President Ahmadinejad Interview Sept 08 with Democracy Now - Part 3 -...
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the Threat of US Attack and International Criticism of Iran’s Human Rights Record
In part one of an...
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the Threat of US Attack and International Criticism of Iran’s Human Rights Record
In part one of an interview with Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad talks about the threat of a US attack on Iran and responds to international criticism of Iran’s human rights record. We also get reaction from CUNY Professor Ervand Abrahamian, an Iran expert and author of several books on Iran.
JUAN GONZALEZ: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addressed the United Nations General Assembly this week, while the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, is meeting in Vienna to discuss Iran’s alleged nuclear program. An IAEA report earlier this month criticized Iran for failing to fully respond to questions about its nuclear activities.
The European Union told the IAEA Wednesday that it believes Iran is moving closer to being able to arm a nuclear warhead. Iran could face a fourth set of Security Council sanctions over its nuclear activities, but this week Russia has refused to meet with the US on this issue.
The Iranian president refuted the IAEA’s charges in his speech to the General Assembly and accused the agency of succumbing to political pressure. He also welcomed talks with the United States if it cuts back threats to use military force against Iran.
AMY GOODMAN: As with every visit of the Iranian president to New York, some groups protested outside the United Nations. But this year, President Ahmadinejad also met with a large delegation of American peace activists concerned with the escalating possibility of war with Iran.
Well, yesterday, just before their meeting, Juan Gonzalez and I sat down with the Iranian president at his hotel, blocks from the UN, for a wide-ranging discussion about US-Iran relations, Iran’s nuclear program, threat of war with the US, the Israel-Palestine conflict, human rights in Iran and much more.
Today, part one of our interview with the Iranian president.
AMY GOODMAN: Welcome to Democracy Now!, President Ahmadinejad. You’ve come to the United States. What is your message to people in the United States and to the world community at the UN?
PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] In the name of God, the compassion of the Merciful, the president started by reciting verses from the Holy Quran in Arabic.
Hello. Hello to the people of America. The message from the nation and people of Iran is one of peace, tranquility and brotherhood. We believe that viable peace and security can happen when it is based on justice and piety and purity. Otherwise, no peace will occur.
JUAN GONZALEZ: Mr. President, you’re faced now in Iran with American soldiers in Iraq to your west, with American soldiers and NATO troops to your east in Afghanistan, and with Blackwater, the notorious military contractor, training the military in Azerbaijan, another neighbor of yours. What is the effect on your country of this enormous presence of American forces around Iran and the impact of these wars on your own population?
PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] It’s quite natural that when there are wars around your borders, it brings about negative repercussions for the entire region. These days, insecurity cannot be bordered; it just extends beyond boundaries. In the past two years, we had several cases of bomb explosions in southern towns in Iran carried out by people who were supervised by the occupying forces in our neighborhood. And in Afghanistan, following the presence of NATO troops, the production of illicit drugs has multiplied. It’s natural that it basically places pressure on Iran, including costly ones in order to fight the flow of illicit drugs.
We believe the people in the region are able to establish security themselves, on their own, so there is no need for foreigners and external forces, because these external forces have not helped the security of the region.
AMY GOODMAN: Do you see them as a threat to you?
PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Well, it’s natural that when there is insecurity, it threatens everyone.
JUAN GONZALEZ: I’d like to turn for a moment to your domestic policies and law enforcement in your country. Human Rights Watch, which has often criticized the legal system in the United States, says that, under your presidency, there has been a great expansion in the scope and the number of individuals and activities persecuted by the government. They say that you’ve jailed teachers who are fighting for wages and better pensions, students and activists working for reform, and other labor leaders, like Mansour Ossanlou from the bus workers’ union. What is your response to these criticisms of your policies?
PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] I think that the human rights situation in Iran is relatively a good one, when compared to the United States and other countries. Of course, when we look at the ideals that are dear to us, we understand that we still need to do a lot, because we seek divine and religious ideals and revolutionary ones. But when we compare ourselves with some European countries and the United States, we feel we’re in a much better place.
A large part of the information that these groups receive come from criticisms coming from groups that oppose the government. If you look at it, we have elections in Iran every year. And the propaganda is always around, too. But they’re not always true. Groups accuse one another.
