Saturday, May 28, 2005

Week in Review

DoctorZin provides a review of this past week's [5/22-5/28] major news events regarding Iran.

Iran's Presidential Elections:
The EU3 Negotiations with Iran:
Last Sunday -
Monday -
Tuesday -
Wednesday -
Thursday -
Friday -
Saturday -
Iran's trouble making outside of Iran:
Iran's Nuclear Program:
US Policy and Iran:
Human Rights/Freedom of the press inside of Iran:
Popular struggle for freedom inside of Iran:
Popular struggle for freedom outside of Iran:
Iran and the world community:
Must Read reports in the Mainstream Media:
The Experts:
And finally, The Quote of the Week:
Adnkronos International reported that a representative of Iran's Supreme Leader said,
"Vote for Rafsanjani and we will have nuclear bombs."

posted by DoctorZin @ 5/28/2005 10:56:00 PM  

Saturday's Daily Briefing on Iran

DoctorZin reports, 5.28.2005:

Why Europe is Wrong on Iran

Amir Taheri, Arab News:
The Europeans... ignore the messianic nature of the ideology that sustains the Islamic Republic. That ideology sees itself in a global competition with Western liberalism of which the European Union is one manifestation. Khomeinism’s ambition is to win that competition one day, and remold the global system on the basis of its vision. That ambition may seem laughable to outsiders who know that the Islamic Republic counts for little in the global balance of power. Some in the Tehran establishment also regard such ambitions as absurd. The truth, however, is that the system cannot act against its own nature.

The problem that the Europeans, among others, have with the Islamic Republic is not one of behavior, as Straw and his colleagues assume. The problem is with the nature of the Iranian regime. READ MORE
This is perhaps the best analysis of the problems of the EU3/Iran talks. We need to make sure this is read widely.

Here are a few other news items you may have missed.

posted by DoctorZin @ 5/28/2005 03:55:00 PM  

U.S. Expands Aid to Iran's Democracy Advocates Abroad

Steven Weisman, The NY Times:
The Bush administration is expanding efforts to influence Iran's internal politics with aid for opposition and pro-democracy groups abroad and longer broadcasts criticizing the Iranian government, administration officials say.

The efforts are being carried out quietly to avoid provoking Iranian leaders, officials say, adding that they reflect the administration's frustration over stalled diplomatic efforts to get Iran to dismantle what the West suspects is a nuclear weapons program and to end its support for Islamic militant groups.

So far the resources directed toward these efforts are small, including $1.5 million late last year and $3 million this year, some of which is to going to exile groups with contacts inside Iran. No money has gone directly inside Iran, the officials say, but they say that could change and note that the sums could grow.

Conservatives in Congress, in parts of the administration and at some research centers have long advocated a policy of trying to change the government in Iran, but only recently have they secured financing. Their discussions have been increasingly public, but only in the last few weeks have top administration officials begun answering questions on the policy.

Earlier this month, the Voice of America increased the time it broadcasts its government-financed satellite programs into Iran, now repeating its one-hour news program four times a day. Voice of America said a recent telephone survey in Iran, where satellite dishes are widespread though banned, showed that 10 percent of respondents said they watched the program.

Broadcasts this month included interviews with a student leader and a well-known poet and political activist who criticized Iranian clerics for barring hundreds of candidates from the presidential election next month.

R. Nicholas Burns, under secretary of state for political affairs, called the expanded efforts a "second track" paralleling diplomatic initiatives on Iran's support for terrorism and its nuclear program. He said the administration was "taking a page from the playbook" on Ukraine and Georgia. In those countries, the United States gave money to opposition and pro-democracy groups, some of which later supported the peaceful overthrow of the governments in power. READ MORE

Asked whether American funds may soon go to groups inside Iran, Mr. Burns said: "We're certainly not there yet, because we don't have a platform to do it, and the country isn't free enough to do it. It's a much more oppressive environment than Ukraine was last autumn, during the Orange Revolution."

Administration officials, acknowledging the broad support for nuclear rights in Iran, said they did not necessarily expect a more democratic government in Iran would be amenable to giving up nuclear activity, but said they hoped to change Iranian behavior by pushing for democracy.

The officials acknowledge that distributing funds to groups with contacts inside Iran could be tricky. Various groups have conflicting agendas, from those allied with the family of the shah of Iran, who want a restoration of the monarchy, to others once allied with Saddam Hussein of Iraq, whose government waged a war with Iran in the 1980's.

Iranian officials have been quoted in the country's official news media as criticizing the United States' new efforts as an attempt to interfere in its internal affairs, but administration officials maintain that supporting independent groups does not constitute such a step.

And some Iran experts say the financial assistance would tend to publicly discredit the recipients. "Anyone who wants American money in Iran is going to be tainted in the eyes of the Iranians," said Abbas Milani, director of the Iranian Studies program at Stanford University, who has held informal discussions with the administration.

But others say the Iranian groups should decide for themselves.

"Many Iranians have shown they are not embarrassed to take American assistance," said Michael Rubin, a former Iran adviser in the office of the secretary of defense, who advocated aiding Iranian groups before leaving office last year. "We just have to make sure they're not just pocketing the cash and doing nothing in return."

When he was at the Pentagon, Mr. Rubin was part of a group of conservatives there and in Vice President Dick Cheney's office who favored strong American support for dissidents and others who might one day overthrow the government in Tehran. The State Department tended to resist their proposals, fearing they would disrupt diplomatic efforts to improve relations with Tehran.

The exile groups have their own focus. A grant of $1 million has gone to the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, a United States-based organization that says it has connections with dissidents inside Iran. The grant is intended to gather information on rights abuses since the Iranian Revolution of 1979, the center says, but also to support pro-democracy groups inside Iran.

