احمد رافت (مادريد)
Summary of Today's BroadcastRFE/RL Persian ServiceMonday, October 28, 2002 - Khatami in Spain - Furloughs for imprisoned Shiraz Jews - Prosecution of human rights lawyers - Confiscation of Sufi endowments - Reformist publisher wins seat on press supervision board - Child protection bill rewrite Khatami Arrives in Spain for State Visit * President Mohammad Khatami arrived in Spain Monday at the helm of a 70-man delegation that included ministers of foreign affairs and economy and finance. Spain is Iran's fourth largest trade partner in Europe after Germany, Italy and France. Iran is Spain's third largest trade partner in the Middle East after Israel and Saudi Arabia. Signing trade deals worth 5 billion euros is on the agenda. (Ahmad Ra'fat, Rome) Three Jailed Jews Accused of Spying Visit Families on Furlough * Jewish minority MP Morris Motamed tells RFE/RL that the eight Jews convicted in July 2000 of spying for Israel were allowed to leave jail on furlough during the past three weeks. He adds that the Jewish community has asked the judiciary chief for parole of the eight, which needs approval from the Supreme Leader. (Fereydoun Zarnegar) Majles Complaints Committee on Lawyers' Jail Sentences * In its final report in response to the complaints by 6 lawyers convicted of jail terms and suspension of their law practice licenses, the Majles complaints committee said the judiciary's prosecution of them was unlawful. Mohammad-Ali Dadkhah, one of the convicted lawyers, tells RFE/RL that he does not expect the judiciary to overturn the judgments against the lawyers, even though based on the Majles report, the attorney general can revoke the sentences. (Golnaz Esfandiari) Sufi Order Files Complaint to Recover Impounded Endowments * The Nematollahi sufi order filed a complaint with the Majles complaints committee in order to recover its endowment properties. Nematollahi sufi order spokesman Ali Karimi in London tells RFE/RL that the government has illegally confiscated the properties and turned them into parking lots or housing projects. (Mehdi Khalaji) Publishers Elect a Pro-Reform Journalist to the Press Supervision Board * In an election held last night at the Tehran opera house Vahdat Hall, 316 newspaper and magazine publishers elected Isa Saharkhiz, publisher of the pro-reform monthly Aftab, as their representative on the seven-man press supervision board. Saharkhiz won by 171 votes. The runner up was Hasan Rahimian, publisher of the conservative monthly Pasdar-e Eslam, who got 105 votes. Mashallah Shamsolvaezin, editor of the several banned pro-reform newspapers and spokesman of the society for defense of press freedom in Iran, tells RFE/RL that the vote, which preserved the conservative-reformist balance on the press supervision board, signifies the active participation of the publishers of trade magazines and provincial newspapers and shows that the majority of them support freedom of the press and other reformist causes. He adds that the vote also shows that the conservatives command only a 30 percent support among the elite, which is equal to the support that the conservative candidates received in the general elections. (Mehdi Khalaji) Satirical Weekly "Gol-Agha" to Seize Publication * Kiumars Saberi, founder of the once popular satirical weekly Gol Agha announced that he plans to close down the magazine with the publication of next week's issue. Reformist journalist Massud Behnud tells RFE/RL that Gol Agha, which began publication after the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, belongs to another era, and its readership dropped with its loss of political relevance. (Alireza Taheri) Cabinet to Decide on Selling Air Rights to High Rise Builders * The housing minister announced that a cabinet vote will end the longstanding dispute between the mayor and the Tehran city council on the practice of selling air rights to high rise developers. The mayor's unilateral decision six months ago to stop the practice resulted in a sudden jump in real estate prices and deprived the city from nearly 90 percent of its income. Tehran economist Rahmatollah Moqadam Niknam tells RFE/RL that selling building permits in excess of zoning regulations is a form of real estate taxation imposed on buyers of new apartments. He says instead of looking for another source of income, the Tehran municipal government should focus on reducing its costs. (Mahmonir Rahimi) Majles Rewrites Child Protection Bill to Allow Punishment by Parents * The Majles re-wrote its child protection bill to exempt the parents' physical punishment of their children from prosecution, after the conservative Guardians Council reject the original draft because it violated the