سياوش اردلان، مصاحبه با محسن سازگارا، جعفرگلابي، سعيد حقي (تهران)
Summary of Today's BroadcastRFE/RL Persian ServiceThursday, July 18, 2002 - Official anti-US demonstrations on Friday - Identity and affiliation of "pressure groups" - Prosecution of human rights lawyers protested - Mandatory use of dark veil in girls' schools - Iran, Tunisia to expand trade - Bank Melli opens a branch in Moscow - Bloated government moves slowly Factions to Join in Friday's Official Anti-US Demonstration The state radio and television continue to broadcast a barrage of propaganda to boost turnout for the official anti-US demonstration scheduled for tomorrow. Esfahan's former prayer leader Ayatollah Jalaloddin Taheri, who criticized all aspects of the regime in his shock resignation letter last week, joined in the call for a large turnout. * Tehran-based independent analyst Mohsen Sazegara, former publisher of the banned "Jama'e" (Society) newspaper, says Bush's apparent support for a change of government in Iran was the main factor in the regime's strong reaction and show of force. He tells RFE/RL that tomorrow's demonstrations would not turn against reformists, despite warnings in reformist papers such as "Aftab-e Yazd," since President Khatami, the leader of the reform faction, joined the conservatives in attacking the US president's statement. * Jafar Golabi, a columnist of "Aftab-e Yazd," tells RFE/RL that the organizers should keep the demonstrations free of factional conflicts. * Editor of the banned independent newspaper "Mellat" (Nation) Said Haqqi says the conservatives do have enough of a following to gather enough people for tomorrow's demonstrations. He tells RFE/RL that former Esfahan prayer leader Ayatollah Taheri yielded under pressure, just like President Khatami, who has shown that he is not a kind of person to stand firm and fight for his positions. (Siavash Ardalan) Identity and Organizational Affiliation of Plainclothes Forces * Interior minister Abdolvahed Musavi-Lari said the judiciary has done little to punish the plainclothesmen identified by the police and the national security council as suspects in disrupting rallies. It is the first time that official law enforcement organs talk about the need to stop the armed plainclothes force, also known as "pressure groups." (Mehdi Khalaji) Defender of Human Right Defenders Condemns Jailing and Suspension of Lawyers In a statement issued in Paris, the international defenders of the human rights condemned the confirmation of the 5 year jail sentence and 50 lashes against Naser Zarafshan, lawyer for the families of the victims of the 1999 serial murders of political dissidents. Also, Abdolfatah Soltani, lawyer who defended some of the nationalist-religious coalition members charged with subversion and his lawyer Seifzadeh were sentenced to prison and suspension from practice. * Paris-based human rights activist Abdolkarim Lahiji, deputy director of the federation of human rights societies, says that before a verdict against nearly 60 members of the nationalist-religious collation is announced, their lawyer and their lawyer's lawyer are punished in order to prevent other lawyers from defending civil society activists. He adds that human rights organizations seek to remind EU officials to include human rights in their future talks with Iran. (Jean Khakzad, Paris) Mandatory Use of Dark Islamic Veil in Schools Fatemeh Tondguyan, director of the ministry of education's women's affairs office criticized the mandatory Islamic dress code in effect in Iran's schools. She said it drives young girls to behavioral disorders, depression and suicide. * Tehran-based women's affairs journalist Parvin Ardalan says the dark veil became mandatory in schools in 1993 after a