"We have many contacts in Iran, and we have even engaged in human rights training of people in Iran," said Payam Akhavan, a director of the project. "We are not interested in regime change or overthrowing the government. But we hope to build grass-roots civil society and democratic consciousness among the Iranians."

So far, meanwhile, the State Department has channeled $500,000 through the National Endowment for Democracy, a semi-independent group set up by Congress, to create databases and publications on human rights, business enterprise and women's rights. But none of that money, the officials say, is going to groups inside Iran.

An administration official said the State Department was also studying dozens of proposals for spending $3 million in the coming year "for the benefit of Iranians living inside Iran." He said these included broadcast activities, Internet programs and "working with people inside Iran" on advancing political activities there.

"We've got some fantastic proposals," said the official, explaining that he was authorized to speak about this subject only on the condition that he not be identified. "We will have no problem spending the $3 million. We could probably even spend more."

He said it might be possible to transfer funds directly into Iran, but said the Treasury Department would have to waive federal laws barring financial transactions with Iranians. "Treasury is fully in tune with the administration's goals and they're working to find the best ways to do it," he added.

posted by DoctorZin @ 5/28/2005 03:43:00 PM  

Iran's Council approves law forcing govt to develop nuke tech

Times of India:
Iran's hard-line Guardian Council has approved a bill forcing Iran to develop nuclear technology, including uranium enrichment, state-run radio reported on Saturday. READ MORE

Parliament had passed the bill on May 15 but the Guardian Council must vet all bills before they become law.

The passing of the law does not force the government to resume uranium enrichment immediately but requires it to pursue nuclear goals even as Iran is under international pressure over its nuclear activities.

The law calls on the government to develop a nuclear fuel cycle, which would include resuming the process of enriching uranium - a prospect that has drawn criticism from the United States and Europe because it could be used in developing atomic weapons.

Iran suspended enrichment of uranium last November under international pressure led by the United States, which accuses Tehran of trying to make nuclear weapons. Iran maintains its programme is peaceful and only aimed at generating electricity.

The legislation was viewed as strengthening the government's hand in negotiations with European Union representatives, allowing it to demonstrate domestic pressure to pursue its nuclear program as talks have deadlocked.

Iran agreed on Wednesday to meet with European Union negotiators for a new round of talks in the summer.

posted by DoctorZin @ 5/28/2005 03:40:00 PM  

Dr. Ahura Yazdi is at it again

Dr. Ahura-Pirouz Khaleghi Yazdi who last year was flying to Iran and bring down the regime is at it again. This time there is no mention of his flying anywhere.

posted by DoctorZin @ 5/28/2005 03:32:00 PM  

Why Europe is Wrong on Iran

Amir Taheri, Arab News:
During his visit to Washington last week, Britain’s Foreign Secretary Jack Straw told his American interlocutors that the European Union’s initiative on Iran, of which his government is a part, was heading for an impasse. But when asked what the next move should be, all that Straw had to say was: Keep talking until after the Iranian presidential election.

The Europeans said a similar thing last year when talks on Iran’s alleged nuclear ambitions had hit another brick-wall. At that time the advice was to keep talking until after the Iranian parliamentary election. Well, that election took place without producing any evolution in the Iranian position except that the Islamic Republic may now be a year closer to the “surge capacity” it needs to become a nuclear power.

The latest round of talks, slated to continue until after the Iranian presidential election, is equally likely to produce no change in Tehran’s position. Tehran will continue to use the talks as a diplomatic smokescreen while driving a wedge between Europe and the United States.

Nevertheless, it would be wrong to blame Iran for this state of affairs. The leadership in Tehran is acting in accordance with its own agenda that is aimed at securing the technological and industrial base that would enable Iran to develop a nuclear arsenal if and when it so decides. The creation of that “surge capacity” is a key element in the Islamic Defense Doctrine as approved by Khamenehi in the mid-1990s.

The Europeans are victims of their own delusions. Their policy on Iran is based on a logical contradiction and a number of illusions.

The contradiction is this: They assume that Iran has been lying about its nuclear program for two decades, and invite the Iranians to stop lying. But to do that, they would first have to admit that they had been lying. The Europeans are asking Iran to stop doing what Iran insists it is not doing at all. Thus to satisfy the Europeans Iran must first do what it says it is not doing and then stop doing it in a verifiable way. Remember the conundrum about the liar who says that, all his life, he had told nothing but lies?

What about the European illusions?

One such is Straw’s belief that the results of the Iranian presidential election will have an impact on Tehran’s position. “We have to wait and see who wins,” he told US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

What Straw ignores is that we already know who the winner is. He is a mid-ranking mulla named Ali Hussein-Khamenehi whose position as “The Supreme Guide” in the system created by the late Ayatollah Khomeini, gives him unlimited constitutional powers. Whoever wins the Iranian presidency next month will be little more than a member of Khamenehi’s vast entourage. Like all his predecessors, the future president will be part of a façade that hides the true decision-making mechanisms of the system. Any suggestion that a president of the Islamic Republic could overrule “The Supreme Guide” is too absurd to merit refutation.

The second illusion stems from the first. For over a year, Straw and his German and French colleagues have been talking to a certain Hassan Rouhani, a junior mulla with the title of secretary of The High Council of Islamic National Defense. By all accounts Rouhani is a bonviveur with a sense of humor. His friends say that, in his lighter moments, he makes a good imitation of the German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer.

But anyone with the slightest knowledge of how things work in Tehran would know that Rouhani has no decision-making powers even on procedural matters.

The Europeans have never been able to see any of the real decision-makers (known as tasmimgiran) in Tehran let alone engage them in negotiation. Rouhani and other facade officials who talk to the Europeans may honestly believe that Iran is not up to mischief if only because they do not know what is going on. Only those in the camarilla around “The Supreme Guide” have the full picture. The doors of that camarilla, however, remain shut to the Europeans.

