Freedom of speech enters dark age: Gilad Atzmon on Press TV

The concept of freedom of speech and tolerance enters a dark age as the Europe Union's executive body orders a ban on several Iranian channels, an author tells Press TV. European satellite provider Eutelsat SA says it has stopped the broadcast of several Iranian satellite channels following an order by the European Commission. The company ordered media services company, Arqiva, to take the Iranian satellite channels off one of its Hot Bird frequencies on Monday.

Press TV: Firstly, I wanted to get your reaction to this decision.

Atzmon: It obviously doesn’t take me by a big surprise. The old concept of ‘freedom of speech and tolerance’ is in a serious decay in Europe. In Britain, it already disappeared completely. We are living in a very dark age and it is now official.

Press TV: How does this all tie in with the fact that the European Union was recently awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and the various contradictions that that also brought up for the EU?

Atzmon: This is just there to prove how ridiculous is the Nobel Prize concept is. The whole concept of the Nobel Prize for peace has proven to be very misleading. But this is not the issue.

The issue is that we are living here and seeing our most elementary rights being jeopardized. Now, the West has prided itself with human rights for quite a few decades, and we’re obviously in a serious moment of regression on that front.


It’s pretty astonishing to see that Europeans themselves have for the time being kept silent about it. One of the reasons is because they are facing a financial turmoil, so probably are more concerned with bread and butter.

For me, the most crucial question as the person who specializes in analyzing and monitoring Jewish lobbying around the world is to try to identify the lobbies that are pushing for these measures. It seems to me, at least in Britain, you know, we have proved it beyond a doubt, it was the Jewish lobby that was pushing for silencing Press TV.


I guess that in the EU, the situation is very similar though...

Press TV: Mr. Atzmon, why exactly are we seeing this attack on the human rights such as freedom of speech, freedom of expression, etc'?

Atzmon: Because freedom of expression is the freedom to say what you think, feel and see.

At the moment it is clear beyond a doubt that the country I’m living in, Britain, is involved in more than a decade of an illegal war that left more than a million Iraqis dead.

The situation in Afghanistan is (also) very grave.

It is clear beyond a doubt that at least in regard to Palestine, to Iraq, to Afghanistan, Press TV delivered a story that cannot be seen in Britain because it really contradicts everything the government here claims to support or present.