Islamic principle of the inalienable guardianship of the father over his offspring. Tehran lawyer and children's rights activist Shirin Ebadi, founder of the non-governmental association to protect the rights of children, tells RFE/RL that by revising a main component of the bill, the Majles has rendered it ineffective. (Mahmonir Rahimi) Faculty Members Desire to Emigrate * An opinion poll conducted in 28 universities and research centers shows a majority of faculty members prefer to leave Iran if they could. (Said Peyvandi, Paris) Gas Exports and Economic Development * Iran's oil minister and Qatar's energy minister participated in the eighth Tehran international conference on Middle East natural gas, which opened today. Iran, which pioneered exporting natural gas during the 1970s by building a pipeline from the Persian Gulf to Russia, stopped gas exports after the 1979 revolution. Its recent effort to resume gas exports through a pipeline to Turkey has been marred by difficulties. On the other hand, Qatar has expanded its gas exports and is seeking to gain a foothold in Southeast Asia. (Fereydoun Khavand, Paris) RFE/RL's Roundtable: Negative Reaction to Khatami's Visit to Spain * Former deputy foreign minister Ahmad Salamatian, cleric Ahmad Qabel, and political science professor Sadeq Zibakalam discuss the negative public opinion reaction to President Khatami's protocol demands during his official visit to Spain, which appears to have placed conforming to Islamic rules against alcohol consumption and gender-based segregation above Iran's national interests. (Mehdi Khalaji) ARTS AND IDEAS Daily Internet Report * The Internet refrigerator and access to the Internet on passenger airlines bring Internet to the kitchen and air travel. (Behnam Nateghi, New York) Daily medical advice (Dr. Mansur Moslehi, Los Angeles) Daily Book Review * RFE/RL's Tehran-based book critic reports on the Tehran Book Week. Daily Science Report * Scientists speculate that the gas used to rescue hostages in the Moscow theater was a banned mass destruction weapon. (Fatemeh Aman, Washington) Song: Boo-ye Joo-ye Mulian * RFE/RL's Frankfurt-based music critic Mahmud Khoshnam plays Boo-ye Joo-ye Mulian, based on a poem by Rudaki, with music by Ruhollah Khaleqi, performed by Banan and Marzieh half a century ago. Shadi (Joy) * Los Angeles DJ Afshin Gorgin spins the latest Persian pop tunes. Mehrangiz Kar Receives French Bar Association's Human Rights Award * Exiled lawyer and human rights advocate Mehrangiz Kar said during a speech in Paris after receiving the Ludovic Traieux human rights award from the French bar association that after the 1979 revolution, the Iranian bar association has lost its independence. She added that Iran's judiciary is now being used to suppress human rights and block the Iranian women's and youth's freedom movement. (Jean Khakzad, Paris) WORLD * Russia mourns the death of 117 hostages. (Mani Kasravi, Moscow) * John Aldrich, editor of Jane's mass destruction weapons magazine, tells RFE/RL that Germany's test on two surviving hostages of the Moscow theater showed that the gas used to neutralize the hostage takers was an opiate. (Shahran Tabari, London) * Review of the US and British newspapers on Russia's hostages rescue operation. (Fariba Mavedat, London) * US urges UN Security Council to approve the proposed resolution against Iraq. (Homayoun Majd, Washington) * Jordanian journalist Jamal Tahat tells RFE/RL that tighter security in the aftermath of the assassination of the American diplomat Lawrence Foley in Amman will derail Jordan's democratic process. (Jamshid Chalangi, Cairo) * Storm kills 25 in Europe. (Shahram Mirian, Cologne) * Mount Etna erupts in Sicily. (Ahmad Ra'fat, Rome) * Brazil president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva faces $240 billion debt, writes Mark Feierstein in the Washington Post. (Jamshid Zand) * Since the October 12 nightclub bombing in Bali, more than 40 attacks have been reported in Sydney against Muslim centers. (Jamshid Adili, Sydney) * Islam and Christianity conference in Bahrain. (Farideh Rahbar, Cairo)
گسترش روابط تجاري ايران و اسپانيا يكي از اهداف اصلي سفر محمدخاتمي، رئيس جمهوري اسلامي به اسپانيا است كه به همراه يك هيات 70 نفري از جمله وزيران امورخارجه و اقتصاد و دارائي. در حال حاضر اسپانيا، پس از ايتاليا، آلمان و فرانسه، چهارمين شريك تجاري ايران در اتحاديه اروپا است. ايران نيز بعد از اسرائيل و عربستان سعودي، سومين شريك بازرگاني اسپانيا در خاورميانه است. عقد بسياري از قراردادهاي اقتصادي به ارزش 5 ميليارد يورو كه دراين ديدار پيش بيني شده، در گروامضاي پروتكلي است كه گفتگو در باره آن سال گذشته در جريان سفر خوزه ماريا آزنار نخست وزير اسپانيا به تهران آغاز شد و انتظار مي رود در مادريد به امضاي دو طرف برسد.