The Europeans also ignore the messianic nature of the ideology that sustains the Islamic Republic. That ideology sees itself in a global competition with Western liberalism of which the European Union is one manifestation. Khomeinism’s ambition is to win that competition one day, and remold the global system on the basis of its vision. That ambition may seem laughable to outsiders who know that the Islamic Republic counts for little in the global balance of power. Some in the Tehran establishment also regard such ambitions as absurd. The truth, however, is that the system cannot act against its own nature.

The problem that the Europeans, among others, have with the Islamic Republic is not one of behavior, as Straw and his colleagues assume. The problem is with the nature of the Iranian regime. READ MORE

Put in terms of practical power politics the problem is simple: The present global system is almost exclusively a Western creation. Francis Fukuyama’s theory of “the end of history” is true in the sense that there no longer is a major ideological challenge to the Western world, which is now opposed only by a few oddballs such as North Korea, Myanmar, Zimbabwe, and Cuba. The Khomeinist regime sees itself as the successor of the late Soviet Union as the principal challenger of the West’s global domination.

Talleyrand once said that there are powers that will not stop because they do not know how; they stop only when they are stopped. The experience of the past three decades shows that this is true of the Islamic Republic.

Hamid-Reza Asefi, the Foreign Ministry spokesman in Tehran, has already dismissed the package of concessions that the Europeans and, to a lesser extent, the Bush administration, have offered Iran, as “a joke.” He is not being frivolous. Almost half a century of Cold War with the USSR teaches at least one lesson: Your adversary will stop doing whatever it is that you don’t like only if you stop him. If you cannot, he won’t stop. Why should he?

If Iran has decided to get the bomb, it is not going to stop because Straw talks to a junior mulla. Nor would the promise of investment and trade persuade them to change course. As for the threat of “referring” them to the United Nations, then above-mentioned Asefi has already described it as “laughable”.

The European initiative is not only useless but could also be dangerous. By fostering Tehran’s illusion that the Islamic Republic could take the major powers for a ride, the European initiative strengthens the hands of those in the camarilla who believe, or pretend to believe, that their war of attrition against a “corrupt, cowardly and moribund West” is winnable. There are many ways of dealing with the Khomeinist challenge. The European imitative, now heading for another failure, is the worst.
This is prehaps the best analysis of the problems of the EU3/Iran talks. We need to make sure this is read widely.

posted by DoctorZin @ 5/28/2005 02:12:00 PM  

Iran TV Slams Foreign 'Propaganda'

BBC News:
An Iranian television channel has accused foreign media organisations of interfering in the country's forthcoming presidential election, just three days after the official start of the campaign.

In a special programme shown on Saturday, the 24-hour news channel Iranian News Network TV said foreign broadcasters, including Persian-language radio stations based abroad, were attempting to affect the outcome of the poll, scheduled for 17 June, by urging a low turnout. READ MORE

"The foreign media are resorting to all the tricks in the book," said the programme's presenter. "The policy of creating division and discord is one of their old ploys."

"Iranian News Network TV receives and records pictures from news media all over the world," added a correspondent.

"Their propaganda can be summed up in one sentence - divide and rule."

'Solidarity and unity'

The channel said some overseas broadcasters were seeking to open up divisions in Iranian society by encouraging members of ethnic minorities not to cast their votes.

It then showed a series of interviews with representatives of these groups, who professed to a strong commitment to the electoral process as well as a distrust of external influences.

"The Kurds will definitely take part in the elections as Iranians because they love Islam and their homeland," one Iranian Kurd told the channel.

"The enemies of Iran are afraid and scared of the solidarity and unity of the people of Iran," argued a member of the Azeri community.

And in a live link-up with the studio, two university lecturers urged all Iranians to study the aims of such "foreign propaganda" to make sure they are not deceived.

No immunity

But domestic media have also come in for fierce criticism over their campaign coverage.

Earlier this month, hardline MP Mehdi Kouchakzadeh launched a stinging attack on the Iranian press after one paper published an article which he said misrepresented his conduct in parliament.

"You are a bunch of liars who don't believe in anything and lie for a loaf of bread," the MP told one reporter.

Around 60 journalists gathered outside parliament several days later to protest against his remarks and what they see as a wider crackdown on the media.

The next day, the moderate daily Etemaad published a commentary calling on the Iranian establishment to accept the notion of being criticised in the media.

"In a democratic system, no one and no institution enjoys immunity or a safety margin," it said.

posted by DoctorZin @ 5/28/2005 02:01:00 PM  

Iran Says U.S., Israel are the Real Nuclear Threats

Louis Charbonneau, Reuters:
The United States and Israel represent the real nuclear threat to the world, not Iran, Tehran's chief envoy to the United Nations said on Friday after an abortive conference on controlling nuclear weapons. READ MORE

Javad Zarif, Iran's ambassador to the U.N., said the United States never intended to scrap its nuclear arsenal, despite promising to eventually disarm when it signed the 1970 nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the landmark arms control pact.

Zarif, in an interview with Reuters, said Israel, which is widely believed to have nuclear weapons, was the threat to the Middle East region. "There is unanimity on the threat that is posed not only by Israeli nuclear weapons but by its aggressive policy (in general)," he said.

Washington is backing efforts by Britain, France and Germany to persuade Tehran to halt its nuclear fuel program, which they fear may be intended to make atomic bombs. Iran denies this, insisting its program is peaceful.

Zarif dismissed as hollow U.S. pledges in 1995 and 2000 reaffirming its commitment to scrap its nuclear arsenal. "The U.S. never had any intention of living up to its commitments under Article 6 of the treaty," he said.