ministry of education circular directed school officials to require it in neighborhoods where the veil, or chador, is the norm. Journalist Roya Maleki says teachers too must wear the chador, and there is no difference between uptown and downtown schools. Private schools, though, are free to use bright colored uniforms and no chador. (Mahmonir Rahimi) Foreign Minister Concludes Tunisia Visit * Foreign minister Kamal Kharrzai ended a two-day Tunisia visit after signing an agreement to increase bilateral trade from $70 million to $100 million per year. Tunisian journalist Olfat Talami tells RFE/RL that Tunis is interested in Tehran's experience in free trade zones and will soon begin cooperation with Tehran on agricultural projects. (Jamshid Chalangi, Cairo) Demography of Iraqi Refugees in Iran * Nearly 12,000 of the 226,000 Iraqi refugees in Iran are studying in Shiite seminaries, writes London's al-Hayat, quoting a demographical study published in Tehran. (Farideh Rahbar, Cairo) Iranian Bank Opens a Branch in Moscow * At the opening of the first branch of the "Bank-e Melli-ye Iran" (Iran National Bank) in Moscow, Russian central bank president Viktor Gerashchenko said that the bank branch would facilitate the nearly $1 billion annual trade between the two countries. Tehran's ambassador to Moscow Reza Shafei attended the proceedings. (Mani Kasravi, Moscow) Bloated Government Moves Slowly * The number of government employees grew by 4 times in 20 years, according to the human resources deputy of the management and planning organization (the former plan and budget organization). Government employs 2.25 million people with a budget that consumes nearly 70 percent of the GNP. RFE/RL's Paris-based economic commentator Fereydoun Khavand says bloated government moves slowly. WORLD * Israel to continue martial law in Palestinian towns. (Jamshid Chalangi, Cairo) * US President calls for change in the Palestinian Authority's leadership. (Homayoun Majd, Washington) * Deputy Defense Secretary Wolfowitz discusses Iraq with Turkish leaders. (Shahran Tabari) * A Christian Science Monitor poll shows that some in the US are not convinced about the need to remove Saddam Hussein. (Homayoun Majd, Washington) * UNSG calls for expansion beyond Kabul of the mission of the international peacekeeping forces. (Golnaz Esfandiari) * President Putin of Russia vows in a message to Saddam that he would seek a peaceful way to end the Iraq crisis. (Mani Kasravi, Moscow) * Spain to end its occupation of Perejil Island, off the coast of Morocco. (Ahmad Ra'fat, Rome) * Saddam Hussein calls himself undefeatable in a speech on the 34th anniversary of his party's assumption of power in Iraq. (Ahmad Ra'fat, Rome) * Italy limits the use of non-European soccer players in professional teams. (Ahmad Ra'fat, Rome) * Pakistan tries 4 for gang-raping a woman as a punishment by the order of tribal leaders. (Golnaz Esfandiari) * Hamed Karzai's government formed a new committee to oversee the country's state broadcasting operations. Afghanistan's minister of information tells RFE/RL that the goal of the new appointments is to democratize Afghanistan's radio and television operation. (Shireen Famili) ARTS AND IDEAS Kurdish Spiritual Music and Dance of Razbar * Shahrokh Zareh, musician and director of the German-based Kurdish devotional music and dance group Razbar tells RFE/RL that 30 performers participated in the group's recent concert in Switzerland. (Shahram Mirian, Cologne) Pop Singer Satar Performs RFE/RL's Kian Manavi's Song * RFE/RL broadcaster and sound engineer Kian Manavi says he composed the song "My Lost Generation" (Nasl-e Gomshodeh-ye Man) four years ago when he was living in Sweden. (Ardavan Niknam) Los Angeles Report Interview with Musician Kurosh Zolfaqari * Musican Kurosh Zolfaqari, who performed in the Los Angeles world music festival, tells RFE/RL that he tries to introduce Persian music to the world. (Fahmieh Barati) Somber Persian Play Attracts Iranian Audience * Iranians in Los Angeles, who usually prefer comedies, turn out to see a somber play, Baran-e Sang, about the oppression of women in a patriarchal society, based on a short story by Shokuh Mirzadegi. (Fahimeh Barati) Weekly soccer news and commentary show. (Mehrdad Masudi)
