Summary of Iran Stories in Today&apos;s BroadcastsBehnam NateghiMonday, February 16, 2004 <b>Conservatives Set to Win Majles Elections As More Reformists Drop Out</b> • The number of reformist and independent candidates who pulled out of the February 20 Majles elections reached 679, according to the interior ministry. The coalition of reformists has culled a list of 220 candidates to campaign for, but some of them are independents who are running against the conservatives in the electoral districts where the Guardians Council has disqualified all reformist candidacy applicants, according to Tehran MP Ali-Akbar Mohtashami, who heads the campaign headquarters of the new coalition. A majority of the 5,500 candidates running for 290 Majles seats are independents who are aligned with the conservative faction. The reformist faction needs to be purged of the members whose names appear in the election rolls of both the reformist and conservative factions, MP Jalal Jalalizadeh, member of the general committee of the pro-reform party Participation Front said, referring to Majles speaker Mehdi Karrubi and Tehran MP Majid Ansari, both of the society of reformist clerics. The main competition is between the new conservative coalition Abadgaran and the reformist faction, head of the Majles minority faction Gholamali Haddad-Adel, a prominent member of the Abadgaran coalition, said. The reformist MPs, who have been banned from reelection, fear a new wave of mass arrests and trials against those who criticized the regime during the MPs&apos; sit-in protest against the Guardians Council&apos;s bans. The rights of some have been trampled on, Majles speaker Mehdi Karrubi said in a press conference held four days before the elections. (Jamshid Zand) • A radical change is needed in the elections law to eliminate the vetting role of the Guardians Council, Ali-Akbar Mohtashami said, calling the bans on the reformist Majles MPs unfair and unlawful. (Fereydoun Zarnegar) • The internal divisions in the conservative camp will pull it apart after the elections, Berlin daily <i>Die Tagezeitung</i> writes. (Parviz Farhang) • The conservatives can save billions of rials in campaign funds, if they just appoint the Majles MPs from among their ranks, because the elections in which nearly 3,000 candidacy applicants have been disqualified from running cannot really be called elections, columnist Ahmad Zeydabadi writes in the reformist daily <i>Yaas-e Now</i>. The reformists have no popular support, and the support they received from the European Parliament proves that the Guardians Council was right to ban them from the elections, Mashhad candidate and former MP Hamid-Reza Taraqi said in an interview with conservative daily <i>Entekhab</i>. (Ali Sajjadi) • Womens groups said they plan to stay home on Friday in protest against mass disqualification of all reformist women who applied to stand in the Friday elections, reporters Agence France Press from Tehran. (Ali Sajjadi) • Protesters in Marivan, Kurdistan, closed the local election headquarters of election candidates, demanding “fair” elections, local journalist and Kurdish writer <b>Hasan Salahsuran</b> tells <b>Radio Farda</b>. The people in most Kurdish towns protested against these elections, and they want to vote for candidates who have not been pre-appointed by other people, he adds. (Mahmonir Rahimi) • Low turnout in the elections is itself a form of referendum on the regime, Tehran-based journalist <b>Bijan Safsari</b> tells <b>Radio Farda</b>. We are among the people, and we see that nobody plans to vote on Friday, he adds. (Jamshid Zand) • The Guardians