But within the region and compared to the United States, we have the smallest number of prisoners, because in Iran, in general, there is not so much inclination to imprison people. We’re actually looking at our existing laws right now to see how we can eliminate most prisons around the country. So, you can see that people in Iran like each other. They live coexistently and like the government, too. This news is more important to these groups, not so much for the Iranian people. You have to remember, we have over 70 million people in our country, and we have laws. Some people might violate it, and then, according to the law, the judiciary takes charge. And this happens everywhere. What really matters is that in the end there are the least amount of such violations of the law in Iran, the least number.
So, I think the interpretation of these events is a wrong one. The relationship between the people and the government in Iran is actually a very close one. And criticizing the government is absolutely free for all. That’s exactly why everyone says what they want. There’s really no restrictions. It doesn’t necessarily mean that everything you hear is always true. And the government doesn’t really respond to it, either. It’s just free.
JUAN GONZALEZ: Let me ask you in particular about the question of the execution of juveniles. My understanding is that Iran is one of only five or six nations in the world that still execute juveniles convicted of capital offenses and that you—by far, you execute the most. I think twenty-six of the last thirty-two juveniles executed in the world were executed in Iran. How is this a reflection of the—of a state guided by religious principles, to execute young people?
PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Firstly, nobody is executed under the age of eighteen in Iran. This is the first point. And then, please pay attention to the fact that the legal age in Iran is different from yours. It’s not eighteen and doesn’t have to be eighteen everywhere. So, it’s different in different countries. I’ll ask you, if a person who happens to be seventeen years old and nine months kills one of your relatives, will you just overlook that?
AMY GOODMAN: We’ll continue our interview with Iranian President Ahmadinejad after break.
[break]
AMY GOODMAN: We return to our interview with the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
JUAN GONZALEZ: I’d like to ask you, recently the Bush administration agreed to provide Israel with many new bunker buster bombs that people speculate might be used against Iran. Your reaction to this decision by the Bush administration? And do you—and there have been numerous reports in the American press of the Bush administration seeking to finance a secret war against Iran right now.
PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Well, we actually think that the US administration and some other governments have equipped the Zionist regime with the nuclear warhead for those bombs, too. So, what are we to tell the American administration, a government that seeks a solution to all problems through war? Their logic is one of war. In the past twenty years, Americans’ military expenditures have multiplied. So I think the problem should be resolved somewhere else, meaning the people of America themselves must decide about their future. Do they like new wars to be waged in their names that kill nations or have their money spent on warfare? So I think that’s where the problem can be addressed.
AMY GOODMAN: The investigative reporter Seymour Hersh said the Bush administration held a meeting in Vice President Cheney’s office to discuss ways to provoke a war with Iran. Hersh said it was considered possibly a meeting to stage an incident, that it would appear that Iranian boats had attacked US forces in the Straits of Hormuz. Do you have any evidence of this?
PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Well, you have to pay attention to find that a lot of this kind of stuff is published out there. There’s no need for us to react to it.
Of course, Mr. Bush is very interested to start a new war. But he confronts two big barriers. One is the incapability in terms of maneuverability and operationally. Iran is a very big country, a very powerful country, very much capable of defending itself. The second barrier is the United States itself. We think there are enough wise people in this country to prevent the unreasonable actions by the administration. Even among the military commanders here, there are many people with wisdom who will stop a new war. I think the beginning or the starting a new war will mark the beginning of the end of the United States of America. Many people can understand that.
But I also think that Mr. Bush’s administration is coming to an end. Mr. Bush still has one other chance to make up for the mistakes he did in the past. He has no time to add to those list of mistakes. He can only make up for them. And that’s a very good opportunity to have. So, I would advise him to take advantage of this opportunity, so that at least while you’re in power, you do a couple—few good acts, as well. It’s better than to end one’s work with a report card of failures and of abhorrent acts. We’re willing to help him in doing good. We’ll be very happy.
AMY GOODMAN: And your nuclear program?
PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Our time seems to be over, but our nuclear program is peaceful. It’s very transparent for everyone to see.
Your media is a progressive one. Let me just say a sentence here.
I think that the time for the atomic bomb has reached an end. Don’t you feel that yourself? What will determine the future is culture, it’s the power of thought. Was the atomic bomb able to save the former Soviet Union from collapsing? Was it able to give victory to the Zionist regime of confronting the Palestinians? Was it able to resolve America’s or US problems in Iraq and Afghanistan? Naturally, its usage has come to an end.
It’s very wrong to spend people’s money building new atomic bombs. This money should be spent on creating welfare, prosperity, health, education, employment, and as aid that should be distributed among others’ countries, to destroy the reasons for war and for insecurity and terrorism. Rest assured, whoever who seeks to have atomic bombs more and more is just politically backward. And those who have these arsenals and are busy making new generations of those bombs are even more backward.
