مهدي خلجي
Summary of Today's BroadcastRFE/RL Persian ServiceThursday, June 20, 2002 - Judiciary arrests former prosecutor - Majles Speaker in Belarus - Gasoline consumption and smuggling rise - Medical schools leave healthcare ministry - State companies gain control over their foreign currency deposits - Pollution of Tehran water Judiciary Arrests a Former Tehran Prosecutor on Corruption Charges * Prosecutor general Abdolbani Namazi announced yesterday the arrest of a former Tehran prosecutor, who had also been a revolutionary court prosecutor in Shiraz and Bandar Abbas, on corruption charges greater than that of businessman Shahram Jazayeri. He named the man as Mir-Emad, but the conservative daily Keyhan named him as Ziaedin Mir-Emadi, editor of the defunct magazine "Emad" and a candidate from Mashhad in the latest Majles elections. Conservative papers reported today about the man's financial dealings with some top officials. * But the recent history of prosecution of economic crimes indicates that the early racket over these cases soon fades away without much result. The case of Shahram Jazayeri, cited by the prosecutor general yesterday, is an example, says RFE/RL reporter Mehdi Khalaji. Majles Speaker in Belarus * Weapons deals are said to be on the agenda of a parliamentary delegation from Iran headed by Speaker Mehdi Karubi. Karubi signed a cooperation agreement with Belarus and met with Iranian businessmen and students living in Minsk. (Mani Kasravi, Moscow) Gasoline Consumption and Smuggling * Tabriz MP Akbar Alami said Mafia-style networks have been for many years smuggling millions of tons of Iran's subsidized gasoline and other oil products to neighboring countries. Tehran-based economist Habib Chini says the low price of oil products in Iran encourage smuggling. He tells RFE/RL that the best way to fight smuggling is cutting the subsidies and raising prices to the international levels. No figures are available on the cost to Iran of oil smuggling. (Fereydoun Zarnegar) * The oil ministry estimated gasoline consumption would reach 49 million liters per day this year, 7 percent higher than the year before. To meet the domestic demand, Iran imports a fifth of its gasoline at the cost of $1.4 billion. In Iran gasoline is 16 times less expensive than Turkey. The subsidized, low prices contribute to the astounding rise in the consumption and smuggling of gasoline, says RFE/RL's Paris-based economic commentator, Fereydoun Khavand. Medical Schools to Return to Ministry of Higher Education * The Majles returned medical schools to the ministry of science and higher education and research, ending a decade of the healthcare ministry's control over them. RFE/RL's Paris-based education commentator Said Peyvandi says those who support the move believe that the healthcare ministry did not have the capabilities to run educational institutions, even though medical students do spend most of their time in hospitals run by the healthcare ministry -- which was the rationale behind turning over the medical schools to the health ministry. (Nazi Azima) Iran Frees Foreign Exchange Transactions of Government Businesses * The Khatami cabinet lifted the five-year ban on foreign currency transactions of state-run businesses. The ban was put in effect in 1997 after cash rich state monopolies such as carmakers drove up the foreign exchange rate by turning to the free market to buy foreign currency. Tehran-based economist Ali Rashidi says now public sector companies can have foreign currency accounts, just as individuals and private sector businesses, and use their accounts without the need for special permission from the central bank. He says trading foreign originated foreign currency (as opposed to currency bought from the government) was banned because some officials questioned the origin of those monies. The ban drove foreign currency trade and deposits to centers outside Iran, depriving Iran of the foreign currency wealth of Iranians. Now Iran tries to catch up with other countries in the region, such as Turkey, that pays a high interest to attract foreign currency deposits to domestic banks. (Ardavan Niknam) RFE/RL Series on Water: Shortages, Mismanagement and Pollution * The quality of Tehran water is not worrisome, says deputy minister of energy Abbas Shafi. But according to Mohammad-Hasan Pirasteh, head of the Tehran province environmental protection administration, cleaning the Jajrud and Karaj rivers, two main sources of Tehran water, of industrial pollutants and sewage deposits would be very expensive. Former minister of agriculture Isa Kalantari tells RFE/RL that cutting water consumption and preventing water pollution requires cultural education at the national level. (Jamshid Zand) WORLD * Afghanistan's loya jirga approved the transitional