A Daily Briefing on Iran: The Mullahs' Killing Fields

Jamie Glazov, FrontPageMagazine.com:

Frontpage guest's today is Joseph Akrami, an independent filmmaker who is the director of A Few Simple Shots, a film documenting the Iranian regime's human rights atrocities. READ MORE

FP: Joseph Akrami welcome to FrontPage interview.

Akrami: Thanks for the opportunity

FP: What inspired you to direct this movie?

Akrami: The main inspiration for making this film came from the fact that at the time of the Revolution in 1979 the Iranian people wished for fundamental changes in the social, economic and political structures of society. However, when the IRI (Islamic Republic of Iran) took power immediately after the Revolution, they were unable to provide even the most basic rights or put into effect any of the principles that the Iranian people had fought for. Instead, the IRI created the machine of torture, terrorism, and execution in order to remain in power.

It is the perpetual abuse and violation of human rights by this machine that has compelled me to direct A Few Simple Shots.

FP: You have put yourself in potential harm way for making this film. No?

Akrami: The nature of the Iranian regime is such that any sort of criticism is unacceptable. Consequently, many Iranians who opposed the IRI were brutally assassinated by the regime's agents inside the country as well as abroad. I am well aware of these dangers but as a filmmaker I am responsible to reveal the true nature of this cannibalistic regime to audiences around the world.

FP: In your film, we see physicians partaking in acts of amputation and surgical removal of eyes. Tell us why this tragic crime occurs.

Akrami: The answer to this question is very simple. Tragically the last twenty-seven years has been an extremely difficult period for the Iranian people. They have experienced high unemployment, an explosive amount of drug trafficking, prostitution, and terrible poverty. These unfortunate circumstances are the direct result of being in the grip of a regime where corruption runs rampant. By committing such barbaric and inhuman acts as amputation, stoning people to death and public executions the regime is able to achieve another goal: it creates an atmosphere of terror among the Iranian people.

FP: Can you tell us about the failed coup of 18 tir?

Akrami: Iran has been and continues to be in a state of political unrest. One of the results of this unrest happened during the time that Khatami was president. It is my opinion that Khatami was the most dangerous mullah in Iran after Ayatollah Khomeini. Khatami was brought in by the regime in order to buy time. With his Mickey Mouse "Dialogue of Civilization" and his perennial smiling face he was able to attract some followers in Iran and able to dupe the international community. The demonstration that is known as the 18 tir took place under Khatami because a group of followers naively believed his duplicitous political rhetoric and thought that this president would support their efforts to gain more social, political, and economic rights for all Iranians. However, it took people eight years to realize that Khatomi was a demonic creature of the regime.

FP: Why does this vicious and sadistic regime remain in power?

Akrami: The fact that this regime remains in power can be viewed from two different angles. First...consider the nature of the regime itself: it manifests terror, repression, execution, and torture...and it has manifested these characteristics for more than twenty years. Second...consider how the international community responds to the epidemic of human rights violations that exists in Iran...it has not responded effectively to the abuse of human rights so that it may continue to reap the economic benefits that come from multibillion dollar trading with Iran.

The consequence of an inadequate response from the international community regarding human rights has allowed Iran to move to the next horrible stage of their Islamic political agenda. As the IRI approaches the mastery of nuclear technology people in other parts of the world will become the new victims of this regime.

FP: Do you think the Mullahs are ready and willing to use nuclear weapons as soon as they get the chance?

Akrami: As you have seen in my film A Few Simple Shots, the determining principles of the IRI were created by the Islamic Fascism of Ayatollah Khomeini. During his life Khomeini's greatest ambition was to create an Islamic empire in the region and beyond.

This dream led to the execution of more than ten thousand political prisoners in the summer of 1988. Among those prisoners who were executed were girls as young as thirteen, as well as pregnant women. At the same time more than three hundred political leaders and activists were assassinated inside Iran and abroad. Today the IRI remains active and continues to take lives.

Since the IRI is clearly ruthless in the way that it treats Iranians both at home and abroad there is little doubt that this regime will be equally ruthless in the way that it deals with the citizens of other countries.

FP: How do you recommend that the West deal with the Iranian threat? What can we do to help freedom come to Iran?

Akrami: I strongly believe that any military action against Iran is unacceptable. Such action would only lead to more suffering by the Iranian people and would have a negative impact on Iran.

Far more effective in my view have been the recent attempts by some countries to put pressure on the mullahs by freezing their assets in banks abroad. Other strategies that would help to expedite the fall of the IRI would be the shutting down of Iranian embassies around the world and the removal of the Iranian representative for the United Nations.

The international community also needs to recognize and support the voices of Iranian resistance movements in Iran and around the world.

FP: Mr. Akrami, thank you for your courage. You are a true warrior for freedom. Thank you for telling the truth about the Iranian regime and keeping the memory of its victims alive. We will never forget.

For all our readers who are interested, this film is going to be on screen in Toronto and other cities soon. Mr. Akrami can be emailed at www.art19film@yahoo.ca.