This is not about safety; it is about shielding the Islamic Republic of Iran
- Posted by
- On August 3, 2011
- 3 Comments
You can see a letter to DNA magazine about their excluding my quotes from their piece on the situation of gays in Iran by a reader of my blog, Martyn, and the response by the magazine below.
To me the issue is clear.
I feel this has been a wrong move, and as fan of your magazine, I felt compelled to write to you.
I can appreciate your concerns about not wanting to make the situation worse for those persecuted in Iran, but women and homosexuals are always the first victims of fundamentalism and there is no hiding from it.
Maryam notes that we don’t know when good old-fashioned international solidarity ever became unhelpful.
I don’t know when it ever became unhelpful either.
Gay people are being murdered systematically in places such as Iran and therefore it is vital the international gay community are aware of it. It needs to be written about, read about, discussed and challenged. This can only happen by allowing activists such as Maryam Namazie the voice your publication has denied.
I hope you reconsider your decision and that the piece in question finds a place in a future feature.
Kindest regards,
Here is Nick Cook’s response from DNA magazine
As I’ve told Maryam, we removed her quotes because several of the other activists, who I respect immensely, convinced us that included her quotes in the story would put gay people on the ground at greater risk. I live in Sydney and cannot possibly judge the truth of that, so we erred on the side of caution and took their word for it. Our highest responsibility is to do nothing that will put anybody at risk of harm.
Regards,
Nick Cook
Features editor
DNA magazine
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