اميرمصدق كاتوزيان، مصاحبه با دكتر محمد ملكي (تهران)
Summary of Today's BroadcastRFE/RL Persian ServiceSunday, April 14, 2002 - Funeral of the Nationalist-Religious leader - Trial of Taqi Rahmani begins - Assignment of Two for secret negotiations with the US denied - Iran's share of the Caspian Sea resources - Tabriz publisher gets jail, lashes - Pastoral themed Iranian movies in Cologne - Afghan refugees impact on Iranian society Nationalist-Religious Activists Attend Yadollah Sahabi's Funeral * Thousands turned out in Tehran for the funeral of Yadollah Sahabi, a nationalist-religious leader who died on Friday at age of 95. He was mourned, not only by the followers of the National Front and Iran Freedom Movement, of which he was a founding member, but also by hard-line Islamic leftist politicians, who opposed the nationalists in the years following the Islamic revolution. Ayatollah Khamenei, the Leader of Islamic Republic, and Ayatollah Hosseinali Montazeri, the former number two man of the regime under Ayatollah Khomeini, who is now under house arrest, sent messages of condolence. Also, messages from jailed reformist journalists and students were read during the funeral. Mohammad Maleki, a nationalist-religious coalition member who was recently freed from jail on bail, tells RFE/RL that the funeral was a referendum of support for the nationalist-religious coalition, whose leaders, including himself, were tried on charges of subversion. Most of the slogans today, he adds, were in support of Sahabi's son, Ezatollah, who was freed from jail last month after spending more than a year in solitary confinement. (Amir-Mosaddegh Katouzian) Closed-Door Trial of Taqi Rahmani Begins * Narges Mohammadi, the wife of nationalist-religious coalition member Taqi Rahmani, tells RFE/RL that her husband's trial began today behind closed doors. He is the last of the 19 jailed coalition members to be tried on charges of subversion. Others were freed on bail, and Ms. Mohammadi expects her husband to be freed on bail after the trial, which will resume Tuesday. (Golnaz Esfandiari) National Security Council Denies Assignment of Two to Negotiate with the US * An official of the High Council on National Security denies newspaper reports that Khatami had assigned two men to conduct secret negotiations with the US. The report appeared first in the daily newspaper of the Islamic Republic Broadcasting (IRIB), which said Khatami's choices for the job were Mohammad Javad Larijani, a former MP and the brother of the IRIB head Ali Larijani, and Hasan Rouhani, the Secretary of the High Council on National Security. Both men belong to the conservative faction, and both have a history of scandalous, failed attempts at negotiating with the US and the UK, says RFE/RL's Alireza Taheri, adding that, if there ever was a need for secret negotiations with the US, these two would be the last to be chosen for the job. (Alireza Taheri) Planning Organization Puts Off Reforming the Subsidies System * The Budget and Planning Organization puts off working on a comprehensive bill to reform Iran's system of subsidies, according to Tehran newspapers. Some analysts put the annual energy subsidies at between $11 billion to $13 billion, while bread subsidies exceed 8,500 billion rials (nearly $1.1 billion). Public opinion has only recently become aware of the devastating cost of the subsidies to the economy, as the greatest squander in Iran's history. Unpublished reports indicate that the decision to put off working on subsidies reform has met with disapproval and resignations at the Planning and Budget organization. The elimination of subsidies, which would have political and social implications, has strong opponents within the regime. Members of the economic mafia, who have amassed legendary riches from importing subsidized goods, are the strongest opponents of subsidies reform. (Fereydoun Khavand) Iran Stands to Lose its 50 Percent Share of the Caspian, MP's Charge Majles MP's warned that the upcoming negotiations over the Caspian legal regime between the five littoral states may cost Iran what they termed