The Royal
Gift to the Crumbling Mullahs
Potkin
Azarmehr
Whatever was the agenda behind
the Prince of Wales’s trip to the Islamic Republic by the British
government or by the Clarence House, one thing that was not taken into
their calculation seems to have been the reaction of the ordinary people
of Iran and the expatriate community towards this trip. Plus the
long-term image of the British government, which will be further,
scarred amongst Iranians.
One of the LA satellite Persian
TV channels (Channel One) dedicated the whole evening to this trip.
Callers one after the other telephoned and faxed this station all night
and expressed their disapproval at this trip. The TV presenter, Shahram
Homayoon called for the boycott of British
goods by all Iranians.
Here is a sample of the calls
made by people, which may indicate the level of disgust felt by the
Iranian people towards this trip:
“How can
this visit not be a political one, when the Prince has a private meeting
with the Islamic president?”
"The
British government has so many Royals at their disposal, if they were
really concerned for the quake victims did they have to send the No.2
Royal?”
"Will
they be sending the Queen next? Who will she meet, because we don't know
who our figurehead is? Will she wear a scarf? Who will shake hands with
her? Supreme leader’s wife?”
“The
British will always have an unhealthy interest in Iran. They have been
eyeing up our wealth for the last 300 years. They brought on the Mullahs
with their BBC World Service news.”
“The
Prince committed adultery with his lover Camilla Parker-Bowles, so they
should be treated according to the Islamic laws of the country. He
should be stoned to death. If he is not happy with the barbaric laws of
this regime, then he should not legitimise it.”
“The
Prince murdered his wife because she was pregnant from an Arab and did
not want his sons to have half Arab siblings, so why is he imposing
these Arabs on us Iranians.”
Even young teenage kids as young
as 11 and 15 were calling in the station and pledging the boycott of
British goods.
“If my
mom or dad come home having bought British goods, I will kick them out
of the house” Said one 15 year old who had called the station.
On Newsnight program, a female
presenter attempted to give a background of the recent events in Iran,
saying that until now the president and the parliament in the Islamic
Republic have been democratically elected!
If only the reaction of Iranians watching this statement could
have been filmed. There must have been a few objects thrown at the TV
screen at this point. Does Newsnight not know that the Guardian Council
has been ruling for the last 25 years in Iran? Does Newsnight not know
that the candidates have always been vetted before the Islamic
elections, after the elections and all the parliamentary bills have to
be approved by the un-elected Guardian Council? Why is it that only this
time round, the Islamic elections have become un-democratic?? Even if
the trip was purely humanitarian, the British MP who appeared on the
Newsnight program made sure that it was also political and confirmed
that the whole thing was part of the “constructive engagement”
policy with the Islamic Republic. David Frum in another studio, however
aptly pointed out that there was a difference between dialogue and
monologue and the Islamic regime is being rewarded by this trip at the
most inappropriate time.
Paul Reynolds, BBC reporter also
writes about this royal trip on the BBC website. He starts off by
mentioning the Prince’s interest in Islamic history and architecture
(Bam citadel was pre-Islamic!) and then wrongly assumes that the general
image is that Britain wants change in Iran. Actually the general image
by the ordinary Iranians is that the British want the mullahs in Iran.
As always in these situations,
Haleh Afshar from York university, is appointed by the BBC to represent
Iranians and claims that Iranians will welcome this trip! Who the hell
made this Islamic apologist a representative of Iranian opinion?? Why is
she always on British TV to support the “constructive engagement”
with the Islamic Republic? Do the British people not have the right to
hear the views of other Iranians who are against this trip?
Perhaps the one British news
publication, which got it right however was the Daily Telegraph. In the
opinions section with the suitable headline of, “The Government's
royal gift to the ayatollahs”, it was the Telegraph and not Haleh
Afshar, who expressed the true feelings of the Iranians by saying
“Ministers must surely be aware that the visit might turn out to be
used as propaganda by a theocratic regime that has been waging
psychological warfare on the people since the Islamist Revolution of
1979.” And even more to the point, the Daily Telegraph realises what
Haleh Afshar pretends not to know: “But the greatest delusion concerns
the efficacy of Mr. Khatami as a reformer. Since coming to power in
1997, he has proved to be a great disappointment to his one-time
supporters, many of whom now languish in jail. He stood by when clerical
vigilantes murdered students during the riots of 1999; he was inert when
"hardliners" closed the newspapers in 2000; and he buckled
under this year when Mr Khamenei refused to delay the irreparably flawed
election.”
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