The severe criticism by Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani’s office against new fabrication by Iran Newspaper and similar chain newspapers(13 October 2009)

Unfortunately, during the past few weeks – in which this phenomenon became more intense following the 6th official session of the Assembly of Experts of the Leadership – some newspapers and like-minded websites with particular political goals have engaged in a form of news fabrication regarding the meetings of Ayatollah Hashemi-Rafsanjani, Speaker of the Assembly of Experts of the Leadership and Chair of the Expediency Discernment Council, that have taken place and/or that have not even taken place., . They attribute various quotations, true and false, to particular individuals. And of course, in continuation of this politically-biased activity, they add embellishments and new claims to these false, self-constructed rumors, in line with their political and factional analyses , in order to reach their desired political goals.

Whether true or false, these quotations of various statements, in an incomplete and selective way, from the private meetings of Representatives of the Assembly of Experts of the Leadership with the Chairman of this Assembly, the meeting of a group of the Principlist clergy faction of the Islamic Consultative Assembly with Ayatollah Hashemi-Rafsanjani and other documents that mostly quote from “informed sources” are such that the persons interviewed have expressed sorrow and surprise about the manner of distortion and misrepresentation used by these periodicals. Some of them have been forced to deny the validity of these news items entirely.

This activity by the periodicals – outside the law, customs, and morality – happens while most of the news about the schedule of Ayatollah Hashemi-Rafsanjani, which is published in an official way, has been censored by these periodicals or omitted entirely. They refrain from publishing official news about his schedule, and/or they publish only those portions compatible with their political faction’s tastes, in an incomplete and selective way.

The news item recorded on the first page of the official and government newspaper Iran dated 20 Tir 1388 (13 October 2009) titled “The Message of Hashemi-Rafsanjani and Mahdavi-Kani to Mir Hossein Mousavi” is one recent example of this type of news fabrication, which is fundamentally false and wrong. It is not clear what goal this government newspaper has in engaging in this kind of news fabrication and forgery. If they have good intentions, they can quote from the Friday Prayer of 26 Tir 1388 (17 July 2009), which emphasized that all sides should obey the law in their actions, a principle that has been emphasized many times. This is better than fabricating news in order to express a particular message for one political side or for the entire society.

The quotations regarding the Presidential Elections or opinions expressed about other related issues are examples of this type of news fabrication, which like-minded chain newspapers and periodicals reproduced immediately alongside embellishments, exaggerations, and marginal analyses. They will continue to reproduce these quotes and analysis.

To enlighten public opinion, which asks many questions about this issue, and to enlighten the respected periodicals, which we hope include the like-minded chain periodicals, it is announced officially that the document which quotes from others in a selective and discretionary way regarding Ayatollah Hashemi-Rafsanjani’s meetings that may or may not have taken place, or the positions expressed by this gentleman, are lacking in validity and authenticity. Further, only the documents that are officially given to mass periodicals by the Office of Ayatollah Hashemi-Rafsanjani and the Office of Public Relations of the Expediency Discernment Council posses validity and authenticity.

Mohammad Hashemi

24 Tir 1388

13 October 2009