Saturday, February 28, 2004

Will Amanpour Get Her Iranian Visa?

As Haiti spirals into, quite possibly, a massacre in our Western Hemisphere, as Carribean -born Secretary of State issues strongly worded memorandum, native Iranian uberjournalist Christianne Amanpour is being denied a visa to cover Iran. While While action or inaction in Haiti will probably be the legacy of the Colin Powell Doctrine, just as Kosovo and Rwanda were for Clinton, Amanpour is effectively frozen out of any action.

Aidainternational writes:

"'Refusing a visa to a foreign journalist is nothing unusual for Iran, but this incident is obviously part of the present tension in US-Iran relations,' said Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Robert M�nard.

"Calling on Iran to grant the visa, he noted that the head of the official news agency IRNA was summoned by legal officials on 30 September after he had put out a report of a public opinion poll showing 74.7 % Iranians wanted talks with the US to resume. The 22 September report appeared the day after the Guide of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had made an especially harsh attack on the United States.

"Iranian officials gave no reason for refusing Amanpour's visa application. During her last visit to the country, she did a report on Iranian young people which seems to have displeased the regime, which is in the habit of blocking the return of journalists who have done reports considered critical. CNN is seen by Iranians via satellite."

The Corsair would like to give a few reasons Amanpour's Visa was denied:

-Amanpour is one of Iran's most successful native citizens. Ali Khamenei's tyranny is anti-success.

-Amanpour, in almost twenty years of reporting, has not been kiled in reporting. This is displeasing to the tyranny.

-The tyrant in Iran found her Somalia reporting for CNN too "one sided" in it's account of the warlords against the US.

-It is common knowledge that if you see Amanpour doing a report on a country on CNN International or 60 Minutes, chances are you are not one of the G-8 Summit of nations.

-They felt she gave Milosevic a raw deal.

-The "Supreme Guide" Ali Khameni fears that Amanpour will question his nonexistent qualifications in the travel industry.

-Amanpour serves as a strong role model to Iranian women, which scares the geeky and illiterate tyranny.









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