The following is a press release from
Arab Media Watch
, a UK-based organisation campaigning for fair coverage of Arab issues and against anti-Arab racism in the media.
Arab Media Watch urges the media to follow the looming execution of 10 Iranian Arabs - following a flawed trial condemned by human rights groups - as well as the plight of Iran's millions of ethnic Ahwazi Arabs, who form the majority in Khuzestan province, which contains up to 90% of the country's oil reserves and is a possible location for its nuclear programme.
The most informative, in-depth reports in the British media so far this year (until 17 November) have come from the Daily Mail ( The barbaric deaths meant to spread fear, 15 November ) and the Times ( Tehran's secret war against its own people, Peter Tatchell, 10 October ).
Media coverage in general, however, has been sparse. The Financial Times has had the most coverage so far this year (14 articles), followed by BBC Online (seven), the Guardian (five), the Mail (two), and one each by the Times, the Daily Telegraph and the Independent. The Sun, the Daily Mirror, the Daily Express and the Daily Star have had no reports.
Besides the aforementioned articles in the Mail and the Times, media coverage has not been recent - ranging from 24 January to 16 April - and while focusing solely on unrest by Iranian Arabs, there has been little mention of their underlying, serious and long-standing grievances.
The Independent and the Guardian have provided no context. Of the BBC's seven articles, two had no context, while the others mentioned "alleged discrimination" and "Arab accusations" as if the human rights abuses are a matter of opinion rather than a fact that has been highlighted numerous times by respected human rights groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. The same is true of the Telegraph article. Of the FT's 14 articles, only three provided context, while two others mentioned "allegations".
AMW chairman Sharif Hikmat Nashashibi and Daniel Brett, AMW member and chairman of the British Ahwazi Friendship Society, are available for interview.
Nashashibi: ,
Brett: ,
More information on the Ahwazi Arabs can be obtained on the BAFS website ( www.ahwaz.org.uk ) and an article on Arab Media Watch's website .
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keywords: ahvaz ahwaz ahwazi arabistan khuzestan khuzistan khuzestani arab arabistan iran iranian human rights security oil news ahmadinejad ethnic cleansing
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