I think a disloyalty has occurred to the human community. Atomic energy power is a clean one. It’s a renewable one, and it is a positive [inaudible]. Up to this day, we’ve identified at least sixteen positive applications from it. We’re already aware that the extent to which we have used fossil fuels has imbalanced the climate of the world, brought about a lot of pollution, as well as a lot of diseases, as a result. So what’s wrong with all countries having peaceful nuclear power and enjoying the benefits of this energy? It’s actually a power that is constructively environmental. All those nuclear powers have come and said, well, having nuclear energy is the equivalent of having an atomic bomb pretty much—just a big lie.
AMY GOODMAN: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Tomorrow, part two of our conversation. But right now, we’re joined by Ervand Abrahamian. He’s an Iran expert, CUNY Distinguished Professor of History at Baruch College, City University of New York, author of a number of books, most recently, A History of Modern Iran.
Welcome to Democracy Now! Can you talk about both what the Iranian president said here and his overall trip? Was it a different message this year?
ERVAND ABRAHAMIAN: No, it’s very much the same complacency, that, you know, everything’s fine. There may be some problems in Iran and in foreign relations, but overall, Iran is confident and is—basically the mantra of the administration in Iran is that no one in their right senses would think of attacking Iran. And I think the Iranian government’s whole policy is based on that. I wish I was as confident as Ahmadinejad is.
JUAN GONZALEZ: And his dismissing of the situation, the human rights situation, in Iran, basically ascribing any arrests to some lawbreakers? Your sense of what is the human rights situation right there?
ERVAND ABRAHAMIAN: Well, I mean, he basically changed the question and talked about, you know, the probably two million prisoners in America, which is of course true, but it certainly changes the topic of the discussion.
Now, in Iran, you can be imprisoned for the talking of abolishing capital punishment. In fact, that’s considered blasphemy, and academics have been charged with capital offense for actually questioning capital punishment. So, he doesn’t really want to address those issues. And there have been major purges in the university recently, and of course the plight of the newspapers is very dramatic. I mean, mass newspapers have been closed down. Editors have been brought before courts, and so on. So, I would find that the human rights situation—I would agree with the Human Rights Watch, that things are bad.
But I would like to stress that human rights organizations in Iran don’t want that issue involved with the US-Iran relations, because every time the US steps in and tries to champion a question of human rights, I think that backfires in Iran, because most Iranians know the history of US involvement in Iran, and they feel it’s hypocrisy when the Bush administration talks about human rights. So they would like to distance themselves. And Shirin Ebadi, of course, the Nobel Peace Prize, has made it quite clear that she doesn’t want this championing by the United States of the human rights issue.
AMY GOODMAN: Big protest outside. The Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, the Israel Project, UJ Federation of New York, United Jewish Communities protested. They invited Hillary Clinton. She was going to speak. But they invited—then they invited Governor Palin, and so then Clinton pulled out, so they had had to disinvite Palin. And then you had the peace movement inside, meeting with Ahmadinejad.
ERVAND ABRAHAMIAN: Yes, I think—I mean, the demonstrations outside are basically pushing for some sort of air strikes on the premise that Iran is an imminent threat and trying to build up that sort of pressure on the administration. And clearly, I think the Obama administration would not want to do that, but they would probably have a fair good hearing in the—if there was a McCain administration.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, we’re going to leave it there. Part two of our conversation tomorrow. We talk about the Israel-Palestine issue, we talk about the treatment of gay men and lesbians in Iran, and we talk about how the Iraq war has affected Iran with the Iranian president
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Situation in Gaza - Peace Activists Call World to wakeup - English
The plight of Gaza residents has come as a shock to human rights activists who are now in the coastal region to expose Israeli crimes. PressTv Report
The plight of Gaza residents has come as a shock to human rights activists who are now in the coastal region to expose Israeli crimes. PressTv Report
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GAZA IN CRISIS Dec 2009-English
video describes in pictures and words the shocking details of Israels deliberate ravaging of Palestinian life and society in Gaza Its purpose is to...
video describes in pictures and words the shocking details of Israels deliberate ravaging of Palestinian life and society in Gaza Its purpose is to call attention to the plight of a people under siege which so far has been chillingly ignored by governments and the world media unwilling to call Israel to account for its criminal execution of the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians from their own land The video was created by Sonja Karkar for Australians for Palestine on 9 December 2008 using images captured by various courageous photographers on the ground in Gaza and the haunting sounds of Sada Echo composed and played on the oud by Ahmad Al Khatib
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TheMuslim.Org- Gaza and the Cowardly Arab Rulers- English
Since the Zionist invasion and attack on the Gaza strip there has been a very strange kind of development taking place within the Muslim world...