as the country's 50 percent share in the Caspian resources. Two historical treaties of 1920 and 1941 between Iran and former Soviet Union recognize equal exploitation rights for the two countries. However, after the fall of the USSR, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan maintain that the seabed should be divided among littoral countries based on their coastal lines, which would reduce Iran's share to 13 percent. In interviews with RFE/RL, three experts on international law comment on the issue. * Mohammad Reza Jalili, Geneva-based international law consultant, finds arriving at any solution during the upcoming Ashgabat summit improbable. The Caspian is a closed sea, and based on international norms, any legal regime should be based on the agreement between littoral states. However, since Iran's international status is weak right now, the only solution for Iran is to avoid signing any agreement that would give it less than ideal share of the Caspian resources. * Parviz Varjavand, a Tehran-based professor and expert on the region, says Iran's problem is the lack of helpful diplomatic relations in the international arena. The 50 percent claim raised by Majles MP's is based on international law, but the presence of foreign powers in the region has put Iran in a position that it cannot attract international support to its position. * Houshang Taleh, Tehran-based international law expert says, based on the treaties with USSR, Iran's share is clearly 50 percent. It is up to the other four countries to negotiate among themselves on how they plan to divide the USSR's half. He advises Iran to avoid signing any treaties at this point, and adds that while the Islamic Republic's isolated position in the world prevents it from defending Iran's rights, there may be other regimes in Iran's future which would have the power to do so. (Baktash Khamsehpour) Tabriz Publisher Gets Jail, Lashes and Suspension of His Publishing License * Ali-Hamed Iman, the publisher of the Shams-e Tabriz magazine was sentenced to eight months in prison, 74 lashes and suspension of his publishing license, on charges of chauvinism and fomenting division among ethnic groups and insulting Islam. Saleh Kamrani, his defense attorney, tells RFE/RL that the sentence is harsher than expected, since the jury threw out 20 of the 22 charges against the magazine. He says he would appeal the sentence, based on the fact that no physical ethnic conflict has resulted from the magazine's opinions, and thus, the charge of fomenting ethnic divisions has no basis. (Golnaz Esfandiari) Pastoral Themed Iranian Movies in Germany * A selection of Iranian films with pastoral themes and rural characters will be shown in Cologne, Germany, during the next three months. Film critic Masud Madani, who has selected the films, explains the program during an interview with RFE/RL. (Shahram Mirian, Cologne) Afghan Refugees' Impact on Iran * Washington-based sociologist and commentator tells RFE/RL that the immigration of more than 3 million uneducated Afghans to Iran, coupled with the flight of more than 3 million educated and skilled Iranians to the west, has lowered the general level of culture and skills in the Iranian society. (Homayoun Majd, Washington) WORLD * Powell meets Arafat. (Jamshid Chalangi, Cairo) * Hugo Chavez returns to power in Venezuela. (Jean Khakzad, Paris) * The Afghan and US forces ambush al Qaeda terrorists. Selection of Supreme Council participants begins on Monday. (Golnaz Esfandiari) * The German tourists' death toll in the Tunisia Synagogue explosion reaches 10, after two more die in the hospital. (Shahram Mirian, Cologne) * Elections in East Timur. (Alireza Taheri) * Chirac and Jospin run neck-to-neck in the French Presidential election. (Jean Khakzad) * China's Zemin visits Libya, calling Qaddafi an old dear friend of China. (Farideh Rahbar, Cairo) ARTS AND IDEAS Modern Thought in Contemporary Iran * Inspired by a Russian princess, two Iranian Qajar-era reformists wrote social criticism from the point of view of a donkey. (Javad Tabatabai, Nazi Azima) Historical Research: Government in the Passage of Time * Tehran-based professor of political history Gholam-Hossein Mirza-Saleh discusses the roots of the Renaissance. (with Nazi Azima) Exchange of Medical Science Between Iran and the West * Mehrnaz Katouzian, a scholar of the history of science, discusses the historical influence of Iranian medical science on the west, during an interview with socialist Ehsan Naraghi. (Jean Khakzad, Paris)