Summary of Today's BroadcastRFE/RL Persian ServiceMonday, October 28, 2002 - Khatami in Spain - Furloughs for imprisoned Shiraz Jews - Prosecution of human rights lawyers - Confiscation of Sufi endowments - Reformist publisher wins seat on press supervision board - Child protection bill rewrite Khatami Arrives in Spain for State Visit * President Mohammad Khatami arrived in Spain Monday at the helm of a 70-man delegation that included ministers of foreign affairs and economy and finance. Spain is Iran's fourth largest trade partner in Europe after Germany, Italy and France. Iran is Spain's third largest trade partner in the Middle East after Israel and Saudi Arabia. Signing trade deals worth 5 billion euros is on the agenda. (Ahmad Ra'fat, Rome) Three Jailed Jews Accused of Spying Visit Families on Furlough * Jewish minority MP Morris Motamed tells RFE/RL that the eight Jews convicted in July 2000 of spying for Israel were allowed to leave jail on furlough during the past three weeks. He adds that the Jewish community has asked the judiciary chief for parole of the eight, which needs approval from the Supreme Leader. (Fereydoun Zarnegar) Majles Complaints Committee on Lawyers' Jail Sentences * In its final report in response to the complaints by 6 lawyers convicted of jail terms and suspension of their law practice licenses, the Majles complaints committee said the judiciary's prosecution of them was unlawful. Mohammad-Ali Dadkhah, one of the convicted lawyers, tells RFE/RL that he does not expect the judiciary to overturn the judgments against the lawyers, even though based on the Majles report, the attorney general can revoke the sentences. (Golnaz Esfandiari) Sufi Order Files Complaint to Recover Impounded Endowments * The Nematollahi sufi order filed a complaint with the Majles complaints committee in order to recover its endowment properties. Nematollahi sufi order spokesman Ali Karimi in London tells RFE/RL that the government has illegally confiscated the properties and turned them into parking lots or housing projects. (Mehdi Khalaji) Publishers Elect a Pro-Reform Journalist to the Press Supervision Board * In an election held last night at the Tehran opera house Vahdat Hall, 316 newspaper and magazine publishers elected Isa Saharkhiz, publisher of the pro-reform monthly Aftab, as their representative on the seven-man press supervision board. Saharkhiz won by 171 votes. The runner up was Hasan Rahimian, publisher of the conservative monthly Pasdar-e Eslam, who got 105 votes. Mashallah Shamsolvaezin, editor of the several banned pro-reform newspapers and spokesman of the society for defense of press freedom in Iran, tells RFE/RL that the vote, which preserved the conservative-reformist balance on the press supervision board, signifies the active participation of the publishers of trade magazines and provincial newspapers and shows that the majority of them support freedom of the press and other reformist causes. He adds that the vote also shows that the conservatives command only a 30 percent support among the elite, which is equal to the support that the conservative candidates received in the general elections. (Mehdi Khalaji) Satirical Weekly "Gol-Agha" to Seize Publication * Kiumars Saberi, founder of the once popular satirical weekly Gol Agha announced that he plans to close down the magazine with the publication of next week's issue. Reformist journalist Massud Behnud tells RFE/RL that Gol Agha, which began publication after the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, belongs to another era, and its readership dropped with its loss of political relevance. (Alireza Taheri) Cabinet to Decide on Selling Air Rights to High Rise Builders * The housing minister announced that a cabinet vote will end the longstanding dispute between the mayor and the Tehran city council on the practice of selling air rights to high rise developers. The mayor's unilateral decision six months ago to stop the practice resulted in a sudden jump in real estate prices and deprived the city from nearly 90 percent of its income. Tehran economist Rahmatollah Moqadam Niknam tells RFE/RL that selling building permits in excess of zoning regulations is a form of real estate taxation imposed on buyers of new apartments. He says instead of looking for another source of income, the Tehran municipal government should focus on reducing its costs. (Mahmonir Rahimi) Majles Rewrites Child Protection Bill to Allow Punishment by Parents * The Majles re-wrote its child protection bill to exempt the parents' physical punishment of their children from prosecution, after the conservative Guardians Council reject the original draft because it violated the Islamic