In Article 6 of the NPT the five treaty signatories with nuclear weapons -- Russia, the United States, France, Britain and China -- agreed to eventually disarm.

SMOKE SCREEN

Zarif said U.S. attacks on Iran's nuclear program were a "smoke screen to divert attention from its violations" that included a U.S. willingness "to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapon states."

Every five years the 188 members of the NPT meet for a month to review the landmark treaty. The 2005 review ended on Friday without any agreement on how to improve the accord. Many delegates blamed both Washington and Tehran for what they described a failure of the conference to do anything.

Washington worked hard to prevent the conference -- which works by consensus -- from approving any documents that refer to its 1995 and 2000 pledges to disarm, while Iran blocked anything that referred to it as a proliferation threat and NPT violator.

The conference approved a document that merely listed the agenda and the participants.

Egypt also worked hard to prevent any substantive conclusion from the conference when it saw it had no chance of focusing criticism on Israel's assumed atomic arsenal.

"Israel is the threat to the region," he said. "It is one of the great ironies of our age that a country outside the framework of legality in the area of nonproliferation is one of the countries that is the most active participants against Iran," he said.

Like atomic-armed India and Pakistan, Israel has never signed the NPT. It neither admits nor denies having the bomb, Israel is estimated to have some 200 nuclear warheads.

posted by DoctorZin @ 5/28/2005 01:53:00 PM  

D.C. Rally Caps Iran Liberty Walk

WorldNetDaily.com:
The 200-mile "Iran Freedom Walk," organized by the Iran Freedom Foundation, concludes today with a rally at noon in Lafayette Park across the street from the White House. READ MORE

The keynote speaker is Richard Perle, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense and a key architect of President Bush's Middle East policy. Also featured is former Ambassador Mike Palmer; Joe Grieboski, founder and president of the Institute on Religion and Public Policy; and "Atomic Iran" author Jerome Corsi, who is leading the walk.

The final three-mile stage of the journey, launched in Philadelphia two weeks ago, begins at 10 a.m. in front of Union Station in Washington.

Corsi spent much of Wednesday on his cellphone talking to government officials and radio talk show hosts. Midway through the morning, he informed his fellow marchers he had been in touch with both the White House and the vice president's office.

Corsi told the marchers President Bush offered his encouragement.

The president thanked them for their efforts to bring greater attention to the plight of the Iranian people, Corsi said, and agreed to press for better treatment of political prisoners held in Iran by the ruling mullahs.

The news brought some tears from the Iranian marchers.

"God bless America, and God bless George Bush," said Yousef Dinmaghani.

Another walker is Shahrokh Ferdosi, who worked in the Ministry of Culture and Art in Tehran and as a television host and columnist before the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Under the radical, cleric-led regime, Ferdosi was tortured and continues to have pain and problems with his toes and feet.

"I was lucky that I was able to escape Iran," he said. "First of all I sent my family to Canada to escape the mullahs. From 1979 I traveled almost around the world including Tokyo, Japan; Paris, France; Malaysia; Singapore; Italy; while traveling on a forged passport. I finally came to Canada in 1989."

Ferdosi now leads a small underground party in Canada called "New Iran For Us" and is a member of the opposition Islamic government in exile.

In that capacity, he works with seven television stations and four radio stations that focus on political issues inside Iran.

On the walk he's in almost constant contact with other Iranians in the U.S. and in Iran.

"We are friends with American people," he said. "We work with Americans for long time -- more than 75 years. We love American people and American country. Americans love Iranians and together we face the mullahs. And we continue like brother and sister until free Iran and coming back democracy to Iran."

posted by DoctorZin @ 5/28/2005 01:47:00 PM  

Ex-education minister to run for Iran presidency

Reuters:
Iran's former higher education minister agreed on Saturday to stand for president as a liberal candidate but may have lost the support of pro-reform students whose rights he has vainly tried to defend in the past.

Mostafa Moin was originally banned from running in next month's poll by a hardline constitutional watchdog, but he was reinstated at the insistence of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the last word on all state matters. READ MORE

This created a debate among reformists on whether Moin should run in the June 17 poll.

Iran's largest student group, often the spearhead of the reform movement, said Moin should not fall into the trap of obeyeing edicts issued by Khamenei, which it argued had violated human rights in the past.

But Moin, 54, a former doctor, agreed to run for president at a meeting of the Islamic Iran Participation Front, Iran's largest reformist party.

"I am entering the race to defend the rights of the silent majority," said his statement, read out at the party meeting by Elaheh Kulai, a former reformist lawmaker.

Moin has strongly condemned crackdowns on reformist students by police and religious paramilitaries. He resigned from President Mohammad Khatami's government in 2003.

Most political analysts and polls suggest he will win few votes because eight years of reformist government failed to push through tangible social and economic change.

In the latest poll printed in Iranian newspapers he trailed four conservative candidates. Leading the polls is former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

posted by DoctorZin @ 5/28/2005 10:45:00 AM  

Rice: Iran "is Very Much Out of Step" with Trends in the Region

Beth Fouhy, The Associated Press:
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice acknowledged Friday that John R. Bolton has "rough edges" but said it was time for the Senate to approve his nomination to be U.N. ambassador so he can promote needed reform.

A day after Democrats forced the Republican-run Senate to delay a vote on Bolton until at least next month, Rice called him a "pretty tough person" but added, "There are many people who work for him who would walk through a wall for him."

Bolton has been accused of bullying intelligence officials whose analyses ran counter to his conservative views. His defenders have said he did not mistreat them and is entitled to disagree with intelligence estimates he receives.

Answering questions at the Commonwealth Club during a long weekend trip here, Rice cited the U.N. Human Rights Commission as a key example of why the world body needs an overhaul.

"When you have a commission on human rights and Sudan is on it, nobody can take it seriously," Rice said, referring to a country the Bush administration has accused of engaging in genocide.