مراسم خاكسپاري جسد دكتر يدالله سحابي، يكي از بنيانگذاران نهضت آزادي و از همكاران مهدي بازرگان، در تهران برگزارشد. حجت الاسلام محسن كديور، روحاني منتقد جمهوري اسلامي، برگزار كننده نماز ميت بود. يدالله سحابي روز 23 فروردين درگذشت. وي نماينده سابق تهران در مجلس شوراي اسلامي و رئيس سني اولين دوره اين مجلس بود. به مناسبت درگذشت سحابي، آيت الله خامنه اي، رهبر جمهوري اسلامي؛ آيت آلله حسينعلي منتظري، جانشين سابق ولي فقيه؛ محمد خاتمي، رئيس جمهوري اسلامي؛ مهدي كروبي، رئيس مجلس شوراي اسلامي و ساير شخصيت ها و چهره هاي سياسي و گروه هاي دانشگاهي واجتماعي، از جمله دانشجويان و روزنامه نگاران زنداني، پيام هائي به خانواده او ارسال داشتند كه در اين مراسم قرائت شد. چهره هاي وابسته به جناح اصلاحات درهيات حاكمه جمهوري اسلامي، از جمله گروهي كه در آغاز انقلاب تحت عنوان "پيرو خط امام" منتقدان سحابي و بازرگان و ملي - مذهبي ها بودند، در كنار مقامات دولت محمدخاتمي در مراسم تشييع جنازه سحابي شركت داشتند. دكتر محمدملكي، يكي از همفكران سحابي كه به تازگي با قيد وثيقه از زندان آزاد شد، در مصاحبه با راديوآزادي مي گويد: "بسياري از كساني كه در گذشته حملات بسيار شديدي به دكتر سحابي و همفكران او كرده بودند، در مراسم امروز حضور داشتند." ملكي مي گويد: "بعد از اتهاماتي كه به ما زدند و موضوع براندازي و اين حرفها را عليه ما مطرح كردند، مراسم امروز رفراندومي بود كه طي آن افكار عمومي نشان داد كه اين حرفها بيهوده و مسخره است." دكتر محمدملكي در مصاحبه با راديوآزادي مي افزايد: "تجليل امروز مردم از يدالله سحابي، تجليل از زندانيان سياسي بود و كساني كه امروز دچار دادگاه هستند و آخرين فرد، آقاي تقي رحماني، كه هنوز در زندان است." وي مي افزايد: بيشتر شعار هاي امروز در تائيد راه وروش مهندس عزت الله سحابي، فرزند يدالله سحابي بود كه پس از بيش از يك سال تحمل زندان، اخيرا به قيد ضمانت آزاد شده است.
Summary of Today's BroadcastRFE/RL Persian ServiceSunday, April 14, 2002 - Funeral of the Nationalist-Religious leader - Trial of Taqi Rahmani begins - Assignment of Two for secret negotiations with the US denied - Iran's share of the Caspian Sea resources - Tabriz publisher gets jail, lashes - Pastoral themed Iranian movies in Cologne - Afghan refugees impact on Iranian society Nationalist-Religious Activists Attend Yadollah Sahabi's Funeral * Thousands turned out in Tehran for the funeral of Yadollah Sahabi, a nationalist-religious leader who died on Friday at age of 95. He was mourned, not only by the followers of the National Front and Iran Freedom Movement, of which he was a founding member, but also by hard-line Islamic leftist politicians, who opposed the nationalists in the years following the Islamic revolution. Ayatollah Khamenei, the Leader of Islamic Republic, and Ayatollah Hosseinali Montazeri, the former number two man of the regime under Ayatollah Khomeini, who is now under house arrest, sent messages of condolence. Also, messages from jailed reformist journalists and students were read during the funeral. Mohammad Maleki, a nationalist-religious coalition member who was recently freed from jail on bail, tells RFE/RL that the funeral was a referendum of support for the nationalist-religious coalition, whose leaders, including himself, were tried on charges of subversion. Most of the slogans today, he adds, were in support of Sahabi's son, Ezatollah, who was freed from jail last month after spending more than a year in solitary confinement. (Amir-Mosaddegh Katouzian) Closed-Door Trial of Taqi Rahmani Begins * Narges Mohammadi, the wife of nationalist-religious coalition member Taqi Rahmani, tells RFE/RL that her husband's trial began today behind closed doors. He is the last of the 19 jailed coalition members to be tried on charges of subversion. Others were freed on bail, and Ms. Mohammadi expects her husband to be freed on bail after the trial, which will resume Tuesday. (Golnaz