Question: The Meta company has recently closed Imam Khamenei's Instagram and Facebook pages after its posts against terrorism and Zionism. What do you think was the reason behind this move?
R. Pérez: This is a war. They restrict Instagram and Facebook pages due to the fact that Imam Khamenei's Instagram account promotes a discourse that is grounded in reality and provides moral support for the Palestinian people. This is true not only with regard to the matter of Palestine, but in all areas. I would like to remind you of the words of [Imam] Khomeini, who had warned even before the Revolution that the issue of Palestine and Israel could lead to the current situation. That is why he established Quds Day.
Therefore, there are individuals who are ahead of their time due to their strategic understanding of issues. They [companies like Meta] strategically limit any speech and discussion that is different. The media and social networks hold significant power. They are the so-called "fourth power" in many countries. Social networks are currently even more influential than other measures. You can use a social network to mobilize large numbers of people to launch a hybrid war.
So when they want to silence you, they do this in two ways. Not only do they close your channel or means of communication, but they also censor you. Therefore, someone who has been censored may not want to appear on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter anymore. There are different ways to censor a person. Sometimes, they don’t just close a person’s Instagram page. They silence them from the root. The worst form of censorship is when they accuse a person unjustly. For example, they may accuse you of being anti-Semitic and you have to bear the burden of this accusation.
Let me give you an example of what I have encountered in Iran myself. I was in a meeting with the mayor of Tabriz, and we were discussing issues regarding cooperation, brotherhood, and friendship between our two countries, among other things. The meeting took place during the protests [riots], and I told him that this is a hybrid war [against Iran]. What do you think was the headline of the distorted news written by Iran International, which we know operates in London using Israeli funding, regarding this meeting?
The news headline that was published in my country was this, "[Bolivia]’s Ambassador in Iran condemns feminist marches." However, I had not even talked about the demonstrations, nor about feminists, nor about anything else [about the marches]. So this is how they can harm you without closing your Instagram page or other communication channels. At that time, I witnessed how the media attacked my stance while I was trying to observe the hybrid warfare that was taking place against Iran.
The West did not want to reflect the reality of what was taking place in Iran. They wanted to pretend that the subject of the protests was focused on hijab and other such issues. The West was aware of the truth, but they wanted to focus on the issue of hijab in order to divert attention from other underlying matters. They were pleasing [and working for] those who were behind the unrest.
So, that matter created problems for me. They called me from my country and asked me, “Why [did you say such a thing]?” Firstly, since I was the president of the Network of Women Parliamentarians of the Americas from Canada to Argentina, and also due to my involvement in passing an anti-patriarchy law, I am a well-known figure in the field of gender equality. We are very powerful in Bolivia because our political system mandates that parliament be made up of 50 percent women and 50 percent men. We operate with fairness and in proportion.
So, I was required to go and give an explanation. I took the footage [of my meeting in Tabriz], and I provided a statement to the Iranian media. A month ago, the Ammar Film Festival honored the ambassador of Bolivia for the stance her country had taken against Arrogance. But how did Iran International manipulate this news story? They stated that I was given this award for my support of hijab being “mandatory.” This had nothing to do with what had happened. The attack on the Bolivian ambassador was due to media politics.
The opposition’s press and the Israeli media talk about Alba, Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Bolivia without ever mentioning the names of their ambassadors. However, I find myself constantly targeted by media attacks, likely due to my critical views and opposition to imperialism and Zionism. And that is the reason the media distorts the news about a person.
So it's not a surprise that they closed your Instagram account, because they restrict other things too. However, we must refrain from adopting the mentality of a victim. That's all I'm trying to say. We must have our own understanding of ourselves, and we must act and be very creative and innovative. We must respond to the attacks of the West and their technology using the strong relationships we have built with our allies, because here the issue of treachery is also related to technology. All of these matters need to be addressed.
(The views expressed in this interview are interviewee’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of Khamenei.ir.)