"We need to send a strong voice for reform of the United Nations to the United Nations," Rice said. ...

On Iran, Rice said it would be an "enormously dangerous" situation if Iran were to become a nuclear weapons state.

"We're going to do everything we can to prevent that outcome," she said, adding that Iran "is very much out of step" with trends in the region. READ MORE

Iranian officials said this week that their country would not develop nuclear weapons and would continue a moratorium on uranium enrichment activities.

Rice has a long association with the San Francisco area, having served as provost at nearby Stanford University before joining the Bush administration in 2001.

posted by DoctorZin @ 5/28/2005 10:33:00 AM  

Reza Pahlavi: The People of Iran Will Determine their Own Affairs

Ramin Parham, Iran Shahr Blog:
In an interview with Saeid Ghaem-Maghami of KRSI - Radio Sedaye Iran, Reza Pahlavi calls on the people of Iran to turn boycotting of the June 17 'elections' into a massive civil disobedience movement.

In response to a question on the political importance of the boycott movement, Pahlavi said that, "the importance of the upcoming boycott movement will be no less than that of the Constitutional Movement" about 100 years ago. "Boycott should be turned into a massive movement," said Pahlavi before adding that the movement should expand into other forms of civil disobedience as well such as "staying home on June 17 thus leaving the streets empty, and paralyzing state institutions through strikes." READ MORE

On the international importance of the strike and boycott movement, Reza Pahlavi said that "the world has its eyes on Iran. It is important to show the world what the people of Iran aspires to. Important to show that there is no way, within this regime, to achieve democracy and liberty for Iran. It is important to show that future social and political relations of other countries throughout the world will depend on how they will react to the aspiration of the people of Iran" as it will be staged by the people on June the 17th. Pahlavi further emphasized that the civil movement will be the lowest cost option for the people and for the country for achieving what the people stand for.

In response to a question by Ghaem-Maghami on the continuation of the movement, starting on the aftermath of June 17, Pahlavi said that, "the important part of the struggle will start on June 18. In terms of the Rights of Iran's ethnic groups and Iran's citizens at large, nothing less than the complete implementation of the Universal Charter of Human Rights, would be accepted by the people of Iran and Iran's diverse political spectrum."

Regarding the much hyped prospect for the Islamic regime to join the World Trade Organization, in return for its nuclear good behavior, Pahlavi said, referring to historic civil disobedience movements, from South Africa's Mandela to ex-Communist countries, that, "nothing should divert the attention of freedom fighters from their prime objective." Likewise, those who struggle for liberty and democracy in Iran should focus on their aspiration "regardless of what France today or China tomorrow might say." It is up to the people of Iran to determine their own affairs and it will the people of Iran who will "determine Iran's affairs with other countries" said the Heir to the Throne of Iran.

Pahlavi, who is on his way to Europe for additional "contacts and interviews" concluded the interview saying that, "it is the duty of those living outside Iran to bring the voice of the people of Iran to the public arena and to the ears of world media."

You can access the audio file here.

posted by DoctorZin @ 5/28/2005 10:22:00 AM  

Call to EU FMs and Solana to Put Pressure on Iran in Akbar Ganji Case

Reporters Without Borders:
Reporters Without Borders has called on the 25 EU foreign ministers and on Javier Solana, EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, to do their utmost to press the Iranian authorities to respond to the demands of a hunger-striking prisoner. READ MORE

Journalist Akbar Ganji, imprisoned for five years, is currently on an unlimited fast to claim the right to appropriate medical treatment and his general rights as a prisoner.

"The European Union which says it has opened a 'constructive dialogue' with Iran since 1998, has the duty to question the authorities to ensure that a major media figure and human rights activist does not die because of their inactivity," said Reporters Without Borders.

Akbar Ganji, detained unfairly for five years and hostage of the Iranian regime is now ill. Reporters Without Borders calls on the authorities to give immediate guarantees on the journalist's state of health. "In no case should his life be put at risk, neither on the basis of health nor because of ill-treatment, a commonplace occurrence at Evine Prison as several recent cases showed, including that of Iranian-Canadian journalist Zahra Kazemi", the organisation added.

"We also call on the European Commission to put pressure on the authorities to undertake an inspection of Iranian prisons, where a hunger strike has become the sole resort for journalists trying to obtain their rights as prisoners," it said.

Ganji began an "unlimited hunger strike" on 19 May 2005. He called it off on 24 may after negotiations with three prison officials who promised to give way to his demands the following week. But the following day, an assistant of the Tehran prosecutor accused him of lying and warned "the Ganji family not to continue with these lies". The journalist then told his family that he had decided to renew his fast "and this time to the end."

His wife, Masoleh Shafii, told Reporters Without Borders : "He is determined to go through to the end. He is sick and weak. As well as the fast, he has stopped taking his medication and his life is really in danger."

Ganji, who worked on the daily paper Sobh-e-Emrooz, was arrested on 22 April 2000 after appearing before the press court accused of writing that leading figures, including former President Hashemi Rafsanjani and former intelligence minister Ali Fallahian, had been involved in the murder of opponents and intellectuals in late 1998. He was also accused of taking part in a conference in Berlin about reform in Iran which the government charged was "anti-Islamic."

He was sentenced on 13 January 2001 to 10 years in prison but the appeal court reduced this to six months on 15 May 2001. However on 15 July 2001, the supreme court quashed the May sentence on technical grounds and imposed a six-year jail sentence.

He is being held in solitary confinement and, unlike other political prisoners, is not allowed to phone his wife, and is rarely allowed to leave the prison, although the law permits this. In the course of his five years in prison, he has been allowed only 40 day-passes, most of them for medical appointments. Hospital doctors have recommended that he be hospitalized for back problems and asthma, which has got worse because of his prison conditions, but the judicial authorities continue to block this. His lawyer, Nobel peace laureate Shirin Edabi, has voiced great concern about his state of health.