principle of the inalienable guardianship of the father over his offspring. Tehran lawyer and children's rights activist Shirin Ebadi, founder of the non-governmental association to protect the rights of children, tells RFE/RL that by revising a main component of the bill, the Majles has rendered it ineffective. (Mahmonir Rahimi) Faculty Members Desire to Emigrate * An opinion poll conducted in 28 universities and research centers shows a majority of faculty members prefer to leave Iran if they could. (Said Peyvandi, Paris) Gas Exports and Economic Development * Iran's oil minister and Qatar's energy minister participated in the eighth Tehran international conference on Middle East natural gas, which opened today. Iran, which pioneered exporting natural gas during the 1970s by building a pipeline from the Persian Gulf to Russia, stopped gas exports after the 1979 revolution. Its recent effort to resume gas exports through a pipeline to Turkey has been marred by difficulties. On the other hand, Qatar has expanded its gas exports and is seeking to gain a foothold in Southeast Asia. (Fereydoun Khavand, Paris) RFE/RL's Roundtable: Negative Reaction to Khatami's Visit to Spain * Former deputy foreign minister Ahmad Salamatian, cleric Ahmad Qabel, and political science professor Sadeq Zibakalam discuss the negative public opinion reaction to President Khatami's protocol demands during his official visit to Spain, which appears to have placed conforming to Islamic rules against alcohol consumption and gender-based segregation above Iran's national interests. (Mehdi Khalaji) ARTS AND IDEAS Daily Internet Report * The Internet refrigerator and access to the Internet on passenger airlines bring Internet to the kitchen and air travel. (Behnam Nateghi, New York) Daily medical advice (Dr. Mansur Moslehi, Los Angeles) Daily Book Review * RFE/RL's Tehran-based book critic reports on the Tehran Book Week. Daily Science Report * Scientists speculate that the gas used to rescue hostages in the Moscow theater was a banned mass destruction weapon. (Fatemeh Aman, Washington) Song: Boo-ye Joo-ye Mulian * RFE/RL's Frankfurt-based music critic Mahmud Khoshnam plays Boo-ye Joo-ye Mulian, based on a poem by Rudaki, with music by Ruhollah Khaleqi, performed by Banan and Marzieh half a century ago. Shadi (Joy) * Los Angeles DJ Afshin Gorgin spins the latest Persian pop tunes. Mehrangiz Kar Receives French Bar Association's Human Rights Award * Exiled lawyer and human rights advocate Mehrangiz Kar said during a speech in Paris after receiving the Ludovic Traieux human rights award from the French bar association that after the 1979 revolution, the Iranian bar association has lost its independence. She added that Iran's judiciary is now being used to suppress human rights and block the Iranian women's and youth's freedom movement. (Jean Khakzad, Paris) WORLD * Russia mourns the death of 117 hostages. (Mani Kasravi, Moscow) * John Aldrich, editor of Jane's mass destruction weapons magazine, tells RFE/RL that Germany's test on two surviving hostages of the Moscow theater showed that the gas used to neutralize the hostage takers was an opiate. (Shahran Tabari, London) * Review of the US and British newspapers on Russia's hostages rescue operation. (Fariba Mavedat, London) * US urges UN Security Council to approve the proposed resolution against Iraq. (Homayoun Majd, Washington) * Jordanian journalist Jamal Tahat tells RFE/RL that tighter security in the aftermath of the assassination of the American diplomat Lawrence Foley in Amman will derail Jordan's democratic process. (Jamshid Chalangi, Cairo) * Storm kills 25 in Europe. (Shahram Mirian, Cologne) * Mount Etna erupts in Sicily. (Ahmad Ra'fat, Rome) * Brazil president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva faces $240 billion debt, writes Mark Feierstein in the Washington Post. (Jamshid Zand) * Since the October 12 nightclub bombing in Bali, more than 40 attacks have been reported in Sydney against Muslim centers. (Jamshid Adili, Sydney) * Islam and Christianity conference in Bahrain. (Farideh Rahbar, Cairo)
گسترش روابط تجاري ايران و اسپانيا يكي از اهداف اصلي سفر محمدخاتمي، رئيس جمهوري اسلامي به اسپانيا است كه به همراه يك هيات 70 نفري از جمله وزيران امورخارجه و اقتصاد و دارائي. در حال حاضر اسپانيا، پس از ايتاليا، آلمان و فرانسه، چهارمين شريك تجاري ايران در اتحاديه اروپا است. ايران نيز بعد از اسرائيل و عربستان سعودي، سومين شريك بازرگاني اسپانيا در خاورميانه است. عقد بسياري از قراردادهاي اقتصادي به ارزش 5 ميليارد يورو كه دراين ديدار پيش بيني شده، در گروامضاي پروتكلي است كه گفتگو در باره آن سال گذشته در جريان سفر خوزه ماريا آزنار نخست وزير اسپانيا به تهران آغاز شد و انتظار مي رود در مادريد به امضاي دو طرف برسد.