براي تشويق به شركت در تظاهرات رسمي روز جمعه عليه آمريكا، مردم زير بمباران تبليغاتي راديوتلويزيون دولتي قرار گرفته اند. محسن سازگارا، تحليلگر سياسي در تهران، در مصاحبه با راديوآزادي مي گويد: فراخوان تغيير حكومت در ايران در بيانيه رئيس جمهوري آمريكا، اصلي ترين عاملي است كه حكومت را به واكنش و نمايش قدرت وادار كرد و گرنه اين بار حرف هاي رئيس جمهوري آمريكا حاوي احترام به حقوق اكثريت بود كه حرف بدي نيست. سازگارا مي گويد تظاهرات ضدآمريكائي فردا تظاهراتي عليه اصطلاح طلبان نخواهد بود زيرا واكنش رهبر اصلاح طلبان، محمدخاتمي، رئيس جمهوري اسلامي، با واكنش محافظه كاران همسو بود. جعفر گلابي، يك نويسنده روزنامه اصلاح طلب «آفتاب يزد» مي گويد: فراخوان راهپيمائي ضدآمريكائي، نبايد معطوف به اختلافات داخلي و مصالح جناحي شود. از سوي ديگر، آيت الله طاهري، امام جمعه سابق اصفهان، كه در استعفانامه هفته پيش خود مجموعه سياست هاي نظام را به باد انتقاد گرفته بود، «مردم موقعيت شناس ايران» را به شركت در تظاهرات و جانبداري از انقلاب دعوت كرد. سعيد حقي، مديرمسئول روزنامه توقيف شده ملت در باره تغير جهت امام جمعه مستعفي اصفهان مي گويد: طاهري هم مثل ساير اصلاح طلبان دولتي خيلي زود كوتاه آمد و موضع سازشكارانه نشان داد. حقي مي افزايد: اين روحيات شبيه روحيات محمد خاتمي است كه اهل مبارزه و مقاومت و پايداري در خواسته هاي خود نيست و خودش نيز اذعان دارد وما نيز اين پنج سال شاهد بوده ايم. حقي مي افزايد: به هرحال نمي شود انكار كرد كه جناح محافظه كار در توده مردم نفوذ زيادي دارد و موفق خواهد شد افراد كافي براي تظاهرات روز جمعه بسيج كند.
Summary of Today's BroadcastRFE/RL Persian ServiceThursday, July 18, 2002 - Official anti-US demonstrations on Friday - Identity and affiliation of "pressure groups" - Prosecution of human rights lawyers protested - Mandatory use of dark veil in girls' schools - Iran, Tunisia to expand trade - Bank Melli opens a branch in Moscow - Bloated government moves slowly Factions to Join in Friday's Official Anti-US Demonstration The state radio and television continue to broadcast a barrage of propaganda to boost turnout for the official anti-US demonstration scheduled for tomorrow. Esfahan's former prayer leader Ayatollah Jalaloddin Taheri, who criticized all aspects of the regime in his shock resignation letter last week, joined in the call for a large turnout. * Tehran-based independent analyst Mohsen Sazegara, former publisher of the banned "Jama'e" (Society) newspaper, says Bush's apparent support for a change of government in Iran was the main factor in the regime's strong reaction and show of force. He tells RFE/RL that tomorrow's demonstrations would not turn against reformists, despite warnings in reformist papers such as "Aftab-e Yazd," since President Khatami, the leader of the reform faction, joined the conservatives in attacking the US president's statement. * Jafar Golabi, a columnist of "Aftab-e Yazd," tells RFE/RL that the organizers should keep the demonstrations free of factional conflicts. * Editor of the banned independent newspaper "Mellat" (Nation) Said Haqqi says the conservatives do have enough of a following to gather enough people for tomorrow's demonstrations. He tells RFE/RL that former Esfahan prayer leader Ayatollah Taheri yielded under pressure, just like President Khatami, who has shown that he is not a kind of person to stand firm and fight for his positions. (Siavash Ardalan) Identity and