian today by Callinicos etc. ’bout Iran. Not too keen on the regime.
But… here comes the catch.
They are lecturing us l(thinly veiled attack there) on democracy! Coz we is somehow pro-West.
We is pro-freedom. Full stop.
Us lot who stood for the Iranianin democrats day one. Us lot who got our unions to affililate to HOPI. Us lot who stand for universal human rights.
Back to main point: Mr Salih. The plight of this filth is truly a wonder top behold.
| 15 July 2009, 3:26 pm |
I suppose you saw the letter in the Guardian today: Not until you mentioned it. I see a cosignatory is Zizek. I was fortunate not to have heard of this appalling man before I watched him on Sunday in the TV programme about Robespierre. Since then, he has been mentioned on HP elsewhere, and now this.
I did read a review in the Saturday Guardian by a writer I had also never heard of, Michael Faber. In reviewing a book by a Palestinian political cartoonist, he writes, utterly unabashedly:
“Born in Galilee, he was a victim of the nakba (”disaster”) in 1948 when the Jews cleared the Promised Land of its previous inhabitants.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/jul/11/child-palestine-cartoons-al-ali
| 15 July 2009, 3:53 pm |
Then of course there’s always Greece’s state TV network. After all, why apologize to your viewer audience for a scam telethon for Gaza you hosted, when you can always pass the buck, or in Greece, the drachma/Euro.
Asked who decided that the telethon money should go to a hospital that turned out to be fictitious, the president of ERT/NET, the TV station that broadcast the program, Vangelis Panagopoulos, told JTA that “ERT does not organize these things but simply provides the time slot.
| 15 July 2009, 4:14 pm |
‘For lack of basic facts, we are forced to accept unconditionally the positions of the official bodies, which assure us that in spite of any doubts, the IDF’s conduct was faultless and public accountability uncalled for. This publication includes the testimonies of around thirty combatants who took part in the operation in early 2009. The testimonies that appear here were gathered over the past few months from soldiers who served in all sectors of the operation. The majority of the soldiers who spoke with us are still serving in their regular military units and turned to us in deep distress at the moral deterioration of the IDF. Although this publication does not claim to provide a broad, comprehensive review of all the soldiers and the units who carried out the operation, these narratives are enough to bring into question the credibility of the official IDF versions’ script for The Indie, today, re IDF onslaught
| 15 July 2009, 5:04 pm |
I don’t think I will ever understand why Hamas’ conduct – especially its educational program which encourages children to hate and to desire martyrdom – is never called into question. Quite the reverse; more aid is pumped in to support it.
If you genuinely care about all concerned – be they Palestinian or Israeli – how can you not condemn the abuse of children and not see that this on-going indoctrination is utterly destructive to any peaceful resolution?
I can only conclude that those who cry loudest about Israel/IDF/Gaza are crying from a point of hatred and in support of a ’cause’, rather than any genuine concern for the people they claim to care about.
| 15 July 2009, 5:42 pm |
Salih: “that does not mean we slavishly follow the Iranian government line”
That’ll be news to Tehran.
Salih: “It (Iran) is also a government which doesn’t go around invading sovereign nations, killing their people and occupying their countries.”
But it does call for the destruction of Israel, while acquiring the means to do it.
Salih: “he (Ahmadinejad) spends most of his time with the poor and powerless rather-than hob-nobbing with the rich and powerful.”
Mr Chavez will be dismayed to see himself as described as poor and powerless.
Salih: “I fully understand why the authorities have banned street demonstrations which have given fuel to a viscous anti-Iran Campaign.”
It’s the thickness of the viscosity that does it.
| 15 July 2009, 6:35 pm |
“I believe It is a fundamentally decent government run by a fundamentally decent man”.
Well, about the “fundamental” part, we can all probably agree.
About the “decent” part – no. Sorry. Not decent.
| 15 July 2009, 6:54 pm |
Nicole -good on you for writing to the Beeb; you have much more patience than I.
Unfortunately the IDF says it cannot investigate the accusations in the ‘Shovrim Shtika’ report because they are anonymous, with no indications of place, date, time, unit, soldier’s rank etc.
