NYT: Arts, Briefly – Iranian Musician Declares His Protest
Compiled by RACHEL LEE HARRIS
Published: November 15, 2009
Speaking out against the disputed presidential elections in Iran in June and the government crackdown that followed protests, the popular Iranian singer and composer Mohammad Reza Shajarian, left, a master of traditional Persian music, has asked that state radio and television stop broadcasting his work, The Associated Press reported. “After what happened, I said ‘no way’ and threatened to file a complaint against them if they continued to use my music,” Mr. Shajarian said in an interview with the A.P. Though the broadcast services complied with his request, the government has responded to hundreds of other artist protests — which have included boycotting state-sponsored awards and appearing at international events wearing green, the color of the opposition — by banning their work, detaining them or forbidding them to travel. Narges Kalhor, the daughter of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s culture adviser, Mehdi Kalhor, sought asylum in Germany last month out of fear of repercussions after screening her documentary “Rake,” which was inspired by the human rights violations she says routinely occur in Iran.
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