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Commentary
by U.S. Alliance for Democratic Iran
IRAN:
Flipping Radio Farda
Has Iran’s dreaded Ministry of Intelligence and
Security (MOIS) flipped the US-funded Radio
Farda - the Farsi service of Radio Free
Europe/Radio Liberty? Are US taxpayers
unknowingly funding a radio broadcast,
supposedly tasked with promoting democracy in
Iran, which has been compromised by Tehran’s
intelligence services?
A recent report from Prague, where Radio Farda
is based, raises serious concerns about Iran’s
manipulation of Radio Farda personnel,
warranting a full investigation.
Last weekend, an Associated Press news item from
Prague reported that Parnaz Azima, an Iranian
working for Radio Farda has been barred by the
Iranian authorities from leaving Iran. RFE/RL
management said in a statement that Azima, who
was visiting Iran for a family matter, arrived
in Tehran on Jan 25. Upon arrival in Tehran her
passport was confiscated by the security
officials.
The Iranian regime’s dismal human rights record
and its treatment of journalists are
well-documented and therefore Azima’s treatment
is a matter of serious concern. The most
alarming part of this news, however, is the
acknowledgement by the broadcaster’s statement
that while in Tehran Azima was once asked to
cooperate with Iran’s intelligence services
which according to the statement she refused.
Given that statement, Americans should wonder if
the confiscation of her passport is the price of
her refusal. What would she, or other Radio
Farda personnel for that matter, have to accept
in order to get their passports back?
Still there are more urgent questions to ask.
Was this the first time the MOIS had asked for
the cooperation of a Radio Farda staff? If no,
do we know how the rest of the employees
approached by the MOIS in the past have
responded? A number of Radio Farda’s employees
are Iranians with extensive family and personal
ties in Iran. Has this exposed them to the MOIS
machinations?
What makes the prospect of the MOIS’s efforts to
establish its influence inside Radio Farda quite
disturbing is the implied impact on its
programming. Currently Radio Farda is under
criticism for being very soft, not on par with
the level of human rights violations and other
aspects of Tehran’s rogue behavior.
Last February in a letter to President Bush,
Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK), ranking member on the
Senate Homeland Security Subcommittee on
Government Information, complained that Radio
Farda "may actually be harming American
interests rather than helping." Sen. Coburn said
that “our broadcasts to Iran give a significant
amount of airtime to guests and content that
undermine U.S. policy on Iran, often even
supporting the propaganda of the Islamic
Republic of Iran.” Equally disturbing is the
lack of accountability at Radio Farda. According
to Sen. Coburn there is no or very limited
English transcripts of original programming
broadcast in Farsi.
Last September, McClatchy Newspapers reported
that a study conducted by the Department of
Defense has depicted the Radio Farda of “taking
a soft line toward Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad's regime and not giving adequate
time to government critics.”
Meanwhile, Radio Farda’s unusual interest in
demonizing the Iranian opposition working for
the ouster of the ruling tyranny in Iran has
been most curious. According to reports by
Iranian activists in exile, the content of Radio
Farda’s programming on Iranian opposition groups
is nothing short of the smear campaign launched
by the MOIS. Is this just a coincidence or the
manifestation of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence
influence within the radio? Could it be that
MOIS operatives have reached out and touched
other Iranian employees of Radio Farda visiting
Iran in the past? There are reports that some of
Radio Farda’s employees used to work in Iran’s
state-run media before joining this broadcast.
If true, more than likely some of them have
already been approached by the MOIS.
To be sure, American taxpayers’ fund this
private broadcasting company. In light of Parnaz
Azima’s case, a full investigation into the
Radio Farda’s staff, operations and possible
infiltration of the MOIS is urgently warranted.
Without such an investigation, Radio Farda lacks
“a clean bill of health”
(USADI)
USADI
Commentary reflects the viewpoints of the US Alliance
for Democratic Iran in respect to issues and events
which directly or indirectly impact the US policy toward
Iran |