Screenshot via Press TV

In light of the Harper government closing its Tehran embassy in September, Iran’s state-run Press TV has increasingly attacked the Canadian government for supposed abuse of human rights.

“What gives his [Harper] government the right to criticize human rights of other countries,” says the show, which claims the oppression has increased since Harper took control.

Recruiting former First Nation Chiefs Dakota Tipi and Dennis Pashe to support their allegations, Press TV paints Canada as an abusive and negligent nation that turns a blind eye to its native people.

Dakota says the antiquated Canadian Indian Act “makes indigenous people living on the government reservation to be legally incompetent in the same category as children.” He uses statistics and emotional appeal to convey his argument.

Pashe takes a different approach.

“They [government] use alcohol and drugs to cause a lot of of social evil in our families and our communities to undermine our family values,” said Pashe, who compares a First Nation to a concentration camp. “It’s part of the ongoing effort by the Canadian government to exterminate us.”

This episode, titled “Analysis: Canada Rights Abuse,” follows Press TV headlines such as “Warning: This article contains graphic human rights abuse in Canada” and “Canada, human rights slaughterhouse.”

Press TV is the only station legally allowed to broadcast in Iran.   

[Yahoo]

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Mollie Paige writes for the Toronto Standard. You can follow her on twitter @MolliePB

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