In Case You Missed It: "Dictator's Account - Now Also Pressure on Twitter"

In Case You Missed It: "Dictator's Account - Now Also Pressure On Twitter" UANI's Social Media Campaign Reported by Leading German Newspaper DIE WELT Dictator's account - now also pressure on Twitter Iran's Supreme Spiritual Leader is tweeting about the destruction of the state of Israel and the dangers of the Western lifestyle - but those wanting to use Twitter in his country are denied access or persecuted   By Daniel-Dylan Böhmer DIE WELT [English Translation: See Original German Text Below] June 5, 2013 Twitter is now subject to criticism for hosting the accounts of Iranian officials who are forcibly denying their electorate access to the internet in their country. Recently, the American lobbying organization United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) appealed in an open letter to Facebook, calling for a shutdown of the Supreme Spiritual Leader Ali Khamenei's site. Now the initiators have contacted Twitter in relation to Khamenei's account: "The Iranian regime is using the account to spread its propaganda, while it excludes its own citizens from Twitter," reads a letter from UANI head Mark Wallace, who was a U.S. ambassador to the UN from 2006 to 2008. Wallace also reminds Twitter CEO Dick Costolo of the cruel persecution of opposition supporters who used the platform to publicly protest in the aftermath of the disputed 2009 presidential election. But the restriction of Internet freedom in Iran is also associated with brutal repression in other ways. Just last year, the well-known dissident blogger Sattar Beheshti was arrested and died in prison - apparently as a result of torture. The West: "appalled" The UANI activists are asking Twitter CEO Costolo how this fits with his own remarks praising Twitter's role in the "Arab Spring" and declaring that the short message service could "change the world' by giving a voice to "people who have not previously had one." Unlike the oppressed Iranian opposition, the Supreme Spiritual Leader used his Twitter account for rabble rousing. Thus, the letter quotes Khamenei's tweets to the protesters of the "Arab Spring": "The activists of the Islamic awakening must be vigilant against the unpleasant and horrific experience of Western lifestyle" Or: "Israel is a vile entity in the Middle East, which will undoubtedly be destroyed." With letters like this and public pressure in the U.S., UANI has already prompted many companies, including corporate heavyweights such as General Electric and KPMG, to discontinue their business activities with Iran due to the mullahs' nuclear policy and human rights violations. On the 14 June, a new president will be elected in Iran. Unlike in 2009, prominent opposition candidates are not permitted to run for office whilst access to the Internet has been further restricted.    Diktatoren-Account - Jetzt auch Druck auf Twitter Irans Oberster Geistlicher Führer twittert über die Vernichtung Israels und die Gefahren des westlichen Lebensstils - doch wer in seinem Land Twitter benutzen will, sieht schwarz oder wird verfolgt. Von Daniel-Dylan Böhmer Nun gerät auch Twitter in die Kritik für die Accounts iranischer Funktionäre, die den Zugang zum Internet in ihrem Land mit Gewalt unterdrücken. Kürzlich hatte sich die amerikanische Lobbying-Organisation United Against a Nuclear Iran (UANI) in einem offenen Brief an Facebook gewandt, und gefordert, die Seite des Obersten Geistlichen Führers Ali Chamenei abzuschalten. Nun wenden sich die Initiatoren an Twitter wegen des Accounts, den Chamenei dort unterhält: "Das iranische Regime benutzt das Konto, um seine Propaganda zu verbreiten, während es seine eigenen Bürger von Twitter ausschließt", heißt es in dem Brief von UANI-Chef Mark Wallace, der von 2006 bis 2008 UN-Botschafter der USA war. Zugleich erinnert Wallace Twitter-Chef Dick Costolo an die grausame Verfolgung von Oppositionsanhängern, die nach der umstrittenen Präsidentenwahl 2009 ihren Protest auf Twitter öffentlich gemacht hatten. Auch sonst ist die Einschränkung der Internet-Freiheit im Iran mit brutalen Repressionen verbunden. Erst im vergangenen Jahr wurde der bekannte regimekritische Blogger Sattar Beheshti inhaftiert und kam im Gefängnis zu Tode - offenbar durch Folter. Der Westen: "entsetzlich" Die UANI-Aktivisten fragen Twitter-Chef Costolo, wie das mit seinen eigenen Äußerungen zusammenpasse, die Twitters Rolle im "arabischen Frühling" lobten und erklärten, der Kurznachrichtendienst könne "die Welt verändern", indem es "Menschen eine Stimme gibt, die zuvor keine hatten". Anders als die unterdrückte iranische Opposition benutze der Oberste Geistliche Führer seinen Twitter-Account aber für Hetze. So zitiert der Brief Chameneis Tweets, etwa zu den Demonstranten des "arabischen Frühlings": "Die Aktivisten des islamischen Erwachens müssen wachsam sein gegen die unangenehme und entsetzliche Erfahrung des westlichen Lebensstils". Oder: "Israel ist ein abscheuliches Gebilde im Nahen Osten, das ohne Zweifel vernichtet werden wird." Mit solchen Briefen und öffentlichem Druck in den USA hat UANI bereits zahlreiche Unternehmen bewegt, ihr Iran-Geschäft wegen der Atompolitik und der Menschenrechtsverletzung der Mullahs einzustellen, darunter Schwergewichte wie General Electric und KPMG. Am 14. Juni wird im Iran ein neuer Präsident gewählt. Profilierte Oppositionskandidaten sind anders als 2009 nicht zugelassen. Der Zugang zum Internet wurde insgesamt weiter eingeschränkt. Click here to read UANI's full letter to Twitter. Click here to send a message to Twitter.    Click here to visit UANI's Iranian Regime Election Repression Toolkit. ###  United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) is a program of the American Coalition Against Nuclear Iran, Inc., a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran should concern every American and be unacceptable to the community of nations. Since 1979 the Iranian regime, most recently under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's leadership, has demonstrated increasingly threatening behavior and rhetoric toward the US and the West. Iran continues to defy the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the United Nations in their attempts to monitor its nuclear activities. A number of Arab states have warned that Iran's development of nuclear weapons poses a threat to Middle East stability and could provoke a regional nuclear arms race. In short, the prospect of a nuclear armed Iran is a danger to world peace. United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) is a non-partisan, broad-based coalition that is united in a commitment to prevent Iran from fulfilling its ambition to become a regional super-power possessing nuclear weapons.  UANI is an issue-based coalition in which each coalition member will have its own interests as well as the collective goal of advancing an Iran free of nuclear weapons. The Objectives of United Against a Nuclear Iran Inform the public about the nature of the Iranian regime, including its desire and intent to possess nuclear weapons, as well as Iran's role as a state sponsor of global terrorism, and a major violator of human rights at home and abroad; Heighten awareness nationally and internationally about the danger that a nuclear armed Iran poses to the region and the world; Mobilize public support, utilize media outreach, and persuade our elected leaders to voice a robust and united American opposition to a nuclear Iran; Lay the groundwork for effective US policies in coordination with European and other allies; Persuade the regime in Tehran to desist from its quest for nuclear weapons, while striving not to punish the Iranian people, and; Promote efforts that focus on vigorous national and international, social, economic, political and diplomatic measures. UANI is led by an advisory board of outstanding national figures representing all sectors of our country.

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