Since the Zionist invasion and attack on the Gaza strip there has been a very strange kind of development taking place within the Muslim world itself. One would have expected that Palestine’s neighbors i.e. countries surrounding Palestine - whether it is Jordon, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and all these other regimes over there that they would be concerned about the plight of the Palestinian people. That they would come to their rescue….click on the video below for full brief.
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The Palestinian Plight - Zionist Settlers in Hebron West Bank - Arabic...
This footage is from the Tel Rumeida neighborhood which is at the center of the Hebron city in the West Bank. Facts about Israel -- courtesy...
This footage is from the Tel Rumeida neighborhood which is at the center of the Hebron city in the West Bank. Facts about Israel -- courtesy AntiHypocrisy on youtube -- 6 wars - 4 million Palestinian Refugees - 3 million Occupied - 254 km of an Apartheid Wall - 562 Humiliation-check-points - 20K Political-prisoners - 468831 new settlers on an Occupied land - Disappearance of Palestine - Destruction of 350 Churches and Mosques - World Leader in violating international laws and tens of UN resolutions - Has Killed more innocent civilians per capita than any other country 50000 plus - Has Imprisoned more civilians per capita 250000 plus - Has rendered more civilians Handicapped per capita 50000 plus -- While reading these facts it is important that we do not lose sight of the distinction between the political Zionists and the general Jewish people. Not all Jews are Zionists and not all Zionists are Jews (for example the right wing Christian supporters of Israel in America). What should distinguish us from the Zionist oppressors are our morals and principles. It would be a shame and a moral defeat if in the process of resisting the oppression we become like the oppressors and start stereotyping and targeting a whole ethnic or religious group.
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Nakba Day marked in Paris - 19 May 2012 - English
64 years ago, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forced out of their homes in the face of Jewish and later Israeli troop advances. They...
64 years ago, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forced out of their homes in the face of Jewish and later Israeli troop advances. They were displaced from Palestine and lost their land and property. It is still a painful memory for some who recall that day which is known as the catastrophe.
Hadeel Abokhaled’s grandmother was one of them.
She told they had forgotten their sister in the home where they were fleeing out of the home and they couldn’t come back and there are a lot of stories like the families who took the pillow instead of their babies so we hear a lot of stories like this.
She says, almost every Palestinian family living in refugee camps, has a similar story to tell.
Their towns and villages were razed to the ground to make way for Israeli colonies.
In the French capital, this demonstration is a show of strength, a show of support for hundreds of thousand of Palestinians who lost their land, homes and families in 1948.
Six decades on, Palestinian refugees are scattered in camps in the West bank and Gaza Strip, or in neighboring countries like Jordan, Syria, Lebanon or elsewhere.
Palestinians were forced out of their native land, but their love for their land has transcended boundaries and lived on 64 years after occupation passing down from generation to generation.
They are still holding fast to their Palestinian identity and right of return and not a single one of them has forgotten the key to the ancestral home.
Whatever the solution to the plight of the Palestinians, one thing is clear… the scars caused by pain, separation and humiliation will not disappear any time soon.
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[27 May 2012] Palestinian farmers injured near Gaza buffer zone - English
[27 May 2012] Palestinian farmers injured near Gaza 'buffer zone - English
The agricultural sector in the Gaza Strip has been struggling to cope...
[27 May 2012] Palestinian farmers injured near Gaza 'buffer zone - English
The agricultural sector in the Gaza Strip has been struggling to cope with the Israeli so-called buffer zone along the border fence east of the impoverished territory.
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[2] George Galloway Muslim Massacre Continues in Myanmar - 03 Aug 2012 -...
[2] George Galloway Muslim Massacre Continues in Myanmar - 03 Aug 2012 - English
According to a group of UK-based NGOs, from June 10 to 28, 650...
[2] George Galloway Muslim Massacre Continues in Myanmar - 03 Aug 2012 - English
According to a group of UK-based NGOs, from June 10 to 28, 650 Rohingya Muslims were killed, 1,200 went missing, and more than 80,000 others were displaced as a result of rioting, arson, rape, and a cycle of revenge attacks in the western state. Over the past two years, waves of ethnic Muslims have attempted to flee by boats in the face of systematic oppression by the Myanmar government. The government of Myanmar refuses to recognize the Rohingyas, who it claims are not native and classifies them as illegal migrants, although they have lived in Myanmar for generations.
