The Guardian, September 11 2008 ( excerpts) – The Iranian authorities are cracking down on media freedom, especially reporters who dare to cover the persecution of ethnic minorities
The escalating persecution of journalists in Iran is symptomatic of the regime’s fundamental weakness, despite its macho posturing and tyrannical repression.
President Ahmadinejad and his clerical cronies are afraid. They have concluded that censorship of the media is necessary to save their ugly regime. They are also prepared to jail and, in some cases, execute reporters who dare to tell the truth about their tyranny.
In one sense, Ahmadinejad is right. The truth is dangerous. If Iranians knew about the massive scale of human rights abuses by their government it would arouse huge popular discontent.
For this reason, Tehran is determined to keep people in the dark. It dare not allow the open flow of news and information. Such openness would reveal the full extent of its savage misrule, including the torture of students, arrest of trade union leaders, beating of peaceful protesters and suppression of women’s rights campaigners.
Much of Ahmadinejad’s most brutal suppression is heaped on the country’s minority nationalities, such as the Arabs, Balochs and Kurds. Most Iranians would be aghast if they knew about the barbarism of Tehran’s ethnic persecution. Knowing the facts could spark an uprising. That’s why Ahmadinejad is clamping down.