Esfandiari) National Security Council Denies Assignment of Two to Negotiate with the US * An official of the High Council on National Security denies newspaper reports that Khatami had assigned two men to conduct secret negotiations with the US. The report appeared first in the daily newspaper of the Islamic Republic Broadcasting (IRIB), which said Khatami's choices for the job were Mohammad Javad Larijani, a former MP and the brother of the IRIB head Ali Larijani, and Hasan Rouhani, the Secretary of the High Council on National Security. Both men belong to the conservative faction, and both have a history of scandalous, failed attempts at negotiating with the US and the UK, says RFE/RL's Alireza Taheri, adding that, if there ever was a need for secret negotiations with the US, these two would be the last to be chosen for the job. (Alireza Taheri) Planning Organization Puts Off Reforming the Subsidies System * The Budget and Planning Organization puts off working on a comprehensive bill to reform Iran's system of subsidies, according to Tehran newspapers. Some analysts put the annual energy subsidies at between $11 billion to $13 billion, while bread subsidies exceed 8,500 billion rials (nearly $1.1 billion). Public opinion has only recently become aware of the devastating cost of the subsidies to the economy, as the greatest squander in Iran's history. Unpublished reports indicate that the decision to put off working on subsidies reform has met with disapproval and resignations at the Planning and Budget organization. The elimination of subsidies, which would have political and social implications, has strong opponents within the regime. Members of the economic mafia, who have amassed legendary riches from importing subsidized goods, are the strongest opponents of subsidies reform. (Fereydoun Khavand) Iran Stands to Lose its 50 Percent Share of the Caspian, MP's Charge Majles MP's warned that the upcoming negotiations over the Caspian legal regime between the five littoral states may cost Iran what they termed as the country's 50 percent share in the Caspian resources. Two historical treaties of 1920 and 1941 between Iran and former Soviet Union recognize equal exploitation rights for the two countries. However, after the fall of the USSR, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan maintain that the seabed should be divided among littoral countries based on their coastal lines, which would reduce Iran's share to 13 percent. In interviews with RFE/RL, three experts on international law comment on the issue. * Mohammad Reza Jalili, Geneva-based international law consultant, finds arriving at any solution during the upcoming Ashgabat summit improbable. The Caspian is a closed sea, and based on international norms, any legal regime should be based on the agreement between littoral states. However, since Iran's international status is weak right now, the only solution for Iran is to avoid signing any agreement that would give it less than ideal share of the Caspian resources. * Parviz Varjavand, a Tehran-based professor and expert on the region, says Iran's problem is the lack of helpful diplomatic relations in the international arena. The 50 percent claim raised by Majles MP's is based on international law, but the presence of foreign powers in the region has put Iran in a position that it cannot attract international support to its position. * Houshang Taleh, Tehran-based international law expert says, based on the treaties with USSR, Iran's share is clearly 50 percent. It is up to the other four countries to negotiate among themselves on how they plan to divide the USSR's half. He advises Iran to avoid signing any treaties at this point, and adds that while the Islamic Republic's isolated position in the world prevents it from defending Iran's rights, there may be other regimes in Iran's future which would have the power to do so. (Baktash Khamsehpour) Tabriz Publisher Gets Jail, Lashes and Suspension of His Publishing License * Ali-Hamed Iman, the publisher of the Shams-e Tabriz magazine was sentenced to eight months in prison, 74 lashes and