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[1] George Galloway Muslim Massacre Continues in Myanmar - 03 Aug 2012 -...
[1] George Galloway Muslim Massacre Continues in Myanmar - 03 Aug 2012 - English
According to a group of UK-based NGOs, from June 10 to 28, 650...
[1] George Galloway Muslim Massacre Continues in Myanmar - 03 Aug 2012 - English
According to a group of UK-based NGOs, from June 10 to 28, 650 Rohingya Muslims were killed, 1,200 went missing, and more than 80,000 others were displaced as a result of rioting, arson, rape, and a cycle of revenge attacks in the western state. Over the past two years, waves of ethnic Muslims have attempted to flee by boats in the face of systematic oppression by the Myanmar government. The government of Myanmar refuses to recognize the Rohingyas, who it claims are not native and classifies them as illegal migrants, although they have lived in Myanmar for generations.
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[AL-QUDS 2012] Cape Town South Africa : 17 August 2012 - All Languages
The March Theme was No to Obama, Yes to Service Delivery. The focus was on the plight of the Palestinians as victims of worse Apartheid than South...
The March Theme was No to Obama, Yes to Service Delivery. The focus was on the plight of the Palestinians as victims of worse Apartheid than South Africa had.
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[1/7] (SERIAL) Rain Star - Based on Islamic Revolution of Iran -...
A serial based on the struggle by people during the Islamic Revolution. It highlights the plight of the people and the extent to which Shah's...
A serial based on the struggle by people during the Islamic Revolution. It highlights the plight of the people and the extent to which Shah's intelligence agency Savak was was concerned about Imam Khomeini's activities that even possessing a picture of Imam Khomeini was considered as a crime.
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[2/7] (SERIAL) Rain Star - Based on Islamic Revolution of Iran -...
A serial based on the struggle by people during the Islamic Revolution. It highlights the plight of the people and the extent to which Shah's...
A serial based on the struggle by people during the Islamic Revolution. It highlights the plight of the people and the extent to which Shah's intelligence agency Savak was was concerned about Imam Khomeini's activities that even possessing a picture of Imam Khomeini was considered as a crime.
19m:20s
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[3/7] (SERIAL) Rain Star - Based on Islamic Revolution of Iran -...
A serial based on the struggle by people during the Islamic Revolution. It highlights the plight of the people and the extent to which Shah's...
A serial based on the struggle by people during the Islamic Revolution. It highlights the plight of the people and the extent to which Shah's intelligence agency Savak was was concerned about Imam Khomeini's activities that even possessing a picture of Imam Khomeini was considered as a crime.
21m:26s
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[4/7] (SERIAL) Rain Star - Based on Islamic Revolution of Iran -...
A serial based on the struggle by people during the Islamic Revolution. It highlights the plight of the people and the extent to which Shah's...
A serial based on the struggle by people during the Islamic Revolution. It highlights the plight of the people and the extent to which Shah's intelligence agency Savak was was concerned about Imam Khomeini's activities that even possessing a picture of Imam Khomeini was considered as a crime.
23m:12s
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[5/7] (SERIAL) Rain Star - Based on Islamic Revolution of Iran -...
A serial based on the struggle by people during the Islamic Revolution. It highlights the plight of the people and the extent to which Shah's...
A serial based on the struggle by people during the Islamic Revolution. It highlights the plight of the people and the extent to which Shah's intelligence agency Savak was was concerned about Imam Khomeini's activities that even possessing a picture of Imam Khomeini was considered as a crime.
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[6/7] (SERIAL) Rain Star - Based on Islamic Revolution of Iran -...
A serial based on the struggle by people during the Islamic Revolution. It highlights the plight of the people and the extent to which Shah's...
A serial based on the struggle by people during the Islamic Revolution. It highlights the plight of the people and the extent to which Shah's intelligence agency Savak was was concerned about Imam Khomeini's activities that even possessing a picture of Imam Khomeini was considered as a crime.
22m:2s
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[7/7] (SERIAL) Rain Star - Based on Islamic Revolution of Iran -...
A serial based on the struggle by people during the Islamic Revolution. It highlights the plight of the people and the extent to which Shah's...
A serial based on the struggle by people during the Islamic Revolution. It highlights the plight of the people and the extent to which Shah's intelligence agency Savak was was concerned about Imam Khomeini's activities that even possessing a picture of Imam Khomeini was considered as a crime.