Organizational Affiliation of Plainclothes Forces * Interior minister Abdolvahed Musavi-Lari said the judiciary has done little to punish the plainclothesmen identified by the police and the national security council as suspects in disrupting rallies. It is the first time that official law enforcement organs talk about the need to stop the armed plainclothes force, also known as "pressure groups." (Mehdi Khalaji) Defender of Human Right Defenders Condemns Jailing and Suspension of Lawyers In a statement issued in Paris, the international defenders of the human rights condemned the confirmation of the 5 year jail sentence and 50 lashes against Naser Zarafshan, lawyer for the families of the victims of the 1999 serial murders of political dissidents. Also, Abdolfatah Soltani, lawyer who defended some of the nationalist-religious coalition members charged with subversion and his lawyer Seifzadeh were sentenced to prison and suspension from practice. * Paris-based human rights activist Abdolkarim Lahiji, deputy director of the federation of human rights societies, says that before a verdict against nearly 60 members of the nationalist-religious collation is announced, their lawyer and their lawyer's lawyer are punished in order to prevent other lawyers from defending civil society activists. He adds that human rights organizations seek to remind EU officials to include human rights in their future talks with Iran. (Jean Khakzad, Paris) Mandatory Use of Dark Islamic Veil in Schools Fatemeh Tondguyan, director of the ministry of education's women's affairs office criticized the mandatory Islamic dress code in effect in Iran's schools. She said it drives young girls to behavioral disorders, depression and suicide. * Tehran-based women's affairs journalist Parvin Ardalan says the dark veil became mandatory in schools in 1993 after a ministry of education circular directed school officials to require it in neighborhoods where the veil, or chador, is the norm. Journalist Roya Maleki says teachers too must wear the chador, and there is no difference between uptown and downtown schools. Private schools, though, are free to use bright colored uniforms and no chador. (Mahmonir Rahimi) Foreign Minister Concludes Tunisia Visit * Foreign minister Kamal Kharrzai ended a two-day Tunisia visit after signing an agreement to increase bilateral trade from $70 million to $100 million per year. Tunisian journalist Olfat Talami tells RFE/RL that Tunis is interested in Tehran's experience in free trade zones and will soon begin cooperation with Tehran on agricultural projects. (Jamshid Chalangi, Cairo) Demography of Iraqi Refugees in Iran * Nearly 12,000 of the 226,000 Iraqi refugees in Iran are studying in Shiite seminaries, writes London's al-Hayat, quoting a demographical study published in Tehran. (Farideh Rahbar, Cairo) Iranian Bank Opens a Branch in Moscow * At the opening of the first branch of the "Bank-e Melli-ye Iran" (Iran National Bank) in Moscow, Russian central bank president Viktor Gerashchenko said that the bank branch would facilitate the nearly $1 billion annual trade between the two countries. Tehran's ambassador to Moscow Reza Shafei attended the proceedings. (Mani Kasravi, Moscow) Bloated Government Moves Slowly * The number of government employees grew by 4 times in 20 years, according to the human resources deputy of the management and planning organization (the former plan and budget organization). Government employs 2.25 million people with a budget that consumes nearly 70 percent of the GNP. RFE/RL's Paris-based economic commentator Fereydoun Khavand says bloated government moves slowly. WORLD * Israel to continue martial law in Palestinian towns. (Jamshid Chalangi, Cairo) * US President calls for change in the