Over 15 years ago, Reporters without Borders created its "Sponsorship Programme" and called upon the international media to select and support an imprisoned journalist. More than two hundreds news staffs around the globe are thus sponsoring colleagues by regularly petitioning authorities for their release and by publicising their situations so that their cases will not be forgotten. Currently, Akbar Ganji is sponsored by Le Devoir, Nice-Matin, La Montagne.

posted by DoctorZin @ 5/28/2005 10:09:00 AM  

UAE tells Iran to free ship's crew

Agence France Presse:
The United Arab Emirates has told Tehran to free five crew members of a boat which Iran has held in the Gulf since early May, the daily newspaper Al-Khaleej said on Friday. READ MORE

"The Emirates wants a solution, as fast as possible, to this continuing affair, to avoid harmful consequences," the paper quoted a foreign ministry spokesman as saying.

He added that the government "hopes that such incidents will not occur again because a repeat would undoubtedly affect bilateral relations".

Relations between the two countries are already affected by a conflict over sovereignty of three islands in the Gulf -- Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa, seized by Iran after British forces left the Gulf in 1971 but claimed by the UAE.

The islands, lying between Iran and the UAE, control access to the Strait of Ormuz.

"The detention (of the crew) by Iran, then its taking them to court, is a repressive and surprising step which must be ended immediately," the spokesman said.

Earlier this week, Al-Khaleej said an Emirati national and four Indian expatriates were aboard the fishing boat, which according to its Emirati owner, Mohammad Hassan al-Qadhi, "disappeared on May 8". It added that Iranian officials had promised to sort out the matter.

The newspaper also said then that three Iranian boats had been seized by Emirati authorities on May 15 "after entering UAE territorial waters," but did not make clear how many people were on board or their nationalities.

posted by DoctorZin @ 5/28/2005 10:01:00 AM  

Profile of Iran's Master Terrorist: Mohammad-Reza Iravani

Iran Focus provides a MEK report on Mohammad-Reza Iravani, the deputy chief of VEVAK.
Assassin, diplomat, agent-runner, senior bureaucrat, serial killer; these are just a handful of the many roles that Mohammad Reza Iravani has played in his twenty-six years of service in the security services of Iran’s clerical regime. ... READ MORE

posted by DoctorZin @ 5/28/2005 09:59:00 AM  

Iran defends Hizbollah's right to arms in Lebanon

Reuters:
Iran said on Thursday a U.N. resolution demanding that militias in Lebanon disarm does not apply to the Hizbollah guerrilla group it supports. READ MORE

Visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said the Lebanese government had denied the Shi'ite Muslim group was a militia subject to last year's Security Council resolution 1559.

"What is here is a resistance linked to the Lebanese government and the Lebanese people and no government or people would cut off its own hand," he told reporters on arrival at the airport, speaking through a translator.

Hizbollah, which is facing mounting international pressure to disarm, said on Wednesday it would fight anyone who tried to take away its weapons, which were only for use against Israel.

"We do not want to attack anyone and will not allow anyone to attack Lebanon but if anyone, anyone, thinks of disarming the resistance we will fight them like the martyrs of Kerbala," said Hizbollah chief Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, referring to a battle in Islamic history that is central to Shi'ites.

Iran, along with Syria, has long backed Hizbollah, whose guerrilla attacks were instrumental in prompting Israel to end its 22-year occupation of south Lebanon in May 2000.

The U.N. resolution adopted in September demanded that Syrian forces leave Lebanon and all militias in the country disarm. Damascus withdrew its troops in April.

posted by DoctorZin @ 5/28/2005 09:30:00 AM  

Musharraf: Iran must not get the bomb

Khaleej Times:
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf insists that Iran should not acquire a nuclear bomb, while justifying his own country’s possession of atomic weapons, the German weekly Der Spiegel reported in its latest issue. READ MORE

In a question-and-answer interview with Der Spiegel, the 61-year- old Pakistani leader stated: “We are against proliferation. We are against it when other countries acquire nuclear capability.”

When Der Spiegel pointed out that Pakistan cited India’s possession of a nuclear bomb as a reason for it to build one, Musharraf said the situation with Iran was different.

“Contrary to Pakistan with India, Iran does not have a common border with Israel,” Musharraf said. “We were really threatened.”

The Pakistani leader admitted he did not know what might be done to dissuade Teheran from building nuclear weapons. “I don’t know that. But they are certainly very keen on a bomb,” he said about Iran. But he warned against any preventive attacks on Iran.

“In the current world situation it would be a disaster. It would put the Islamic world in an uproar. Why open up new fronts?” he told the magazine, which appears next Monday on newsstands.

posted by DoctorZin @ 5/28/2005 09:24:00 AM  

Iranian in Armenia discovers freedom

Nane Atshemian, Armenia Liberty:
Ever since she moved to Armenia from Iran with her family last year Annette has come to enjoy things that are taken for granted or not noticed by many local people. She sums them up with a single word: freedom.

“For example, here I can go to any place without having to worry about something, without fear and without stress,” explains the 19-year-old ethnic Armenian citizen of Iran. “Things are a bit different in Iran. You feel badly when you walk among Iranians. You are just not at ease.”

“There you always fear that an officer [from Islamic police] will stop you and ask why you did this or that,” she says. READ MORE

Annette is one of hundreds and perhaps thousands of Iranian Armenians that have settled in Armenia over the past decade. The repatriation, which has visibly gained momentum in the last few years, is highly unusual for a country that has seen an exodus of hundreds of thousands of its citizens unable to cope with post-Soviet economic hardship. Also bucking the trend, though in smaller numbers, are ethnic Armenians from Syria, Lebanon and other parts of the Middle East.

