سياوش اردلان
Summary of Today's BroadcastRFE/RL Persian ServiceSunday, May 05, 2002 - Khatami threatens to resign - Iran asks Japan's help in creating jobs - Popular reformist daily Bonyan banned indefinitely - Ahmad Qabel, jailed cleric critic of the Leader, released on bail - Mehrangiz Kar protests sentencing of her husband Pourzand - Egyptian journalist views suppression of press in Iran - Khatami's emergency plan to create jobs - Bodies of six victims of the park pond rowboat accident Khatami Threatens to Resign * President of the Islamic Republic Mohammad Khatami tells a gathering of teachers in Tehran that he would resign if the government deviates from the path of reforms. He defends the need to respect people's rights and freedoms. (Siavash Ardalan) Iran Asks Japan for Help in Job Creation * In a meeting in Tehran with the visiting Japanese foreign minister, President Khatami asks Japan to help Iran create jobs. (Alireza Taheri) Closed IRNA Daily to Resume, Reformist Daily Bonyan Remains Closed * A day after the Islamic Republic Judiciary closed down two popular newspapers "Iran" and "Bonyan," it was announced that the daily Iran, organ of the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), would resume publishing tomorrow. However, the "temporary" closing of the reformist daily Bonyan appears to be indefinite. Shadi Sadr, a Bonyan reporter, tells RFE/RL that the true reason for the closing of the paper was not clearly announced. She says the closing of Bonyan signifies the defeat of the moderate branch of the reformist faction. She attributes shutting down of Bonyan to the topics discussed in the paper's articles, particularly about relations with the US and the regime's policy vis-…-vis the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. She adds that after the wholesale newspaper shut downs of the last two years, the public has lost confidence in the credibility of remaining newspapers. (Mehdi Khalaji) Reformist Cleric Ahmad Qabel Released on Bail * Hadi Qabel, brother Ahmad Qabel, tells RFE/RL that the judiciary told his brother's wife last week to put up 300 million rials as bail in order to gain the release of her husband. Ahmad Qabel spent 125 days in solitary confinement after he criticized Ayatollah Khamenei, Leader of the Islamic Republic, for indifference to public opinion. Hadi Qabel says his brother is healthy and that jail has not changed his political views. (Siavash Ardalan) Mehrangiz Kar Condemns Her Husband Pourzand's Jail Sentence * Prominent lawyer and human rights activist Mehrangiz Kar, in Washington for cancer treatment, says friendship and contacts between her journalist husband, Siamak Pourzand, 73, and his former colleagues living in the US and Europe, does not constitute "activity against the security of the Islamic Republic." Last week, a mysterious court held in Tehran's airport sentenced Pourzand to eight years in prison. Kar tells RFE/RL that she hopes her husband would reconsider his decision not to appeal the verdict. She says the intelligence ministry, which is the judiciary's enforcement arm in matters of national security, has no involvement in the arrest and trial of her husband. Pourzand was kidnapped by unidentified men from the front of his sister's home in Tehran four months ago. (Amir-Mosaddegh Katouzian) Egyptian Journalist Predicts Victory for Reformers in Iran's Domestic Conflict * Iranian affairs expert Khaled Salah, political editor of the Egyptian weekly, al-Ahram-ol-Arabi, tells RFE/RL that the sentencing of Siamak Pourzand shows that realities in Iran are different from the government's claims about democracy. Many Iranian politicians, particularly the conservatives, have little respect for the opinions of their opponents, but in spite of arrests and prison sentences, many journalists remain defiant. Victory in this conflict, he predicts, will be with the journalists. (Farideh Rahbar, Cairo) Regime Fears Freedoms Would Bring It Down, Says Kardovani * The regime's insecurity and its lack of self-confidence motivates the conservatives to ban newspapers and arrest journalists, says writer Kazem Kardovani, a member of Iranian Writers Association, who is in Barcelona, Spain, to attend a two-day conference on freedom of press in the Islamic world, North Africa and the Middle East. Kardovani says the regime escalated pressures against journalists and political activists due to its increased fear of people's power. (Jean Khakzad, Paris) Khatami's Emergency Plan to Fight Joblessness * President Khatami says he is working on an emergency plan to quickly create hundreds of thousands of jobs. He declines to give details of his plan in order to avoid the appearance of making false promises. The number of jobless in Iran is nearing five million and will surpass six million, or 27 percent of the workforce, by the end of the Third