Iranian-Canadians object to misinformation by National Post

The Editor, National Post

In your 19 May issue in a front page article by C. Wattie, you claim that the Iranian regime’s parliament has passed a law demanding Jews and other religious minorities wear coloured badges to be easily identifiable. This is false information, as the dress code law that passed on May 15^th has no such reference. You claim that “Iranian expatriates living in Canada” have confirmed this.

We, Iranian expatriates, are aware that with the heightened tension over Iran’s nuclear crisis, and taking advantage of the outrageous and unacceptable remarks of the new President of the Islamic Republic, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, denying the Holocaust and wanting to wipe out Israel from the map, there is a concerted effort on the part of some groups in the US, Europe, Israel, and here in Canada to compare today’s Iran with Nazi Germany, and Ahmadinejad to Hitler. These groups, among them some Iranians hope to push the United States and its allies to invade Iran and bring about yet another regime change in the Middle East. A basic tool in this process is propaganda through misinformation.

In the first Persian Gulf War, misinformation about incubators stolen by Saddam Hussein’s army in Kuwait and the highly publicized testimony of a young Kuwaiti girl who later turned out to be the daughter of the Kuwaiti Ambassador to Washington helped rally public support for US military action. The rhetoric over weapons of mass destruction was effectively used to justify the most recent war in Iraq. It is disheartening that your newspaper should either choose to be a mouthpiece for war propaganda, or not verify the accuracy of the information it publishes.

The Islamic Republic of Iran is a failed regime embroiled in deep economic, social and political crises. Passing laws for unified dress codes is itself a sign of desperation. Heightening international tensions and rhetoric are all to divert attention from internal problems, and with the hope of mobilizing Iranian people. State-led newspapers in Iran are bombarding their readers with false and fabricated information.

We are astonished that your paper also chooses to misguide and misinform its readers. It would only be appropriate that you correct the misinformation on the same page that published the misleading article.

A war with Iran will be disaster for its people; it will invigorate the decaying fundamentalists, and will intensify the catastrophic situation in the Middle East, with devastating consequences for the whole world.

Signatories (next page)

Saeed Rahnema (Professor, York University)

Shahrzad Mojab (Professor, University of Toronto)

Haideh Moghissi (Professor, York University)

Amir Hassanpour (Professor, University of Toronto)

Hassan Zerehi, (Publisher, Editor in Chief, Shahrvand)

Nasrin Almassi (Editor, Shahrvand)

Mohamad Tavakoli-Targi (Professor, University Toronto)

Bahman Kalbassi (BA Political Science, York University)

Parvin Samadzadeh (Counsellor)

Mohamad Tajdolati (Journalist, Managing Director Persian Circle)

Shahram Kholdi (Graduate Teaching Fellow, PhD Candidate, University of Manchester)

Negar Khalvati

Arash Bateni (PhD Mechanical Engineering)

Victoria Tahmasebi (PhD Social Political Thought)

Faranak Farzad (MISt Candidate, University of Toronto)

Yaser Kerachian (PhD Candidate, Physics, University of Toronto)

Behrang Foroughi (PhD Candidate, OISE, University of Toronto)

Dona Robati (Poet and Journalist, Shahrvand)

Roshank Razavi (MASc Environmental Engineering, Research Lead)

Azadeh Rashvand (MA Candidate, Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto)

Sina Rahmani (Graduate Student, Comparative Literature, University of Toronto)

Amir Mehrasa (Translator)

Parisa Jurabchi (Student, Vancouver)

Negar Azmudeh (Lawyer, Vancouver)

Mina Zare (Junior Urban Planner, Region of Peel)

Abdolreza Moghaddam (PhD Candidate, Civil Engineering, University of Toronto)

Maryam Aghvami (Journalist, Senior VP Ethnic Media Press Council of Canada)

Neda Zare (PhD Candidate Mathematics, University of Toronto)

Binesh Hassanpour (Dept. f Philosophy, University of Toronto)

Siavosh Taherifard (MA Candidate, McMaster University)

Ida Metahi (MA student, York University)

Afkham Mardukhi (Mental Health Youth Counsellor)

Babak Attaran Rezaei (MD)

Niaz Salimi (CMC President)

Babak Salari (Photographer, Montreal)

Related Article: National Post apologizes for story that Iran to tag non-Muslims

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