In 2006 too, the closure of newspapers, and the harassment and arrest of journalists continued in Iran. Some reporters were even charged with espionage. Rooz spoke about these issues with a person who has been the owner of a number of newspapers including Aftab, and, Akhbar-e Eghtesad, and also the Director General of the Press at the Ministry of Islamic Guidance (which controls the press in Iran) under President Khatami’s administration in early 2000. Here are the excerpts.

Rooz (R ): How do you view the record of the current administration regarding press freedoms and the freedom of speech?

Isa Saharkhiz (IS): In my opinion, the group that was responsible for confronting the Iranian press prior to Khatami’s reform administration, and which was apparently led by Saeed Emami (who was later announced to have committed suicide in prison) has once again reorganized itself in a different fashion today. Now, this team is doing its job of confronting the media, journalists, web bloggers, etc more directly and openly. Even prior to the reform period (1997-2005), which is from the beginning of the process that eventually ended up with the serial murders of dissident intellectuals (events attributed to elements of the Ministry of Intelligence of Iran) in 1998, there was an organized center known as the center “Against Reforms” whose job was to confront the media, journalists and writers under the guise of combating “cultural imperialism.” In those days, the key instrument in executing this goal was not the judiciary and the courts merely played a peripheral role while remaining outside the games that were played by intelligence and security agents. The key players were in the Ministry of Islamic Guidance many of whom had military backgrounds. We witnessed that this team at the ministry issued publication licenses on a very selected basis and after that controlled the very media, shutting down many of them.

Parallel to this, officials at the Ministry of Islamic Guidance supported some media outlets by providing them paper, foreign exchange, and other material used by the press, either free of charge or at low government rates. They also prevented the distribution or publication of certain dissident publications. In some cases ministry officials would get in touch with licensed dissident media and blatantly ask them not to publish their newspaper, or reduce the frequency of the publication from weekly to monthly. It is clear that the basis of their operations in those days was harassment and intimidation of the media and journalists so that censorship and self-censorship prevailed.

Today that same group pursues its old goals and policies through different means, but does it more openly. By examining the situation, members of the group have concluded that the media played a decisive role in bringing about the reform period, and so it wishes to prevent the repetition of the same outcome. They in fact intend to deny the creation of a free press and freed speech right from the beginning. This is the reason why its operatives today operate blatantly and without any consideration, and just as in the pre-reform period, contact those in the media, including journalists, and threaten and intimidate them in order to prevent them from publishing or writing specified news stories.

The result of this situation is that those media outlets that accept to work within the official framework, are confronted with serious and numerous issues, some of which are illegal, against the press law, and even unconstitutional. Media editors and managers receive numerous official letters, which is against articles 4 and 5 of the press law, and are thus forced into censorship or self-censorship. In some cases, some papers are even told exactly what to write and what headline or photograph to publish on the first page of their publication. Conditions have become so dire today that the media is not even allowed to freely publish news about issues such as trips, the disappearance of a Passdaran Revolutionary Guards Corps commander, based on their findings and thus inform the public of the details. In some situations, members of the National Security Council or those of the Ministry of Islamic Guidance dictate their views and even words on the press, thus putting them at odds with the press law. Even social, cultural and economic events and issues fall under the purview of such official control and censorship. One day the media is barred from writing about the government’s economic policies and plans, the next day it is forbidden to write on the shortage of a particular consumer good or about inflation. Newspaper managers are thus prevented from carrying out their normal expected tasks of providing free information to the public. A look at two recent events highlights the current situation: the escape of Shahram Jazaeri from prison, and, the disappearance of retired Passdaran commander Asghari. The media is not allowed to write anything about a senior military officer even if he has been official prosecuted and sentenced to a prison term. On the other hand, members of the media are regularly wrongly accused of espionage and treason even in the absence of any trials or court sentences. Some have been taken to prison directly from the airport as they returned from a foreign trip.

Based on these events, one can easily claim that the media in Iran is today under the most severe pressure and control, and censorship and self-censorship, thus being deprived of freely informing the public of important national and public events and developments. They have to deal with numerous bureaus that impose censorship and self-censorship, some of which remain under cover. The known ones are the National Security Council, Ministry of Islamic Guidance, the Judiciary, the Attorney General’s Office, etc.

R: So you believe that Saeed Emami’s team is now back in action?

IS: The cancer tumor that existed during Khatami’s presidency and was claimed to have been uprooted has now returned because it was never dealt with at the fundamental level. So, it has reconstituted itself and is back in action again. Members of the team have even found their way into the government and the Majlis through rigged elections.

One should recall that during the reform years (1997-2005), members of the group were denied access to government positions, and so they left the ministries of Intelligence and Guidance. Some of its members today have placed themselves in the media, such as Keyhan newspaper or the national radio and television network.

R: Have they changed their methods of confrontation?

IS: There are certainly differences in how they pursue their goals, which is based on the new conditions in the country, and even those outside it. These conditions do not allow it to operate in exactly the same way it did in the past. In fact, the changes that were brought about the country during the reform years are so deep that they have not allowed this group to fully reorganize itself in the short term, or even perhaps in the near future. One only has to look at the events of the pre-reform period when executions took place in prisons which did not produce any response from the public or society in general. Arrests and detentions would take place without much social consequences and responses.. The media in those days focused on other serious issues. Today however, because of developments inside and outside the country, and also because of political, social and cultural changes that came about during and because of the reform years, including the changes in the media, it is not as easy to cover-up everything or impose censorship or self-censorship as it used to be. The reality is that the media today is not what it used to be, just as journalists too are not. Deep changes have come about the hardware (i.e. media structure and organization) and software (awareness).