An estimated 200,000 Armenians forms Iran’s main Christian minority. Most of them live in the capital Tehran and are the descendants of Armenians that were forcibly resettled in Iran by Shah Abbas in the 16th century.

A slow but steady improvement of the economic situation and living conditions in Armenia leads a growing number of them to wonder if it is about time they returned to their historical homeland. For young people like Annette repatriation also represents a welcome escape from the Islamic Republic’s strict code of behavior to a more liberal and laid-back environment. “What attracts us here is freedom,” he says.

It is estimated that as many 900 young Iranian Armenians currently study at various universities in Yerevan. Sero, an Iranian national who has lived in Armenia for the last ten years, believes that they should not return to Iran upon graduation.

“You can not develop professionally and achieve a lot in Iran if you are not a Muslim,” he said. “For them, religious affiliation is what matters the most. When it comes to choosing between an Armenian and a Persian, they usually prefer the latter. But they are otherwise friendly toward Armenians.”

Sero may have moved to Armenia for good but he is still an Iranian citizen like many of the fellow repatriates. Armenia’s constitution bans dual citizenship and Iranian Armenians say they do not want to change their citizenship because that would lose them their businesses and property in Iran. Many of them have yet to find a stable source of income in Armenia and live off those assets.

For them, introduction of dual citizenship, which is envisaged by President Robert Kocharian’s constitutional reform, would be the optimal solution. “The issue of citizenship should be resolved because I am considered an Armenian in Iran and a Persian here,” complains Artin, a first-year student at the French University in Yerevan.

Artin and his family immigrated to the country several months ago from the Iranian town of Nor Jugha which is home to some 7,000 Armenians. He knows a dozen other Jugha families that have repatriated recently. Artin says he and his relatives find the life among their kinsmen more exciting even though it was easier for them to earn a living in Iran.

But such enthusiasm is not always shared and understood by residents of Armenia. “You come to your homeland in a very enthusiastic mood, but the locals are not quite enthusiastic about your repatriation,” says Artin. “I am seen by some as a tourist, at best.”

Iranian Armenians also complain about what they see as a lack of politesse among the local people. A more serious problem privately cited by them relates to rule of law which they feels leaves much to be desired. Few of the locals, equally affected by the problem, would disagree.

posted by DoctorZin @ 5/28/2005 09:09:00 AM  

1,000 university graduates homeless in Iran capital

Iran Focus:
Nearly a thousand homeless people rounded off the streets of Tehran in the past five months had university degrees, according to the head of the social affairs section of the city’s Office of the Mayor.

“948 of these people had university degrees or higher credentials”, Mohammad-Reza Fardin said today, adding that altogether some 61,975 had been rounded off the streets of Tehran’s of which 60,409 were mentally competent.

Fardin said “20,548 of these homeless people were aged between 24 and 33 years, and 25,556 were married”.

“18,217 of these people were drug addicts”, he added.

posted by DoctorZin @ 5/28/2005 09:03:00 AM  

Pak to guarantee security for Indo-Iran gas pipeline

Rahul Kashyap LaHore, Outlook India:
Asserting that the establishment of the Indo-Iran gas pipeline through Pakistan would possibly be the most significant economic CBM, Islamabad has agreed to guarantee security for the proposed project and also favoured extending another pipeline to India. READ MORE

"The establishment of an energy corridor, which would run from Iran to India through Pakistan, will possibly be the most significant economic confidence-building measure," Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri told a visiting Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) delegation here.

He said Pakistan has promised not to interfere in gas delivery to India and has also agreed to guarantee security for the project.

"The proposed Turkmenistan-Pakistan pipeline could be extended to India and China, linking the whole vast region in an energy network which would also have a profound impact on the region," Kasuri said.

posted by DoctorZin @ 5/28/2005 08:54:00 AM  

Friday, May 27, 2005

Iranian hunger striker getting worse

The famous Iranian dissident Akbar Ganji is still on his hunger strike and getting worse. The Iranian Prospect reports:
Akbar Ganji has been more than 1800 days in the jail until now. Last week, He started hunger strike. His wife was so disturbed about his situation. “I will join him with hunger strike at the front of UN office in Tehran if he advises me.” Ganji is so sick in the jail now. “He has lost 9 Kg in the last two months.”
Ganji is the author of a powerful manifesto we reported earlier this week in which he called on:
"...all Iranians, particularly the democratic and free lover forces, to abstain from taking part in the forthcoming presidential elections in Iran." ...

“Maybe the elimination of this writer satisfies the [Supreme] leader. But one must not be afraid from a death for freedom, democracy and respect of human rights. ...

One can not stop the flood of freedom. Be sure that the dawn of freedom would soon appear and children of Iran would stand witness to a regime respectful of human rights”

posted by DoctorZin @ 5/27/2005 11:41:00 PM  

Intel: Iran equipped for atomic weapon - Sources say Bush stunned

WorldNetDaily.com:
While European negotiators focus on Iran's development of enriched plutonium, U.S. intelligence officials say Tehran already has completed all of the elements required for an atomic bomb.

The news has stunned President Bush, according to Geostrategy Direct, an intelligence news service led by national security reporter Bill Gertz of the Washington Times.

"It's an incredible piece of intelligence that overshadows everything we thought we knew on Iran's nuclear program," one U.S. intelligence source said.

Geostrategy says the intelligence information asserts North Korea this year transferred components to Iran to assemble a plutonium-based nuclear warhead.

The components were believed to have originated in Pakistan. ...

The CIA has been tracking for the past two years Iran's efforts to enrich uranium for a nuclear weapon, Geostrategy reports.

All of the agency's assessments were based on how much technology and enriched uranium Iran had obtained for its first nuclear warhead.

