Qashqavi: VOA, BBC guiding unrest in Iran

[joeblow]

Qashqavi: VOA, BBC guiding unrest in Iran
Sun, 21 Jun 2009 02:00:58 GMT

http://www.presstv.com/detail/98644.htm ... =351020101


Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hassan Qashqavi

Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hassan Qashqavi pins the blame for the recent post-election turmoil across the country on US and British media outlets.

"Voice of America (VOA) and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) are state-funded channels and not privately-run. Their budgets are ratified in the US Congress, as well as the British Parliament. The two channels serve as mouthpieces of their respective governments," Qashqavi stated on Saturday.

He noted that the two news outlets seek to stir up ethnic discord across Iran in the hope of fomenting the country's disintegration.

"Any sort of contact with the said channels either through e-mail or telephone runs against national Iranian sovereignty and is considered as an act of enmity towards the Iranian nation. The channels act as command posts engineering the ongoing post-election riots," Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman noted.

Iran has witnessed post-election protests and demonstrations since last Saturday when the election results confirmed the re-election of incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Reformist presidential candidates Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi have rejected the polling figures. They define the results as voter fraud and are calling for an invalidation of the ballot and a re-run of the entire exercise.

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Friday ordered that protests against the presidential election results must end. He also underscored that the Islamic Republic system has been scrupulously true to the choice of the voting public.

MP/SME/HAR