cabinet introduced by Hamed Karzai, but police forces blockaded the interior ministry protesting the appointment of Taj Mohammad Vardak, a Pashtun, as interior minister instead of Yunes Qanuni, a Tajik. (Ahmad Takal, Kabul) * Israeli forces occupied Palestinian towns of the West Bank in retaliation for yesterday's suicide attack in Jerusalem. (Jamshid Chalangi, Cairo) * US President postpones the announcement of his Middle East peace plan. (Homayoun Majd, Washington) * Syria and Turkey sign a military cooperation pact. (Farideh Rahbar, Cairo) * Representatives from Iraqi Shiites' political organizations gather in London. (Farideh Rahbar, Cairo) * Germany-based Afghanistan expert Changiz Pahlavan tells RFE/RL that the loya jirga was a major development, in spite of its shortcomings. A stronger central government in Afghanistan would strengthen economic and diplomatic relations with neighboring countries, including Iran. (Shireen Famili) * Divide between rich and poor nations grew larger, according to FAO's annual report. (Ahmad Ra'fat, Rome) ARTS AND IDEAS RFE/RL's Daily Coverage of Soccer World Cup * RFE/RL's soccer commentator, Mehrdad Masudi, reports from Seoul on today's World Cup games. Farapuyan Society's Poetry Awards in Tehran * Yadollah Royai, a modernist poet who lives in France won the Farapuyan Society's 1990's poetry award for his collection "Seventy Tomb Stones." Farzin Homafar, the director of Farapuyan tells RFE/RL that the society's aim is to attract young people's attention to the poetry of the modernists who followed the first generation of Persian contemporary poets. Poet Yadollah Royai tells RFE/RL that escape from social engagement and denial of everything that we see in the post-revolutionary generation has turned them on to the 1950's and 1960's modernist, "pure" poetry movement called "poetry of volume" of which he was a leader. (Mehdi Khalaji) Los Angeles Report * In a benefit gala to raise fund for housing and education of street children in the south Tehran neighborhood of Darvazeh Ghar, organizers Nazanin Amani and Bijan Pirzadeh, directors of the Los Angeles-based Society to Protect Children, tell RFE/RL about their charity's support for the Tehran based Society to Defend Children's Rights. (Fahimeh Barati) Weekly soccer news and commentary show. (Mehrdad Masudi, Seoul) Classic Persian Love Stories: Vis va Ramin * Sardredin Elahi begins his recitation of the story of Vis va Ramin based on Nezami Ganjavi. World of Music * RFE/RL's music critic Mahmud Khoshnam discusses the work of two prominent traditional singers, Hengameh Akhavan and Parisa.مهدي خلجي (راديوآزادي): عبدالنبي نمازي، دادستان کل کشور اعلام کرده که آقاي ميرعماد دادستان اسبق عمومي تهران به اتهام مالي دستگير شده است، اما او به رغم اصرار خبرنگاران از گفتن جزييات بيشتر خودداري کرد. دو روز پيش ابراهيم رييسي، رييس بازرسي کل کشور از وجود پرونده اي مهم تر از پرونده شهرام جزايري که متهم فساد مالي کلان است خبر داده بود اما از صاحب آن پرونده هيچ نامي ذکر نکرده بود. احتمالاً اشاره او به همين پرونده اي است که دادستان کل کشور در ميان خبرنگاران از آن سخن گفته است. برخي از مطبوعات نوشته بودند که پرونده آقاي ميرعماد با پرونده شهرام جزايري در ارتباط است. عبدالنبي نمازي درباره اين ارتباط نيز سکوت کرد و آن را تحليل روزنامه ها دانست. در عين حال روزنامه انتخاب، وابسته به محافظه کاران ميانه رو نوشته است ارقام اتهام اقتصادي آقاي ميرعماد از پرونده مالي شهرام جزايري سنگين تر است و آقاي ميرعماد از راه يک رابط تجاري در لندن همکاري مستقيمي با جزايري و پرونده آن داشته است. به نوشته روزنامه انتخاب آقاي ميرعماد قبلاً دادستان انقلاب شيراز و بندرعباس بوده و در دادگستري استان خراسان هم مسئوليت هايي داشته است. روزنامه کيهان، وابسته به محافظه کاران تندرو اين پرونده را مربوط به ضياء الدين ميرعمادي دانسته و وي را سردبير نشريه عماد در سال هاي هفتاد و هفتاد و يک معرفي کرده است. به نوشته روزنامه کيهان ضياءالدين عماد قبلاً به اتهام شرکت در کودتاي نوژه دستگير شد و پس از آزادي از زندان به طور اعلام نشده سردبير نشريه عماد شد. بنابر خبر روزنامه کيهان آقاي عمادي در اخرين انتخابات مجلس شوراي اسلامي از مشهد نامزد نمايندگي شده بود. هم چنين مطبوعات محافظه کار از ارتباط مالي او با برخي روحانيان و مسئولان نظام خبر داده اند. مسأله فساد مالي و اقتصادي در دستگاه دولتي و حکومتي، چند ماهي است که به طور گسترده در ايران طرح مي شود و از نمايندگان مجلس و مسئولان قضايي گرفته تا مقامات عالي جمهوري اسلامي بر وجود ناهنجاري هاي کلان در شبکه اقتصادي کشور تأکيد مي کنند. اما کارشناسان حقوقي و هم چنين اقتصادي مي گويند، سابقه برخورد با پرونده هاي اقتصادي-قضايي نشان مي دهد که جنجال اوليه بر سر اين پرونده ها غالباً بيشتر از نتيجه مشخصي است که از آنها حاصل مي شود. هم چنان که پرونده شهرام جزايري نيز ماه هاست که بدون نتيجه اي مشخص در ذهن افکار عمومي سرگردان مانده است. به هر روي، به نظر مي رسد تصويري که مسئولان قضايي از حجم گسترده فساد اقتصادي در ادارات دولتي و حکومتي مي دهند، دست کم نشان دهند ضعف سازوکارهاي نظارتي است.