Council has blocked democratic elections, and the German parliamentarians agree that Iran is once more moving away from democracy, German Bundestag member <b>Christian Ruck</b> tells <b>Radio Farda</b>. (Shahram Mirian, Cologne) • In a gathering organized by the Islamic student council of Alameh University in Tehran, speakers criticized the conservatives for banning their rivals. An Islamic student activist said the conservatives were using religion in order to reach their unlawful goals. Another speaker said the students will resist the rising tide of dictatorship. The students will not participate in the Friday elections, because they do not believe that the elections reinforce the bases of democracy, secretary of the Alameh University&apos;s Islamic student council said. (Amir Armin) • Iran will turn into a great prison after the conservatives take over the Majles, Tehran-based film director Bahman Farmanara told Italian daily <i>L&apos;Esspresso</i>. Unlike the reformists who move ahead without a particular plan, the conservative faction attempts to end the duality of power with a well-conceived plan, Italian communist party&apos;s daily <i>Liberatione</i> writes. (Ahmad Ra&apos;fat, Rome) • The student activists say that President Khatami stands by the conservatives, as the Guardians Council disqualified the reformists from running in the elections, the <i>Irish Times</i> writes. The reformist MPs boycotted the bogus elections, writes the <i>Times</i> of London. If the conservatives manage to increase voter turnout, then the pressure will mount on the reformists, secretary of the Participation Front party Mohammad-Reza Khatami said, according to the <i>Financial Times</i>. (Shahran Tabari, London) • Eighty-four percent of 2,308 people who responded to a poll on the Internet said they will not vote in the upcoming elections, pollster <b>Hossein Lajevardi</b> tells <b>Radio Farda</b>. (Ali Sajjadi) • Intelligence ministry agents arrested activist <b>Hasan Zarezadeh</b> as he was about to leave Tehran by bus to attend a rally organized by Mazandaran Technical University&apos;s Islamic student council. Zarezadeh tells <b>Radio Farda</b> that he spoke to the rally by the phone, after his release. (Leyli Sadr) <b>Foreign Minister Proposes Common D8 Trade Market</b> • “The D-8 group can create a common market in order to play an effective role in international trade,” foreign minister Kamal Kharrazi said on Monday in a speech opening the two-day ministerial meeting of the group of eight Islamic countries stretching from Southeast Asia to West Africa. A summit is scheduled for February 18. D8, an economic forum, includes Iran, Turkey, Malaysia, Egypt, Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Nigeria and its secretariat is located in Turkey. • Turkey&apos;s president announced that he will attend the D8 summit in Tehran. However, Egypt will be represented by foreign minister Ahmad Maher. (Ali Sajjadi) • The D8 group has so far failed to improve trade among its members, partly because of their distances and the differences in their economies. (Fereydoun Khavand, Paris) <b>More Than 50,000 Died in Bam Earthquake, City Council Speaker Says</b> • The death toll of last December&apos;s earthquake in Bam was more than 50,000, speaker of the Bam city council Abbas Esmaili said in the conference on building safety in Hashtgerd. (Baktash Khamsehpour) • Inadequate rubble removal and lack of clean drinking water are the major problems of the Bam earthquake survivors. The Tehran-based NGO “Madaran-e Emruz” (Today&apos;s Mothers) provides some psychological counseling and care for the