Of course there are appropriate channels available for soldiers to make official complaints -it is unfortunate that ‘Shovrim Shtika’ do not encourage soldiers with such claims to use a channel which could actually bring about some change if they were found to be true instead of just exploiting the sensationalist qualities of such anonymous and non-specific accusations.
Sadly, this is not the first time that ‘Shovrim Shtika’ have used such tactics.
| 15 July 2009, 7:20 pm |
It is funny (or not) that there are known Cif heroes supporting this bastard.
Orwellwasright:
“Another point in defense of Press TV would be that the Western media has been in overdrive when it comes to demonising Iran – and has based this demonisation largely on a long string of distortions and outright falsehoods. It stands to reason that the Iranians would try to counter this – or is it only the West who are allowed to engage in propaganda these days?…The predictable comments from the pro-Israeli crowd are amusing as usual – people who applaud war criminals and murderers spouting off about what depths the Guardian has sunk to for allowing a journalist to write a piece about a rival TV channel. There’s something inherently twisted about their moral compass, if they ever had one….
ShamelessHussey:
“I note the constant western political spin employed against Iran – it’s a ‘regime’ (whereas Israel is a ‘government’) and the continual running-down of majority Iranian views in favour of an elite minority vis-a-vis the elections. The colonial occupation of Iran’s neighbours is a ‘mission’ (like it’s some sort of a Christian Crusade) by ‘our boys’ some of them are ‘fallen heroes’. Genuine insurgents and people who are fighting occupations and even elected goverments and organisations (Hamas, Hizbollah, Iraqi and Afghan opposition) are referred to as ‘terrorists’ whereas the genocidal foreign maniacs in Occupied Palestine, Iraq and Afganistan are referred to as ‘Israelis’, ’soldiers’, ‘armies’, ‘allies’.
The propaganda and spin of the BBC, never mind Fox News of the Daily Mail, has no comparison with what Press TV could produce.
In short, Press TV is an antidote that provides real news and differing points of view compared to the pro-Israel, pro-occupation, violent white Christian propaganda of so-called mainstream ‘western’ media. That is why these sneering western hypocrites will continually be having a go at Press TV – they are threatened that an Iranian outfit running on a small budget is doing real journalism instead of the tat that passes for news in Europe and the US nowadays.”
There is something inherently twisted (to borrow from the great author above) about a “news” station backing a government which shoots people on its own streets and tortures its own youth after it is discovered that such government won with 105% of the vote. Its mouthpiece has the gull to come out here and claim to be representing journalism along with a defense of state repression and holocaust denial in the year 2009. As if these people didn’t realize information transit has changed since the Ukrainian famine.
So I guess lets hear it for the pro holocaust denial crowd, among whom some seem desperate at getting a job interview with PressTV given that times are hard I suppose. There will always be candidates to whore themselves to any ideology from any place as long as it appeases their own pent up anger at either not gettin’ any or feeling lost in the world yearning for utopia be it a bloody and bone wrecking one at times. Perhaps they like it rough, who knows……
Axis Sally- Tokyo Rose- _________fill in the blank PressTV is hiring… yuppie…..
At least ShamelessHussey has a self descriptive name apt for its posts….
2 candidates for 1 position. The race is on. Brush up on that Holocaust research AhmedNutbobJihad called for, it may be on the admittance test.
| 15 July 2009, 8:22 pm |
Given the numerous apologists for Israel we have in the mainstream press not to mention appeasers like HP your kicking up a fuss about a satelitte channel which dares defend itself from zionist attacks (thats after all why Roshan Muhamed Salih wrote the piece) is laughable
| 15 July 2009, 8:39 pm |
It just wouldn’t be the same without the likes of HPhM standing up for the propaganda arm of a government that kills and enslaves Muslims. Difference is, we don’t need the Board of Guardians and Press TV to tell us what to think.
| 15 July 2009, 11:01 pm |
Re: HPhM – The Zionists ate his brain. And then they gave him chewing gum.
| 16 July 2009, 12:47 am |
Nicole -you may find this interesting:
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1246443821039&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
The commander of one of the soldiers making accusations in the ‘Shovrim Shtika’ report reveals that he wasn’t in Gaza at the time.
He is very smooth.