suspension of his publishing license, on charges of chauvinism and fomenting division among ethnic groups and insulting Islam. Saleh Kamrani, his defense attorney, tells RFE/RL that the sentence is harsher than expected, since the jury threw out 20 of the 22 charges against the magazine. He says he would appeal the sentence, based on the fact that no physical ethnic conflict has resulted from the magazine's opinions, and thus, the charge of fomenting ethnic divisions has no basis. (Golnaz Esfandiari) Pastoral Themed Iranian Movies in Germany * A selection of Iranian films with pastoral themes and rural characters will be shown in Cologne, Germany, during the next three months. Film critic Masud Madani, who has selected the films, explains the program during an interview with RFE/RL. (Shahram Mirian, Cologne) Afghan Refugees' Impact on Iran * Washington-based sociologist and commentator tells RFE/RL that the immigration of more than 3 million uneducated Afghans to Iran, coupled with the flight of more than 3 million educated and skilled Iranians to the west, has lowered the general level of culture and skills in the Iranian society. (Homayoun Majd, Washington) WORLD * Powell meets Arafat. (Jamshid Chalangi, Cairo) * Hugo Chavez returns to power in Venezuela. (Jean Khakzad, Paris) * The Afghan and US forces ambush al Qaeda terrorists. Selection of Supreme Council participants begins on Monday. (Golnaz Esfandiari) * The German tourists' death toll in the Tunisia Synagogue explosion reaches 10, after two more die in the hospital. (Shahram Mirian, Cologne) * Elections in East Timur. (Alireza Taheri) * Chirac and Jospin run neck-to-neck in the French Presidential election. (Jean Khakzad) * China's Zemin visits Libya, calling Qaddafi an old dear friend of China. (Farideh Rahbar, Cairo) ARTS AND IDEAS Modern Thought in Contemporary Iran * Inspired by a Russian princess, two Iranian Qajar-era reformists wrote social criticism from the point of view of a donkey. (Javad Tabatabai, Nazi Azima) Historical Research: Government in the Passage of Time * Tehran-based professor of political history Gholam-Hossein Mirza-Saleh discusses the roots of the Renaissance. (with Nazi Azima) Exchange of Medical Science Between Iran and the West * Mehrnaz Katouzian, a scholar of the history of science, discusses the historical influence of Iranian medical science on the west, during an interview with socialist Ehsan Naraghi. (Jean Khakzad, Paris)
مراسم خاكسپاري جسد دكتر يدالله سحابي، يكي از بنيانگذاران نهضت آزادي و از همكاران مهدي بازرگان، در تهران برگزارشد. حجت الاسلام محسن كديور، روحاني منتقد جمهوري اسلامي، برگزار كننده نماز ميت بود. يدالله سحابي روز 23 فروردين درگذشت. وي نماينده سابق تهران در مجلس شوراي اسلامي و رئيس سني اولين دوره اين مجلس بود. به مناسبت درگذشت سحابي، آيت الله خامنه اي، رهبر جمهوري اسلامي؛ آيت آلله حسينعلي منتظري، جانشين سابق ولي فقيه؛ محمد خاتمي، رئيس جمهوري اسلامي؛ مهدي كروبي، رئيس مجلس شوراي اسلامي و ساير شخصيت ها و چهره هاي سياسي و گروه هاي دانشگاهي واجتماعي، از جمله دانشجويان و روزنامه نگاران زنداني، پيام هائي به خانواده او ارسال داشتند كه در اين مراسم قرائت شد. چهره هاي وابسته به جناح اصلاحات درهيات حاكمه جمهوري اسلامي، از جمله گروهي كه در آغاز انقلاب تحت عنوان "پيرو خط امام" منتقدان سحابي و بازرگان و ملي - مذهبي ها بودند، در كنار مقامات دولت محمدخاتمي در مراسم تشييع جنازه سحابي شركت داشتند. دكتر محمدملكي، يكي از همفكران سحابي كه به تازگي با قيد وثيقه از زندان آزاد شد، در مصاحبه با راديوآزادي مي گويد: "بسياري از كساني كه در گذشته حملات بسيار شديدي به دكتر سحابي و همفكران او كرده بودند، در مراسم امروز حضور داشتند." ملكي مي گويد: "بعد از اتهاماتي كه به ما زدند و موضوع براندازي و اين حرفها را عليه ما مطرح كردند، مراسم امروز رفراندومي بود كه طي آن افكار عمومي نشان داد كه اين حرفها بيهوده و مسخره است." دكتر محمدملكي در مصاحبه با راديوآزادي مي افزايد: "تجليل امروز مردم از يدالله سحابي، تجليل از زندانيان سياسي بود و كساني كه امروز دچار دادگاه هستند و آخرين فرد، آقاي تقي رحماني، كه هنوز در زندان است." وي مي افزايد: بيشتر شعار هاي امروز در تائيد راه وروش مهندس عزت الله سحابي، فرزند يدالله سحابي بود كه پس از بيش از يك سال تحمل زندان، اخيرا به قيد ضمانت آزاد شده است.