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[Movie] Twenty سینمایی - بیست - Farsi sub English
A once thriving reception hall has been reduced to catering to the funeral business and the somber rituals of death. The owner, Soleimani, is a...
A once thriving reception hall has been reduced to catering to the funeral business and the somber rituals of death. The owner, Soleimani, is a sour, lonely and unloved old man who treats his workers with contempt, inflicting small cruelties whenever possible. Embittered and seeing a psychologist, he decides he will close the business in twenty days, sending his staff, already fighting just to get by, into a state of fear and uncertainty. Like a close-knit family, the staff members endure their daily suffering together. These good-hearted people include an ostracized young widow trying to survive with her daughter; a chef with a paralyzed arm who has a demanding wife; and two young men, working but homeless, who must sleep in the company\'s truck. Despite Soleimani\'s indifference to their plight, the people on his staff have retained their hope and humanity. As the threat of closure nears, they work together to save the hall and at the same time attend to each others\' emotional needs.
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[19 June 13] Palestinians suffer from israeli seize on Gaza - English
As the Israeli blockade enters its seventh year, Palestinians in Gaza see no end in sight to their never-ending plight. Over...
As the Israeli blockade enters its seventh year, Palestinians in Gaza see no end in sight to their never-ending plight. Over one-point-seven-million Gazans continue to suffer as Tel-Aviv maintains a tight grip on the coastal enclave, allegedly for security reasons.
Press TV\'s Ashraf Shannon reports from Gaza.
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The Forgotten People - Hazara People - English
A special documentary filmed by Ahlulbayt TV highlighting the plight of the Hazara people. We follow a number of families and hear their harrowing...
A special documentary filmed by Ahlulbayt TV highlighting the plight of the Hazara people. We follow a number of families and hear their harrowing stories.
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[20 Nov 2013] UN panel has urged Myanmar to stop Buddhist violence...
A UN panel has urged Myanmar to stop Buddhist violence against Rohingya Muslims but the resolution has seen opposition from an unlikely source: The...
A UN panel has urged Myanmar to stop Buddhist violence against Rohingya Muslims but the resolution has seen opposition from an unlikely source: The party of Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Chee.
In its resolution, the UN General Assembly\'s human rights committee has called on Myanmar to give the Rohingya minority equal access to citizenship. But the demand apparently didn\'t sit well with the West\'s democracy icon Suu Chee, whose party accused the UN of interfering in Myanmar\'s internal affairs. Buddhist violence against Rohingya which is said to have the state backing has become routine in Myanmar. It\'s left hundreds dead and sent another 240-thousand fleeing their homes. But Suu Chee has had little to say about Rohingya rights. And she even declined to meet with the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation delegation visiting Myanmar this week to look into the plight of Muslims.
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[21 Nov 2013] Universal Children Day marked under siege in Gaza - English
A marathon has been held in the Gaza Strip as part of an event celebrating the Universal Children\'s Day. Large numbers of children took part in...
A marathon has been held in the Gaza Strip as part of an event celebrating the Universal Children\'s Day. Large numbers of children took part in the competition aimed at highlighting the plight of Palestinians in the Israeli-blockaded territory.
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[15 Dec 2013] Afghanistan street children struggle to feed families -...
Afghanistan is grappling with serious economic and social woes over a decade after a US led invasion of the country. The government has also been...
Afghanistan is grappling with serious economic and social woes over a decade after a US led invasion of the country. The government has also been criticized for failing to deal with these problems. The economic plight has forced a large number of Afghan children to work on the streets to try to feed their families.
Kabul has a population of around six million people. Among them are around 600,000 street children who live in tough conditions. Most of them belong to fatherless families. These families depend on their children to try to find a way to survive. Umar is one of those children who have to work. A US night time air raid on their village in Kapisa province left Umar\\\'s father dead. Soon after the family lost its breadwinner, Umar left his village for Kabul. Now he lives with his uncle\\\'s family. But as his uncle is a simple shoe maker, Umer has to work too. For Umar it\\\'s a constant struggle to feed himself and send some money back to his family in Kapisa every month. Afghan president Hamid Karzai expressed his concern about the living conditions of street children in a recent address on the Afghan National Radio. Karzai asked International organizations including UNICEF to pay more attention to the issue. But some experts are pointing the finger at the afghan government and western countries for failing to do much. Today\\\'s children are the men of Afghanistan\\\'s future. But what many afghans are asking is how these poor street children who are not receiving any education will play a positive role in Afghanistan\\\'s future.
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