(rm) صدا |
Summary of Iran Stories of Today's BroadcastsBehnam NateghiFriday, January 03, 2003
<b>Pollsters' Certain Conviction</b>
* The most serious charge confronting the officials of two padlocked public opinion polling agencies on trial for espionage and fabricating poll results is that they sold state secrets taken from President Khatami's office to foreign governments. Abbas Abdi, a board member of the pro-Khatami party the Participation Front (Jebheh-ye Mosharekat), and the party's leading theoretician, confessed in open trial last week that, as a director of the Ayandeh polling agency, he erred in approving commissions from foreign clients, as did his co-defendants, Hossein Ghazian, another Ayandeh director and Behruz Geranpayeh, head of the national center for public opinion research. The Mosharekat party denied that Abdi and others had access to top secret documents, but yesterday intelligence minister Ali Yunesi said the documents had been stamped "Top Secret." Under these circumstances, no political effort can save the pollsters from certain conviction and heavy sentences. (Mehdi Khalaji, Prague)
* The Mosharekat party defended its board member Abbas Abdi, who is on trial along with other officials of two padlocked polling agencies. The four were arrested two months ago after the publication of a poll that showed more than 75 percent of respondents favor the resumption of US-Iran relations. Mosharekat said in its statement that under extreme pressures from the conservatives, it has no option but to pull out of the government and the Majles. In the aftermath of a possible mass resignation by the reformist MPs and government officials, former president Ali-Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani is poised to launch an emergency government. (Maryam Ahmadi, Washington)
<b>Three Points on Iran and the World Trade Organization</b>
* Iran's economic representative to the UN Baqer Asadi cited three points in a recent interview about Iran's application to join the World Trade Organization (WTO). 1) To expand exports Iran has no option but to join, and it would have to deal with the consequences of such a move, particularly the rising unemployment due to the closure of inefficient and uneconomical factories. 2) The US blocks Iran's application from reaching WTO's general assembly. 3) So far, all Iran's requests for joining WTO have been rejected, due to a lack of consensus. (Fereydoun Khavand, Paris)
<b>Germany Denies Tehran Newspaper's Account of Kharrazi-Fischer Talks</b>
* The German foreign ministry said the report that appeared in today's daily <i>Entekhab</i> about a phone conversation between German foreign minister Joschka Fischer and his Iranian counterpart Kamal Kharrazi was totally false. Germany said Fischer did not tell Kharrazi that he favors peaceful removal of Saddam Hussein, and that the US is working with Russia to arrange a bloodless coup against Iraq. (Ali Sajjadi, Washington)
<b>Euro's Rise and Iran's Buying Power</b>
* Euro's rise against the dollar poses a problem for Iran and other oil exporting nations. Iran sells its oil in dollars but pays for most of the goods it imports from Europe with euros. The higher euro exchange rate wipes out nearly 20 percent of Iran's buying power. Within a year, the euro rose in Tehran's foreign exchange market from 7,030 rials to 8,360 rials or 320 rials more than dollar, which trades at 8,040 rials. (Fereydoun Khavand, Paris)
<b>Students Ask for Transfer to Afghanistan</b>
* In an open letter to Afghan transitional president Hamid Karzai, 100 students of Tehran's Amir-Kabir University asked to continue their studies in Afghanistan, due to the frustration they feel in Iran. The students said in Iran they are faced with an ambiguous future and have to deal with a questionable past. The letter was seen as a stinging political statement against the regime. (Siavash Ardalan, Prague)
<b>Political Parties Prepare for Local Councils Elections</b>
* The pro-Khatami Mosharekat party fielded two candidates for the Tehran city council. Former deputy interior minister Mostafa Tajzadeh and former publisher of several banned reformist newspapers Hamid-Reza Jalaipour - both are Moshareket board members. Interior minister Abdolvahed Musavi-Lari declared Iran's first post-revolutionary experiment with local councils successful, and called for greater participation of people in the upcoming elections. He added that 170,000 council members served in 34,000 local councils, but only three councils had to be shut down. In Tehran, the city council continued to be divided over support for the mayor. (Ardavan Niknam, Prague)
<b>Culture Ministry Threatens Inactive Newspapers</b>
* In a warning issued to more than 300 inactive publications, the culture ministry threatened them with the revocation of their publishing licenses. (Kian Manavi, Prague)
<b>Peykan Phast-out </b>
* A Tehran-based auto industry expert tells <b>Radio Farda</b> that the rumors about a possible phase out of the popular Peykan sedans cannot be true. Citing the car's gas consumption and above-standard emissions, ecologists have been calling for the phase out to reduce air pollution in Tehran and other major cities. He says automaker Iran-Khodro makes 600 and 700 Peykans per day, and the car, despite its old-style engine and low gas mileage and emissions, is hugely popular due to the widely available spare parts. (Maryam Ahmadi, Washington)
.
مهم ترين اتهام حقوقي متهمان پرونده نظرسنجي اين است كه اطلاعات بسيار محرمانه سياسي دفتر رئيس جمهوري را به كشورهاي خارجي فروخته اند. اصلاح طلبان و به ويژه اعضاي جبهه مشاركت ايران اسلامي صريحا گفتند سند محرمانه اي در پرونده اين متهمان وجود ندارد. اما دو روز پيش، عباسعلي عليزاده، رئيس كل دادگستري تهران اعلام كرد اسناد محرمانه و نظامي از طرف موسسات نظرسنجي در اختيار كشورهاي بيگانه قرار گرفته است. سرانجام، علي يونسي، وزيراطلاعات، تائيد كرد كه اسناد مذكور مهر محرمانه داشتند. در چنين شرايطي هيچ تلاش سياسي از سوي اصلاحگرايان نمي تواند متهمان پرونده نظرسنجي را از چنگ محكوميت قطعي برهاند.
