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نهم آذر ماه 2544 شاهنشاهی
30 نوامبر 2005
To the attention of CNN.com
Dear Sir (s):
Your reference to the Persian Gulf as the "Arabian" Gulf continues the increasing furtherance of a practice in the Western media which ignores the entire history surrounding this waterway, and the incontrovertible evidence amassed which contradicts this grave error.
It is not simply CNN which is guilty of this practice. Dr. Kaveh Farrokh of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver has submitted the photograph of a map of the Persian Achaemenid Empire in use at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago which reflects the existence of the same ignorance of history at a major American academic institution. In that instance, Rex Geissler's February 5th, 2003 picture omits the appellation "Persian" from the map's graphics (see below).
Darioush the Grand, the Persian Achaemenid King, termed this waterway the Persian Gulf over 2,000 years ago, after passing through it in a military campaign against Egypt which was accompanied by the opening of the Suez Canal. This nomenclature has continued throughout history, including its utilization by the United Nations, the American State Department, and the National Geographic Society as demonstrated by the following attached links:
UN Links :
Cartographic Map
Iran Map:
Map document
U.S. Department of State Links:
State Department document
or
State Department document
National Geographic Society :
World Map :
World Map
Asia Map :
Asia Map
How is it possible that this evidence, corroborated by the proven usage of the term "Persian Gulf" among the world's nations and navies for two millennia, is suddenly jettisoned by CNN, the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, and a series of others in recent media and academic circles in the West? As Dr. Farrokh observes, this mimics the Stalinist tactics chronicled in George Orwell's 1984 which attempt to distort, deny, and erase historical fact from the collective memory of the world community when deemed convenient by the perpetrators. The employment of this brand of politicized history and geography is inconsistent with the practices of sound institutions of integrity in a free society.
Your own news department reflects this unbelievable, ignorant disregard for history and geography in the examples published below that contradict one another in the same news article.
8. 2002 Arabian Gulf Shipping Plot:
In late 2002 and 2003 the United States and a partner nation disrupted a plot by al Qaeda operatives to attack ships in the Arabian Gulf.
9. 2002 Strait of Hormuz Plot:
In 2002 the United States and partners disrupted a plot to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz, the entrance to the Persian Gulf from the Indian Ocean.
May I ask who the invisible actors standing behind CNN and the University of Chicago might be, who further such error and misunderstanding among Western readers depending on such respected institutions for information and education? Is it possible that Arab oil money and the machinations of the British Empire might be lurking in the midst of this hideous travesty? Should we simply follow the "trail of the money" to understand what might be the larger context of this grave violation of journalistic, historical, and political principle?
CNN.com owes a heartfelt explanation and apology for this situation. Not simply for its desecration of history where Persians are concerned, but for a wider audience which may well question CNN's credibility and motives on virtually any subject in question, on the basis of what has happened in the commission of this terrible and hideous affront to the basic principles of justice and fairness upon which CNN claims to stand.
Sincerely,
Shirin Neshat
Sarbazan
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