Today, we live in the information and media revolutions and the days when there used to be a single radio station broadcasting state controlled news is history. This is the period of cell phones and text messaging. It is the age of satellites. The young and the old all have access to advanced telecommunications media despite filterings, access denials, censorship etc. And because of these, people’s awareness of their fundamental rights has increased exponentially. Their knowledge of democracy and human rights has increased so much that old practices cannot be repeated. This is why officials and members of such teams have been forced to change their ways and at the least present their actions to be legal and present explanations for their own violations.

R: The new limitations and closures have forced many to go to the foreign media. How do you view this future?

IS: In the past, people did not have access to the media or political discussions because there was no real free and independent press. Even prior to the 1979 revolution, the public, especially those who were interested in political issues, listened to the BBC, Baghdad radio or radio Peyk while there was a national radio and television network, but few open newspapers such as Keyhan and Etelaat. Today, because of the mass closure of newspapers, arrests of journalists, exodus of many writers and reporters, or their banishment, and the heightening of censorship and self-censorship, it seems that we are returning to the same old practices: disinterest in the domestic media and greater attention to foreign ones such as the BBC, and satellite stations. The difference however is that today the public is much more aware and possesses the tools to analyze news and events much more sophisticatedly. So while people listen to foreign news broadcasts, they also interpret and analyze what they hear independently and much better that before. This means people are not as much under the influence of the interpretations of these stations as they used to be and thus maintain their own personal and independent view of events. This state of affairs also means governments can no longer keep people uninformed and brain wash them for a long time. So they cannot hide political, social and cultural developments from the public as easily as they used to. The Internet too has created such a vast global network that despite official censorship and access denial, people can find out what is going on right from the comfort of their home. It appears that despite the huge sums of money spent on censorship, the government’s efforts to deny public access to independent and free (alternative) sources of information is not as easy or effective as it used to be. An example of this is that in the pre-reform years, this media control team had the mission of denying media access to independent and dissident writers in Iran. Today, they simply cannot do that. There are so many news sources that the government cannot control all of them. Furthermore, many writers and journalists have their own websites and web blogs. Many news sources have moved outside Iran, where the government cannot control them at all. So the Iranian media has now gone global and includes satellite TV, press, multi-language programs and sources, all of which make its control impossible.

R: If these events demonstrate the appetite of the Iranian people for news, why is it so?

IS: This is a natural and real need of the human being. People all over the world say “What’s new?” immediately after they meet or get together. Such questions indicate the unquenching appetite that people have for information. I think this sensitivity and desire is even greater among Iranians. People are constantly trying to find out what is behind events and developments. After this is an environment where there are no independent or free news sources, where the culture of exaggeration thrives and the first rumor becomes the “news”. Under these circumstances, everybody loses control. The rulers too in fact disarm themselves because they do not know whom to confront. So they threaten the public and order what should be printed, published, announced or believed and not believed. It is under such conditions that gossip spreads and we recently heard the rumor that the leader of the country had died. This environment which is not conducive to the work of reporters and journalists pushes these professionals out. Some go to places where there is job and personal security and continue their passion of disseminating news. These professionals love their work and are sensitive to the destiny of their country. The current nuclear issue which has resulted in a number of UN Security Council resolution, is an example of a constantly changing news development that the public is keenly interested in because it impacts their life and their future.

R: Looking at the events over the past 2 years, what has been the most threatening event to the media?

IS: The press and conditions for journalism must be viewed from 2 perspectives in Iran. One is the issuance of licenses or permits for publications, or the cancellation of such permits. These days the permits that were issued during the reform years are being cancelled. New permits on the other hand are not being issued as easily. Despite the promises that the new minister of Islamic Guidance Saffar Herandi made about, even official and legal groups and parties around the country are deprived of an official publication. Such important groups as Mosherakat (Participation Front) or the Mojaheddin Engelab Eslami (Mojaheddin of the Islamic Revolution party) can only publish internal bulletins instead of full fledged party newspapers. And even there they cannot publish all their statements and official declarations. On the other hand, the costs of running a publication have gone up so much that there is absolutely no clear future for any regular publication. Contrary to all domestic or international standards, editing managers and their staff are removed from their profession at whim. Those that have their jobs are threatened and pressures into all kinds of activities that go against a free and independent press, and in many cases against their personal safety. Things have gone so far that even the supervisory committee that monitors the media is now revoke publication licenses. This is an illegal act as there is a due process that must be followed for a license to be revoked. About a month ago, the licenses of 16 weekly and monthly publications were revoked for the first time by the supervisory group at the Islamic Guidance ministry without sending the case to the judiciary for an impartial hearing and a jury vote. It is said that another 20 publications await the same fate. And in an outrageous and blatant violation of the existing laws, including the press law, the minister of Islamic Guidance expressly says we have no need for these publications. Such actions and statements are made when everyone knows that the government is responsible to advance and promote the qualitative and quantitative expansion of cultural activities. The harsh treatment that journalists are subjected too is unheard of during the last 170 or 180 years of press history of this nation. Iranian journalists and reporters are not allowed to participate in professional regional or international workshops and gatherings. And if they do, they are severely punished by imprisonment, exit bans, or even charged with treason. At the same time we witness the arrival and departure of foreign journalists in Iran. A cursory look reveals that in recent months alone, journalists from Turkey, Afghanistan, and other countries have come to Iran. We certainly do not oppose such exchanges and even support them but we are against the way dual standards that are applied in this profession. Why must our journalists who participate in training workshops be accused of espionage while official Iranian news agencies provide special coverage to foreign journalists who come to Iran, and use these visits to declare that these activities confirm the presence of freedom in Iran.