While dismayed by Iran's efforts, the CIA believed Iran needed at least another three years before it could assemble an atomic bomb.

"Instead, the entire Iranian uranium enrichment effort appears to have concealed a much more immediate aim," Geostrategy says. ...

In late 2004, says Geostrategy, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps tested a command and control network that would permit a nuclear weapons warhead to be placed on an enhanced Shihab-3 intermediate-range missile.

The CIA believes Iran could immediately assemble several nuclear warheads for the Shihab-3 arsenal.

"This means that U.S. forces in Iraq and southern Europe are under immediate Iranian threat," Geostrategy says. "Israel and Saudi Arabia are already under Iranian nuclear threat."

The CIA first obtained reports in 1994 of Iran obtaining plutonium components from North Korea.

The latest information, however, comes from a new and far more reliable source, Geostrategy says.

Intelligence sources won't elaborate, but stress that the source is from a "hostile" state, a reference to either Iran or North Korea.
This is the nightmare scenario we have long feared.

Once again, the best option is to support the Iranian people in the coming weeks when the Iranian people and their oppressive regime will be engaged in a struggle over who will lead the people of Iran. Iran needs a regime change now!

posted by DoctorZin @ 5/27/2005 07:36:00 PM  

It’s Bush’s fault - Democracy spreads

iranian.com:
“When the people realize they have the power to expose the deceit underlying a government prone to repression, it is the beginning of that regime's end,” Peter Ackerman, Fletcher School graduate and Tufts trustee, op-ed in The Boston Globe

A resilient, yet experimental venture by the Bush Administration into uncharted waters has proven largely beneficial as democracy sweeps several countries once occupied by tyrants. The winds of change are blowing across the world as jubilant demonstrators are taking back their God-given right to freedom once usurped by fascist dictators. An unshaken vision of international democracy in coordination with the deep desire of individuals across the world to be free has led to elections across the Middle East and the former Soviet Union. READ MORE

In Georgia, a fraud-infested election led to peaceful protests by thousands against President Eduard Shevardnadze. President Shevardnadze forced to succumb to the rightful demand of the people, stepped down paving the way for elections in the former Soviet state. The revolution in Georgia (the Rose Revolution) opened the gateway for several subsequent democratic revolts within the region. President Bush’s visit to Georgia this month was welcomed by hundreds of thousands who’d labeled him the ‘Great Liberator’.

In Ukraine, fraudulent election results in November led to a mass popular movement around opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko. Peter Ackerman of the Boston Globe wrote “in the wake of what was widely perceived as a corrupt election on Nov. 21, Ukrainians took to the streets -- wearing orange clothing as a symbol of solidarity with Yushchenko’s campaign -- and demanded a new vote. Public figures ranging from policemen to news broadcasters defected from the government’s party line and openly expressed agreement with Yushchenko’s movement.” Largely welcomed by the Bush Administration, Yushchenko was elected President of Ukraine in a free and fair democratic election in December.

In Kyrgyzstan, pro-democracy demonstrations were touched off due to popular outrage over unfair election results. President Askar Akayev after fifteen years of autocratic rule was confronted by tens of thousands of demonstrators demanding his resignation and the implementation of free elections. President Askar Akayev would later flee to Russia where he has taken refugee as a lamed dictator. Democratic presidential elections under the control of designated Prime Minister, Kurmanbek Bakiyev are set to take place in June.

In Kuwait, women received the right to vote for the first time after four decades of parliamentary government. Granting women the right to vote was one of the most significant events in the history of the Kuwaiti nation and a proud push towards a free society. The first lady Laura Bush praised the initiative as a “proud step towards democracy.”

In Saudi Arabia, the gulf nation agreed to hold the first historical municipal election. The election was part of a large plan to bring democracy to the Gulf kingdom. According to AFP over seventy percent of registered voters turned out, putting the tally far ahead of most western nations, insidiously opening the once iron gate to society.

In Azerbaijan, pro-democracy forces previously emboldened by the revolutionary trend in the former Soviet Union region took the streets by the thousands to take on President Ilham Aliyev. This month, thousands gathered to call for free-and fair elections in November before being beaten with batons. Many of these demonstrators were seen carrying portraits of US President George W. Bush. During a May 10 speech in Georgia, President Bush guaranteed that the United States would back democratic change in all former Soviet states.

In Iran, pro-democracy students have taken to the streets several times during the past couple of years. A poll conducted this month by student activists at Amir Kabir University the countries second largest university provided a discomfiting message for the reigning Ayatollahs. The University poll chronicled a mere five to ten percent support for the mullahs and eighty-five percent support for a secular democratic government. President Bush has consistently reached out to this nation that Michael Rubin of the Washington Enterprise Institute dubbed the “most pro-American in the entire region, if not the world”, and Thomas Friedman of the New York Times called “the ultimate red state. . .”

Dictatorial tyrants are enthusiastically trying to suffocate the window of opportunity for democratic freedom fighters. The specifics of this confrontation are often difficult to follow, especially for those lacking a knack for regional politics; however the conflict is best characterized as a battle between good and evil. In this battle of good versus evil, the good wields a powerful weapon, their natural born right to in a free, democratic society where the basic tenants of human rights are not only accepted, but widely embraced.

The unconditional support of an administration determined to spread the foundations of democracy will in the end lead to the victory of the brave freedom fighters. Unfortunately, several vindictive and irrational groups will not succumb to their failure in predicting the beneficial consequences of the Bush Doctrine. As an extra monkey tactic, they have backtracked to their usual innate conspiracy of blaming President Bush for everything. Several countries are free and democratic with many more to come, but let us not forget -- it is Bush’s fault.

posted by DoctorZin @ 5/27/2005 03:06:00 PM