عبدالنبي نمازي، دادستان كل كشور، در جمع خبرنگاران اعلام كرد كه ميرعماد، دادستان اسبق تهران، شيراز و بندرعباس، بازداشت شد. وي گفت اتهام فساد مالي ميرعماد سنگين تر از اتهاماتي است كه به شهرام جزايري، متهم جنجال برانگيز فساد مالي، وارد شده بود. روزنامه كيهان اين پرونده را مربوط به ضياالدين ميرعمادي سردبير نشريه عماد در سالهاي 70 و 71 دانست. ميرعماد يا ميرعمادي در آخرين انتخابات مجلس شوراي اسلامي از مشهد نامزد نمايندگي بود. جرايد محافظه كار از ارتباط مالي او با برخي مسئولان جمهوري اسلامي خبر دادند. اما کارشناسان حقوقي و هم چنين اقتصادي مي گويند، سابقه برخورد با پرونده هاي اقتصادي-قضايي نشان مي دهد که جنجال اوليه بر سر اين پرونده ها غالباً بيشتر از نتيجه مشخصي است که از آنها حاصل مي شود.
Summary of Today's BroadcastRFE/RL Persian ServiceThursday, June 20, 2002 - Judiciary arrests former prosecutor - Majles Speaker in Belarus - Gasoline consumption and smuggling rise - Medical schools leave healthcare ministry - State companies gain control over their foreign currency deposits - Pollution of Tehran water Judiciary Arrests a Former Tehran Prosecutor on Corruption Charges * Prosecutor general Abdolbani Namazi announced yesterday the arrest of a former Tehran prosecutor, who had also been a revolutionary court prosecutor in Shiraz and Bandar Abbas, on corruption charges greater than that of businessman Shahram Jazayeri. He named the man as Mir-Emad, but the conservative daily Keyhan named him as Ziaedin Mir-Emadi, editor of the defunct magazine "Emad" and a candidate from Mashhad in the latest Majles elections. Conservative papers reported today about the man's financial dealings with some top officials. * But the recent history of prosecution of economic crimes indicates that the early racket over these cases soon fades away without much result. The case of Shahram Jazayeri, cited by the prosecutor general yesterday, is an example, says RFE/RL reporter Mehdi Khalaji. Majles Speaker in Belarus * Weapons deals are said to be on the agenda of a parliamentary delegation from Iran headed by Speaker Mehdi Karubi. Karubi signed a cooperation agreement with Belarus and met with Iranian businessmen and students living in Minsk. (Mani Kasravi, Moscow) Gasoline Consumption and Smuggling * Tabriz MP Akbar Alami said Mafia-style networks have been for many years smuggling millions of tons of Iran's subsidized gasoline and other oil products to neighboring countries. Tehran-based economist Habib Chini says the low price of oil products in Iran encourage smuggling. He tells RFE/RL that the best way to fight smuggling is cutting the subsidies and raising prices to the international levels. No figures are available on the cost to Iran of oil smuggling. (Fereydoun Zarnegar) * The oil ministry estimated gasoline consumption would reach 49 million liters per day this year, 7 percent higher than the year before. To meet the domestic demand, Iran imports a fifth of its gasoline at the cost of $1.4 billion. In Iran gasoline is 16 times less expensive than Turkey. The subsidized, low prices contribute to the astounding rise in the consumption and smuggling of gasoline, says RFE/RL's Paris-based economic commentator, Fereydoun Khavand. Medical Schools to Return to Ministry of Higher Education * The Majles returned medical schools to the ministry of science and higher education and research, ending a decade of the healthcare ministry's control over them. RFE/RL's Paris-based education commentator Said Peyvandi says those who support the move believe that the healthcare ministry did not have the capabilities to run educational institutions, even though medical students do spend most of their time in hospitals run by the healthcare ministry -- which was the rationale behind turning over the medical schools to the health ministry. (Nazi Azima) Iran Frees Foreign Exchange Transactions of Government Businesses * The Khatami cabinet lifted the five-year ban on foreign currency transactions of state-run businesses. The ban was put in effect in 1997 after cash rich state monopolies such as carmakers drove up the foreign exchange rate by turning to the free market to buy foreign currency. Tehran-based economist Ali Rashidi says now public sector companies can have foreign currency accounts, just as individuals and private sector businesses, and use their accounts without the need for special permission from the central bank. He says trading foreign originated foreign currency (as opposed to currency bought from the government) was banned because some officials questioned the origin of those monies. The ban drove foreign currency trade and deposits to centers outside Iran, depriving Iran of the foreign currency wealth of Iranians. Now Iran tries to catch up with other countries in the region, such as Turkey, that pays a high interest to attract foreign currency deposits to domestic banks. (Ardavan Niknam) RFE/RL Series on Water: Shortages, Mismanagement and Pollution * The quality of Tehran water is not worrisome, says deputy minister of energy Abbas Shafi. But according to Mohammad-Hasan Pirasteh, head of the Tehran province environmental protection administration, cleaning the Jajrud and Karaj rivers, two main sources of Tehran water, of industrial pollutants and sewage deposits would be very expensive. Former minister of agriculture Isa Kalantari tells RFE/RL that cutting water consumption and preventing water pollution requires cultural education at the national level. (Jamshid Zand) WORLD * Afghanistan's loya jirga approved the transitional cabinet introduced by Hamed Karzai, but police forces blockaded the interior ministry protesting the appointment of Taj Mohammad Vardak, a Pashtun, as interior minister instead of Yunes Qanuni, a Tajik. (Ahmad Takal, Kabul) * Israeli forces occupied Palestinian towns of the West Bank in retaliation for yesterday's suicide attack in Jerusalem. (Jamshid Chalangi, Cairo) * US President postpones the announcement of his Middle East peace plan. (Homayoun Majd, Washington) * Syria and Turkey sign a military cooperation pact. (Farideh Rahbar, Cairo) * Representatives from Iraqi Shiites' political organizations gather in London. (Farideh Rahbar, Cairo) * Germany-based Afghanistan expert Changiz Pahlavan tells RFE/RL that the loya jirga was a major development, in spite of its shortcomings. A stronger central government in Afghanistan would strengthen economic and diplomatic relations with neighboring countries, including Iran. (Shireen Famili) * Divide between rich and poor nations grew larger, according to FAO's annual report. (Ahmad Ra'fat, Rome) ARTS AND IDEAS RFE/RL's Daily Coverage of Soccer World Cup * RFE/RL's soccer commentator, Mehrdad Masudi, reports from Seoul on today's World Cup games. Farapuyan Society's Poetry Awards in Tehran * Yadollah Royai, a modernist poet who lives in France won the Farapuyan Society's 1990's poetry award for his collection "Seventy Tomb Stones." Farzin Homafar, the director of Farapuyan tells RFE/RL that the society's aim is to attract young people's attention to the poetry of the modernists who followed the first generation of Persian contemporary poets. Poet Yadollah Royai tells RFE/RL that escape from social engagement and denial of everything that we see in the post-revolutionary generation has turned them on to the 1950's and 1960's modernist, "pure" poetry movement called "poetry of volume" of which he was a leader. (Mehdi Khalaji) Los Angeles Report * In a benefit gala to raise fund for housing and education of street children in the south Tehran neighborhood of Darvazeh Ghar, organizers Nazanin Amani and Bijan Pirzadeh, directors of the Los Angeles-based Society to Protect Children, tell RFE/RL about their charity's support for the Tehran based Society to Defend Children's Rights. (Fahimeh Barati) Weekly soccer news and commentary show. (Mehrdad Masudi, Seoul) Classic Persian Love Stories: Vis va Ramin * Sardredin Elahi begins his recitation of the story of Vis va Ramin based on Nezami Ganjavi. World of Music * RFE/RL's music critic Mahmud Khoshnam discusses the work of two prominent traditional singers, Hengameh Akhavan and Parisa.مهدي خلجي (راديوآزادي): عبدالنبي نمازي، دادستان کل کشور اعلام کرده که آقاي ميرعماد دادستان اسبق عمومي تهران به اتهام مالي دستگير شده است، اما او به رغم اصرار خبرنگاران از گفتن جزييات بيشتر خودداري کرد. دو روز پيش ابراهيم رييسي، رييس بازرسي کل کشور از وجود پرونده اي مهم تر از پرونده شهرام جزايري که متهم فساد مالي کلان است خبر داده بود اما از صاحب آن پرونده هيچ نامي ذکر نکرده بود. احتمالاً اشاره او به همين پرونده اي است که دادستان کل کشور در ميان خبرنگاران از آن سخن گفته است. برخي از مطبوعات نوشته بودند که پرونده آقاي ميرعماد با پرونده شهرام جزايري در ارتباط است. عبدالنبي نمازي درباره اين ارتباط نيز سکوت کرد و آن را تحليل روزنامه ها دانست. در عين حال روزنامه انتخاب، وابسته به محافظه کاران ميانه رو نوشته است ارقام اتهام اقتصادي آقاي ميرعماد از پرونده مالي شهرام جزايري سنگين تر است و آقاي ميرعماد از راه يک رابط تجاري در لندن همکاري مستقيمي با جزايري و پرونده آن داشته است. به نوشته روزنامه انتخاب آقاي ميرعماد قبلاً دادستان انقلاب شيراز و بندرعباس بوده و در دادگستري استان خراسان هم مسئوليت هايي داشته است. روزنامه کيهان، وابسته به محافظه کاران تندرو اين پرونده را مربوط به ضياء الدين ميرعمادي دانسته و وي را سردبير نشريه عماد در سال هاي هفتاد و هفتاد و يک معرفي کرده است. به نوشته روزنامه کيهان ضياءالدين عماد قبلاً به اتهام شرکت در کودتاي نوژه دستگير شد و پس از آزادي از زندان به طور اعلام نشده سردبير نشريه عماد شد. بنابر خبر روزنامه کيهان آقاي عمادي در اخرين انتخابات مجلس شوراي اسلامي از مشهد نامزد نمايندگي شده بود. هم چنين مطبوعات محافظه کار از ارتباط مالي او با برخي روحانيان و مسئولان نظام خبر داده اند. مسأله فساد مالي و اقتصادي در دستگاه دولتي و حکومتي، چند ماهي است که به طور گسترده در ايران طرح مي شود و از نمايندگان مجلس و مسئولان قضايي گرفته تا مقامات عالي جمهوري اسلامي بر وجود ناهنجاري هاي کلان در شبکه اقتصادي کشور تأکيد مي کنند. اما کارشناسان حقوقي و هم چنين اقتصادي مي گويند، سابقه برخورد با پرونده هاي اقتصادي-قضايي نشان مي دهد که جنجال اوليه بر سر اين پرونده ها غالباً بيشتر از نتيجه مشخصي است که از آنها حاصل مي شود. هم چنان که پرونده شهرام جزايري نيز ماه هاست که بدون نتيجه اي مشخص در ذهن افکار عمومي سرگردان مانده است. به هر روي، به نظر مي رسد تصويري که مسئولان قضايي از حجم گسترده فساد اقتصادي در ادارات دولتي و حکومتي مي دهند، دست کم نشان دهند ضعف سازوکارهاي نظارتي است.
عبدالنبي نمازي، دادستان كل كشور، در جمع خبرنگاران اعلام كرد كه ميرعماد، دادستان اسبق تهران، شيراز و بندرعباس، بازداشت شد. وي گفت اتهام فساد مالي ميرعماد سنگين تر از اتهاماتي است كه به شهرام جزايري، متهم جنجال برانگيز فساد مالي، وارد شده بود. روزنامه كيهان اين پرونده را مربوط به ضياالدين ميرعمادي سردبير نشريه عماد در سالهاي 70 و 71 دانست. ميرعماد يا ميرعمادي در آخرين انتخابات مجلس شوراي اسلامي از مشهد نامزد نمايندگي بود. جرايد محافظه كار از ارتباط مالي او با برخي مسئولان جمهوري اسلامي خبر دادند. اما کارشناسان حقوقي و هم چنين اقتصادي مي گويند، سابقه برخورد با پرونده هاي اقتصادي-قضايي نشان مي دهد که جنجال اوليه بر سر اين پرونده ها غالباً بيشتر از نتيجه مشخصي است که از آنها حاصل مي شود.
