Tehran – The press conference for the 3rd International Comics, Caricatures and Poster Contest was held on June 11th in a building in Tehran city, with many international visual artists present.
At the start of the press conference, Masoud Shoijai Tabatabai, secretary of the event organized by the Art Bureau, announced the opening of the event at the House of Photographers Gallery, in the Art Bureau, Tehran on Wednesday evening.
“This is the third edition of the “Holocide” contest. The previous two events highlighted the challenge of freedom of expression in the West,” Tabatabaei said.
“In the face of social media restrictions and media war and domination of hegemony power, we have not notified the public despite witnessing genocide in its geographical territory for over 20 months to the public,” he added.
“The Western media truly operates on a double standard. When it comes to the oppressed people and the atrocities of Gaza, they refuse to report anything. Even the non-Iranian media here today are from the Arab countries, Turkey and Russia.
“Last week, UNICEF announced that Gaza children are marching every 20 minutes due to malnutrition and artillery fire. Western media even bans mention of the word Holocaust.
Famous cartoonist Tabatabaei continues to review the perspectives of the history of the Holocaust and the hegemony system of Western media, saying, “In spite of the conditions imposed by Western media, we received strong support and solidarity from artists around the world at the Holokkid event.”
“Over 1,500 works have been submitted from 61 countries, some of which will be presented today at the Art Bureau,” he said.
The secretary further elaborated at the exhibition, saying, “We have also arranged urban advertising spaces for subway stations, but the main exhibition will be online using platforms such as Iranian cartoon websites.”
Later in the press conference, Mehmet Elei Ozbek, a well-known Turkish cartoonist, said:
“There is no genocide in world history that is as much discussed as Gaza’s genocide. As an artist, all I could do was create some artwork.
Describing his work for this year’s event, he states: “In my comics, I was trying to highlight the fact that people all over the world protested the crimes of the Zionist regime in Gaza, but governments around the world remained silent, which was extremely disappointing.”
“I congratulate the Iranian people as their united government against the crimes committed against Palestine. I express my love and affection to you,” he concluded.
Another part of the event was Ivan Ernesto Lila Gomez, a well-known graphic, cartoon and caricature artist from Venezuela, who gave a speech: Hegemonic forces portray attackers as victims and as victims. ”
“In reality, freedom coincides with art, and visual art advances freedom. Art is a constructive process towards liberation, allowing us to expose implicit genocide and human rights abuses,” he added.
“Today, the biggest genocide is being committed against the Palestinian people. Culture and art aim to eradicate colonialism and imperialism,” the artist noted.
The Ministry of Health said Tuesday that at least 55,000 Palestinians were killed in the Israeli massacre war in the Gaza Strip.
“Many victims are still trapped in tile rubs and roads because rescuers can’t reach them,” he added.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Joab Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel is also facing a genocide case in the International Court of Justice due to its war with the enclave.
SS/SAB