گزارش مقدماتي بازرسان حقوق بشر سازمان ملل از تحقيق 12 روزه در باره بازداشت هاي خودسرانه و وضع زندانها

Summary of the Iran Stories of Today&apos;s BroadcastsBehnam NateghiWednesday, February 26, 2003 <b>US NSC Chief Calls for Foreign Policy Change in Iran</b> * Director of the US National Security Council Condoleezza Rice asked elected Iranian officials to adopt a foreign policy that is more in tune with the aspiration of those who elected them. She said in an interview with Voice of America&apos;s reporter Scott Stearns, "What really needs to happen in Iran is that the elected officials in Iran need to act like elected officials and care about the concerns and wishes of their people, rather than pursuing a foreign policy agenda that is the foreign policy that Iran is pursuing." She adds that President Bush identified Iran as a member of the axis of evil because, like the other two axis of evil countries Iraq and North Korea, Iran&apos;s regime is a closed system that seeks weapons of mass destruction and supports terrorism. (Mahtab Farid) <b>UN Human Rights Investigators End 12-Day Mission to Iran</b> * Speaking at a press conference before leaving Tehran at the end of their 12-day fact-finding mission, the five members of the UN human rights commission&apos;s delegation criticized the Judiciary for its oppressive interpretation of the laws, but praised the authorities for their cooperation with the UN investigators, particularly for arranging the meetings in Tehran, Isfahan, Shiraz and Yazd with all the prominent prisoners on a list of 50. The delegation&apos;s head, French lawyer and political prisoners&apos; advocate Louis Joinet, criticized long-term solitary confinement of prisoners, particularly in the Evin prison. (Siavash Ardalan) * Paris-based human rights advocate Abdolkarim Lahiji, who had been in contact with the delegation members during the past 12 days, tells <b>Radio Farda</b> that the demonstrations in front of Hotel Laleh by former political prisoners and relatives and lawyers of jailed political activists, students and journalists, helped promote the UN delegation&apos;s trip domestically and internationally. He says the mission&apos;s positive outcome would be more international monitoring of prison conditions in Iran. (Siavash Ardalan) <b>Caspian Envoy Attends Baku Meeting of Littoral States</b> * The Islamic regime&apos;s Caspian Sea affairs envoy arrived in Baku Wednesday to attend the 8th session of deputy foreign ministers of the Caspian Sea littoral states. (Golnaz Esfandiari) <b>Conservatives Campaign against City Council Elections</b> * The legal campaign period for the town and village Islamic councils&apos; elections ends by midnight tonight, but compared with the first post-revolutionary local councils&apos; elections four years ago, voter indifference marks this year&apos;s elections, even though, because of a new Majles law, applicants for candidacy did not need the approval of the conservative Guardians Council. As a result, many opposition parties, politicians and journalists have fielded candidates in Friday&apos;s elections. However, the number of the candidates for councils&apos; seats dropped from 333,000 four years ago to 227,000, leaving many towns and villages without enough candidates to hold elections. Certain of their defeat, conservative candidates are running as independents, and top conservative officials, including the Supreme Leader, campaigned against public participation in the elections by criticizing the outcome of the results of the first post-revolutionary local councils. The nationalist opposition party Nehzad-e Azadi (The Freedom Movement of Iran) denied reports in conservative newspapers that it was pulling out of the elections. Former president Ali-Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani criticized a top conservative religious leader who had said "true believers" would stay away from these elections. (Ardavan Niknam) <b>Former Empress Criticized Government&apos;s Plan to Sell Museum Treasures</b> * The Majles approved a government bill that would allow the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art to sell paintings by modern masters that, due to the Islamic restrictions, it cannot display. The government projects raising $20 million from the sale. Former empress of Iran Farah Pahlavi, founder of the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, tells <b>Radio Farda</b> that the value of the paintings to be sold are much more than the announced figure. She adds that the Islamic republic&apos;s constitution prevents sale of unique masterworks. (Jean Khakzad) * Art collector and museum consultant Abuala Sudavar tells <b>Radio Farda</b> that selling or exchanging art works is a common practice among museums around the world. He adds that the current high price of modern masters&apos; paintings provides a window of opportunity for the Tehran museum. (Ali Sajjadi) <b>Privatization to Include Several Banks and Insurance Companies</b> * Director-general of the privatization organization (Sazeman-e Khosousi-Sazi) Mehdi Ali-Akbar said several state-owned banks, including Melat, Tejarat, Sepah and Saderat will be sold to private investors, along with 80 percent of the Alborz, Dana and Asia insurance companies and 51 percent of the Bimeh-e Iran insurance company. However, he blamed government ministries&apos; lack of cooperation for the slower than projected pace of the privatization process. He said in the last fiscal year, only 42 percent of the projected income from privatization of state-owned enterprises materialized. (Fereydoun Khavand) <b>Merchants Complain Slow Holiday Shopping Season</b> * Hit by the rising inflation, joblessness and dwindling incomes, consumers stay away from stores three weeks before the Iranian New Year, the country&apos;s biggest shopping season. (Fereydoun Khavand) . همزمان با پايان سفر 12 روزه بازرسان حقوق بشر سازمان ملل به ايران، دقايقي پيش نشست خبري اين بازرسان در تهران خاتمه يافت. در اين نشست، بازرسان از آنچه «تعبير از قانون براي اقدامات سركوبگرانه» انتقاد كردند. بازرسان حقوق بشر سازمان ملل اعلام كردند با اكثر زندانياني كه اسامي آنها را به مقامات جمهوري اسلامي داده بودند، ملاقات كردند. از همين بابت، لوئي ژوئنه، رئيس هيات بازرسي، از آنچه همكاري بيسابقه مقامات جمهوري اسلامي ناميد، تجليل كرد اما هيات پنج نفري بازرسان در مصاحبه خبري خود گفتند حبس انفرادي به مدت طولاني به طور گسترده در ايران اجرا مي شود. لوئي ژوئنه گفت بند 29 زندان اوين كه به زنداني در دل زندان شبيه است، بازداشت هاي انفرادي بسيار معمول است. بازرسان گفتند در آينده به نبود فرهنگ وكالت، تفاوت هاي بين احكام صادره دادگاه ها در حوزه هاي مختلف قضائي، و همچنين عدم تناسب وثيقه ها و جريمه هاي صادره با امكانات متهمان رسيدگي خواهند كرد. بازرسان حقوق بشر مصاحبه مطبوعاتي خود در تهران را بعد از سفري 12 روزه به شهرهاي تهران، اصفهان، شيراز و يزد برگزار كردند.