Bam children, along with many other NGOs, Madaran&apos;s spokesman <b>Marzieh Shahkarami</b> tells <b>Radio Farda</b>. Some schools have opened in Bam, but for all schools to open they would need more teachers, she adds. (Leyli Arman) • In a fundraising ceremony attended by 400, Virginia Iranians celebrated the US relief team that rushed to Bam less than a week after the earthquake. The warmth and hospitality of the people reduced any challenge that our team would have faced in Bam, head of Fairfax county firefighters <b>Mark Stone</b>, which sent a medical relief team of 47 to Bam, tells <b>Radio Farda</b>. Monies raised from donors will be given to non-governmental organizations in Iran, an organizer says. (Masoud Malek) <b>Tabriz Judiciary Extends Journalist&apos;s Order</b> • The Tabriz judiciary extended the temporary detention order of independent journalist Ensafali Hedayat, who was thrown in jail on his return from the Berlin conference of secular non-monarchist coalition Jumhurikhahan, in which he had taken part as a reporter. Psychological and physical pressures have turned him into an insomniac, his daughter <b>Fatemeh Hedayat</b> tells <b>Radio Farda</b>. (Jamshid Zand) <b>Belgium Anti-Riot Police Arrest Iranian Asylum Seekers</b> • Belgium riot police arrested a group of Iranian asylum seekers who had converged on the interior minister&apos;s office in protest against Belgium&apos;s rejection of their asylum requests. All were released after three hours, except one person whose petition and its plea process had already been completed, Brussels-based social worker <b>Ali Samad</b> tells <b>Radio Farda</b>. (Mahmonir Rahimi) <b>Supreme National Security Council Denies Building G2 Centrifuge</b> • “That Iran is building a new generation of centrifuge is a lie. Iran is just conducting a preliminary study of the G2 centrifuge and has informed the International Atomic Energy Agency,” secretary of international relations of the supreme national security council Hossein Mussavian said in an interview with Tehran municipal government&apos;s daily organ <i>Hamshahri</i>. (Ali Sajjadi) <b>BBC Witness Says He Saw Kazemi&apos;s Torture</b> • In a documentary aired by the BBC last night in Britain, a witness says he saw the torture of Canadian-Iranian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi in jail. Kazemi died in custody of head injuries she received during interrogation. The Canadian government is a signatory to the UN anti-torture treaties. In diplomacy and foreign relations often human rights are ignored, senior advisor to Canadian organization for defense of torture victims <b>Ezat Mosalanezhad</b> tells <b>Radio Farda</b> says. (Maryam Aghvani) • The doctors who saw signs of torture on Kazemi&apos;s body and did not report it to human rights organizations, acted contrary to the moral standards of their profession, and should be prosecuted, New Haven-based human rights activist <b>Dr. Ramin Ahmadi</b> tells <b>Radio Farda</b>. (Ali Sajjadi) . ماه منير رحيمي (راديوفردا): شمار داوطلبان انصراف داده از نامزدي نمايندگي مجلس هفتم شوراي اسلامي به 679 نفر رسيد. از اين تعداد 621 نفر مرد و 58 نفر زن هستند. بر اساس گزارش خبرگزاري دانشجويان ايران، ايسنا، بيشترين آمار داوطلبان انصراف دهنده در استانهاي فارس، تهران، خراسان، اصفهان و خوزستان ثبت شده است. بنابراين گزارش روز يكشنبه 72 نامزد اعلام انصراف كرده اند كه اين رقم نسبت به روز قبل 12% افزايش را نشان مي دهد. جمشيد زند (راديو فردا): چهار روز ديگر انتخابات دور هفتم مجلس شوراي اسلامي در حالي برگزار مي شود كه صف بندي نيروها به نفع نيروهاي محافظه كار حكومتي تغيير كرده است. به گفته علي اكبر محتشمي پور، رئيس ستاد انتخابات ائتلاف