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New Satellite Channel Targets Ethnic Arab Region of Iran

Posted on: Wednesday, 4 January 2006, 12:00 CST

A new satellite TV channel fiercely critical of what it calls the "Iranian enemy" was observed by BBC Monitoring on 5 and 6 December.

Ahwaz TV, which broadcasts in Arabic, calls itself in its broadcast of 6 December "the television of occupied Ahwaz". It also describes itself in this broadcast as "the voice of Arab strugglers in Ahwaz" and "the voice of the Arab Ahwazi revolution". It calls for independence, an end to 80 years of "occupation" and integration into the greater Arab nation.

According to the channel's website, at www.al-ahwaz.com, it is affiliated with the National Liberation Movement of Ahwaz. Ahwaz (or Ahvaz) is the capital of the Iranian province of Khuzestan.

Ahwaz TV has been observed on the Hot Bird 6 satellite at 13 degrees east, broadcasting from 1700-1800 gmt at 10971 MHz. The television has an on-screen caption giving a telephone number with a Nova Scotia, Canada, area code and a fax number with a California area code.

Archived recordings of broadcasts are available on the website.

The activities of another and quite distinct satellite channel broadcasting to the Khuzestan region, Al-Ahwaz TV, are reported by the website of the London-based British Ahwazi Friendship Society (BAFS) (www.ahwaz.org.uk). Al-Ahwaz TV, which is supported by the BAFS, is reported to broadcast on the Assyrian Betnahrain satellite channel (http://www.assyriasat.org/sat/default.htm), on Hot Bird 6 at 11585 MHz. BBC Monitoring has not directly observed broadcasts by this channel.

BAFS says on its website that it "facilitates grants and donations" to the channel, which it describes as "the only independent broadcasting medium dedicated to giving a voice to the Ahwazi people".

BAFS states that it does not support separatism and upholds the territorial integrity of Iran as a multi-ethnic country with regional autonomy. Its treasurer, Mansour Silawi-Ahwazi, is also a senior member of the Democratic Solidarity Party of Al-Ahwaz, which advocates a federal Iran.

This report replaces and clarifies information contained in a previous report by BBC Monitoring dated 7 December 2005, which was subsequently withdrawn.

Source: BBC Monitoring Media

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