TEHERAN - The journalistsÂ’ association in Iran said on Saturday it would take legal action against the labour ministry over steps which could lead to the union being closed. The move came after the labour ministry declared the association as "fit for dissolution" earlier this week because of alleged irregularities in electing the group's board of directors.The decision was "politically-motivated," charged the association's head, Rajabali Mazrooi, insisting the union founded in 1997 grouped journalists of all political factions. "In all elections of the union, members have chosen reformists to the board but those in the government prefer to have people of their own line among directors," he told a press conference.
He said the association could only be dissolved by a vote among its members, by a court ruling, or if it failed to hold elections within six months after the board's mandate had expired. "The association will continue its activities and pursue the matter legally," he said, adding that the 4,000-member group was independent and did not receive government funds.
| Sucks to live in a dictatorship, doesn't it. |
According to its leaders, the association has faced hurdles in promoting members' demands, such as on health insurance, since hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came to power in 2005. m"They have really given me a hard time in this period ... They have created all kinds of obstacles for us," said the board's secretary, Badralsadat Mofidi.
Another board member, reformist journalist Ahmad Zeidabadi, said the "government wants to see the association turn into a political body which defends and promotes the Islamic republic's policies."
Iran's moderate press enjoyed a degree of freedom during the reformist presidency of Mohammad Khatami from 1997 to 2005, but it was also targeted by a series of bans. Under Ahmadinejad, the Iranian media -- a myriad of newspapers, Internet news sites and news agencies of all political colours -- has been hit by a string of closures.