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Tehran and tegucigalpa a tale of two capitals

by MRN
January 1, 2013July 25, 2013

Tehran and Tegucigalpa: A tale of two capitals

In Tehran, demonstrations called by the defeated US-backed presidential candidate are given non-stop, wall-to-wall coverage by the American media. The charges of former prime minister Mir Hossein Mousavi of a stolen election and a “coup d’etat” are embraced uncritically and reported as fact by the New York Times, the Washington Post and other “authoritative” newspapers, without any independent investigation or substantiation. A media propaganda campaign ensues aimed at isolating and destabilizing the ruling faction in Iran headed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The protests are dominated by better-off sections of the urban middle class, who largely voted for Mousavi and support his right-wing program of closer ties to American and European imperialism and a rapid introduction of pro-market policies. The working class, seeing nothing to support in the faction of “reformists” headed by Mousavi and the billionaire former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, abstains from the protests.

The media dispenses with any pretence of objectivity and proclaims the protest movement and its leaders the spearhead of a “green revolution” for democracy. Every act of repression by the Iranian regime is given headline coverage, and rumors of hundreds of deaths are reported as fact. The US media focuses its wrath in particular on the regime’s efforts to block Internet and mobile phone communication.

Mashal talks will eliminate palestinian cause

by MRN
January 1, 2013July 25, 2013

(source: Ma’an News Agency)

Hamas leader in exile Khaled Mash’al said a return to direct negotiations with Israel was "nationally illegitimate, carried out by force and American summons," on Tuesday.

Mash’al, speaking at an iftar dinner held for journalists in Damascus, said the PLO Executive Committee’s decision to endorse the talks was "an echo of Washington’s orders," adding that consensus was not reached among Palestinian factions, with most of the 11 parties making up the PLO opposing a return to talks with Israel.

"The success of talks will be according to Israeli measures and conditions, which means eliminating the Palestinian cause, including the right of return, Jerusalem, 1967 borders. This is a success for Israeli interests," Mash’al said.

The Hamas leader said those who backed talks "sought their popularity from abroad … and have given up on their conditions and demands, subduing themselves to the US, just as they did when the US objected to [Palestinian] conciliation." He further accused the Palestinian Authority of being "responsible for many disasters," including the recognition of Israel as a Jewish state. "This would not have happened if the PA leadership were not weak," he added.