Palestinian Authority's leadership. (Homayoun Majd, Washington) * Deputy Defense Secretary Wolfowitz discusses Iraq with Turkish leaders. (Shahran Tabari) * A Christian Science Monitor poll shows that some in the US are not convinced about the need to remove Saddam Hussein. (Homayoun Majd, Washington) * UNSG calls for expansion beyond Kabul of the mission of the international peacekeeping forces. (Golnaz Esfandiari) * President Putin of Russia vows in a message to Saddam that he would seek a peaceful way to end the Iraq crisis. (Mani Kasravi, Moscow) * Spain to end its occupation of Perejil Island, off the coast of Morocco. (Ahmad Ra'fat, Rome) * Saddam Hussein calls himself undefeatable in a speech on the 34th anniversary of his party's assumption of power in Iraq. (Ahmad Ra'fat, Rome) * Italy limits the use of non-European soccer players in professional teams. (Ahmad Ra'fat, Rome) * Pakistan tries 4 for gang-raping a woman as a punishment by the order of tribal leaders. (Golnaz Esfandiari) * Hamed Karzai's government formed a new committee to oversee the country's state broadcasting operations. Afghanistan's minister of information tells RFE/RL that the goal of the new appointments is to democratize Afghanistan's radio and television operation. (Shireen Famili) ARTS AND IDEAS Kurdish Spiritual Music and Dance of Razbar * Shahrokh Zareh, musician and director of the German-based Kurdish devotional music and dance group Razbar tells RFE/RL that 30 performers participated in the group's recent concert in Switzerland. (Shahram Mirian, Cologne) Pop Singer Satar Performs RFE/RL's Kian Manavi's Song * RFE/RL broadcaster and sound engineer Kian Manavi says he composed the song "My Lost Generation" (Nasl-e Gomshodeh-ye Man) four years ago when he was living in Sweden. (Ardavan Niknam) Los Angeles Report Interview with Musician Kurosh Zolfaqari * Musican Kurosh Zolfaqari, who performed in the Los Angeles world music festival, tells RFE/RL that he tries to introduce Persian music to the world. (Fahmieh Barati) Somber Persian Play Attracts Iranian Audience * Iranians in Los Angeles, who usually prefer comedies, turn out to see a somber play, Baran-e Sang, about the oppression of women in a patriarchal society, based on a short story by Shokuh Mirzadegi. (Fahimeh Barati) Weekly soccer news and commentary show. (Mehrdad Masudi)
براي تشويق به شركت در تظاهرات رسمي روز جمعه عليه آمريكا، مردم زير بمباران تبليغاتي راديوتلويزيون دولتي قرار گرفته اند. محسن سازگارا، تحليلگر سياسي در تهران، در مصاحبه با راديوآزادي مي گويد: فراخوان تغيير حكومت در ايران در بيانيه رئيس جمهوري آمريكا، اصلي ترين عاملي است كه حكومت را به واكنش و نمايش قدرت وادار كرد و گرنه اين بار حرف هاي رئيس جمهوري آمريكا حاوي احترام به حقوق اكثريت بود كه حرف بدي نيست. سازگارا مي گويد تظاهرات ضدآمريكائي فردا تظاهراتي عليه اصطلاح طلبان نخواهد بود زيرا واكنش رهبر اصلاح طلبان، محمدخاتمي، رئيس جمهوري اسلامي، با واكنش محافظه كاران همسو بود. جعفر گلابي، يك نويسنده روزنامه اصلاح طلب «آفتاب يزد» مي گويد: فراخوان راهپيمائي ضدآمريكائي، نبايد معطوف به اختلافات داخلي و مصالح جناحي شود. از سوي ديگر، آيت الله طاهري، امام جمعه سابق اصفهان، كه در استعفانامه هفته پيش خود مجموعه سياست هاي نظام را به باد انتقاد گرفته بود، «مردم موقعيت شناس ايران» را به شركت در تظاهرات و جانبداري از انقلاب دعوت كرد. سعيد حقي، مديرمسئول روزنامه توقيف شده ملت در باره تغير جهت امام جمعه مستعفي اصفهان مي گويد: طاهري هم مثل ساير اصلاح طلبان دولتي خيلي زود كوتاه آمد و موضع سازشكارانه نشان داد. حقي مي افزايد: اين روحيات شبيه روحيات محمد خاتمي است كه اهل مبارزه و مقاومت و پايداري در خواسته هاي خود نيست و خودش نيز اذعان دارد وما نيز اين پنج سال شاهد بوده ايم. حقي مي افزايد: به هرحال نمي شود انكار كرد كه جناح محافظه كار در توده مردم نفوذ زيادي دارد و موفق خواهد شد افراد كافي براي تظاهرات روز جمعه بسيج كند.