براي ايران متشكل از هشت گروه دوم خردادي، اين ستاد تا كنون 220 نفر را در سراسر ايران شناسايي كرده است و 26 نفر براي تهران و 192 نفر براي حوزه هاي انتخاباتي ديگر هستند. اما به گفته آقاي محتشمي پور تمامي اين 220 نفر از كانديداهاي اصلاح طلبان نيستند و نامزدهاي مستقلي از حوزه هايي كه اصلاح طلبان هيچ نامزد تاييد صلاحيت شده اي ندارند در اين ليست گنجانده شده است تا با كانديداهاي محافظه كاران رقابت كنند. ستاد ائتلاف براي ايران روز 22 بهمن شكل گرفت و در روز سوم تبليغات كانديداهاي اين ستاد مشخص شدند. گفته مي شود بخش بزرگي از پنج هزار و 500 كانديد تاييد صلاحيت شده را نامزدهاي مستقلي تشكيل مي دهند كه متمايل به محافظه كاران هستند. در واكنش به شركت برخي از گروههاي دوم خرداد در انتخابات، امروز جلال جلالي زاده، عضو شوراي عمومي جبهه مشاركت از پاكسازي جبهه دوم خرداد پس از انتخابات خبر داد و گفت: اين قابل قبول نيست كه نام فردي هم در ليست محافظه كاران باشد و هم در ليست اصلاح طلبان. اشاره آقاي جلالي زاده به مهدي كروبي، رئيس مجلس و چند تن ديگر از چهره هاي شناخته شده جبهه دوم خرداد است كه نامشان در ليست انتخاباتي آباداني و توسعه متمايل به جناح محافظه كار نيز آورده شده است. او تاكيد كرده است كه جبهه دوم خرداد در مجلس هفتم حتي از وجود اقليت توانمند و مستقل هم برخوردار نخواهد بود. اما به گفته ناظران جناح محافظه كار همچنان مي كوشد انتخابات را رقابتي وانمود سازد. غلامعلي حداد عادل از اعضاي ائتلاف آبادگران ايران اسلامي، مهمترين ائتلاف جناح راست در انتخابات مجلس هفتم گفته است رقابت اصلي در انتخابات مجلس هفتم ميان ائتلاف آبادگران و گروههاي موسوم به دوم خرداد است، ولو اينكه با نام ديگري شركت كرده باشند. حداد عادل، رئيس فراكسيون اقليت مجلس پيش بيني برخي از تحليلگران و نمايندگان مستعفي مجلس در مورد آغاز بازداشت و محاكمه منتقدين نظام پس از تشكيل مجلس هفتم را ناشي گري خوانده است، در حالي كه اين روزها نمايندگان مستعفي مجلس شماري از فعالان سياسي و روزنامه نگاران دوم خردادي، از شروع موج جديدي از بازداشت ها اظهار نگراني مي کنند. محافظه كاران كه به گفته ناظران شديدا در تلاشند عده بيشتري از مردم را به پاي صندوقهاي راي بكشانند، در روزها اخير ديگر از شركت شصت يا هفتاد درصد از واجدين شرايط در انتخابات صحبت نمي كنند. حسين فدايي، دبير كل جمعيت ايثارگران مي گويد: عرف دنيا در ميزان مشاركت مردم بين 25 تا 30% است و پيش بيني مي كند 50% از مردم در انتخابات شركت كنند و در حالي كه كمتر از چهار روز به پايان فعاليتهاي تبليغاتي انتخابات باقي مانده است، امروز مهدي كروبي، رئيس مجلس شوراي اسلامي در يك كنفرانس خبري ديدگاهها و نظرات خود درباره انتخابات مجلس هفتم و دلايل شركت مجمع روحانيون مبارز در اين انتخابات را تشريح كرد. آقاي كروبي گفت: در كنار اينكه تاييد مي كنيم، تبريك مي گوييم و از مردم به خاطر حضورشان تقدير مي كنيم، معترض هم هستيم، انتقاد داريم و معتقديم حق عده اي پايمال شده است. او با اشاره به وجود اشكالات اساسي، خواهان اصلاح قانون انتخابات شد. نمايندگان مستعفي مجلس هم قرار است روز سه شنبه در يك كنفرانس خبري به تشريح مواضع خود بپردازند. چهار روز ديگر انتخابات دور هفتم مجلس شوراي اسلامي در حالي برگزار مي شود كه صف بندي نيروها به نفع نيروهاي محافظه كار حكومتي تغيير كرده است. بخش بزرگي از پنج هزار و 500 كانديداي تاييد صلاحيت شده را نامزدهاي مستقلي تشكيل مي دهند كه متمايل به محافظه كاران هستند. در اين ميان جناح محافظه كار همچنان مي كوشد انتخابات را رقابتي وانمود سازد. غلامعلي حداد عادل، از اعضاي ائتلاف آبادگران ايران اسلامي، گفت که رقابت اصلي ميان ائتلاف آبادگران و گروههاي موسوم به دوم خرداد است، ولو اينكه با نام ديگري شركت كرده باشند. حسين فدايي، دبير كل جمعيت ايثارگران نيز گفت که عرف دنيا در ميزان مشاركت مردم بين 25 تا 30% است. همزمان، در واكنش به شركت برخي از گروههاي دوم خرداد در انتخابات، امروز جلال جلالي زاده، عضو شوراي عمومي جبهه مشاركت، گفت که اين قابل قبول نيست كه نام فردي هم در ليست محافظه كاران باشد و هم در ليست اصلاح طلبان. اشاره آقاي جلالي زاده به مهدي كروبي، رئيس مجلس و چند تن ديگر از چهره هاي شناخته شده جبهه دوم خرداد است.