Five-Year Development Plan in 2005. Khatami talks about the need to create at least one million jobs per year, but can his emergency plan respond to this pressing need? (Fereydoun Khavand, Paris) Tehran Buries Six Victims of Central Park Boat Accident * The bodies of four students, a teacher and a boatman were pulled from under the waters of a man-made pond in Tehran's central park. The six drowned yesterday when a small rowboat carrying 17 students, their teacher and the boatman capsized. The city government blames the park's private maintenance contractor, but the company officials say they had taken over the project only a day before the incident. City council officials cite the lack of safety equipment in the park and the irregular arrangement with the contractor as factors contributing to the tragedy. Tehran-based journalist Roya Maleki tells RFE/RL that since school officials paid only half of the fare per child asked by the boatman, he piled 15 students and their teacher into a boat with capacity of only seven. (Mahmonir Rahimi) WORLD * Chirac is favored to win in the French Presidential election. (Jean Khakzad, Paris) * Prime Minister Sharon, in Washington to meet President Bush, will offer his own peace plan on Monday. (Jamshid Chalangi, Cairo) * Several women are candidates in Bahrain's first ever local councils elections. (Farideh Rahbar, Cairo) * FAO warns that hunger threatens 40 percent of Afghan population. (Ahmad Ra'fat, Rome) * Russia can replace Middle East as a major source for American oil imports, writes American Enterprise Institute analyst Leon Aron in an article published by the New York Times. (Alireza Taheri) * Iranian photographer Manuchehr Deqati, who is appointed as one of the 27 UN observers of the Afghan supreme council elections tells RFE/RL about the role to be played by the UN observers. (Golnaz Esfandiari, Kabul) ARTS AND IDEAS Contemporary Political Thought in Iran * In the 110th segment of the series on the development of modern political thought in Iran, Paris-based scholar Javad Tabatabai tells RFE/RL about the series. (Nazi Azima) Historical Review: Development of Political Thought in Europe * Tehran-based political science professor Gholamhossein Mirzasaleh discusses the role played by European thinkers in the intellectual and technical development of Europe. (Nazi Azima) Classical Love Stories: Domes from Nazami's Haft-Peykar * California-based scholar of classical Iranian texts continues with his recitation of the story of Domes from Haft-Peykar. Poetry reading * Iraj Gorgin reads the poem "Beyond the Waters" by major contemporary poet, the late Sohrab Sepehri.
محمد خاتمي رئيس جمهوري اسلامي طي يك سخنراني در مراسم معرفي آموزگاران نمونه گفت اگر دولت از مسير جنبش اصلاح طلبي منحرف شود، از مقام خود استعفا خواهد داد. وي در اين سخنراني از لزوم رعايت حقوق و آزادي هاي مردم دفاع كرد.
Summary of Today's BroadcastRFE/RL Persian ServiceSunday, May 05, 2002 - Khatami threatens to resign - Iran asks Japan's help in creating jobs - Popular reformist daily Bonyan banned indefinitely - Ahmad Qabel, jailed cleric critic of the Leader, released on bail - Mehrangiz Kar protests sentencing of her husband Pourzand - Egyptian journalist views suppression of press in Iran - Khatami's emergency plan to create jobs - Bodies of six victims of the park pond rowboat accident Khatami Threatens to Resign * President of the Islamic Republic Mohammad Khatami tells a gathering of teachers in Tehran that he would resign if the government deviates from the path of reforms. He defends the need to respect people's rights and freedoms. (Siavash Ardalan) Iran Asks Japan for Help in Job Creation * In a meeting in Tehran with the visiting Japanese foreign minister, President Khatami asks Japan to help Iran create jobs. (Alireza Taheri) Closed IRNA Daily to Resume, Reformist Daily Bonyan Remains Closed * A day after the Islamic Republic Judiciary closed down two popular newspapers "Iran" and "Bonyan," it was announced that the daily Iran, organ of the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), would resume publishing tomorrow. However, the "temporary" closing of the reformist daily Bonyan appears to be indefinite. Shadi Sadr, a Bonyan reporter, tells RFE/RL that the true reason for the closing of the paper was not clearly announced. She says the closing of Bonyan signifies the defeat of the moderate branch of the reformist faction. She attributes shutting down of Bonyan to the topics discussed in the paper's articles, particularly about relations with the US and the regime's policy vis-…-vis the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. She adds that after the wholesale newspaper shut downs of the last two years, the public has lost confidence in the credibility of remaining newspapers. (Mehdi Khalaji) Reformist Cleric Ahmad Qabel Released on Bail * Hadi Qabel, brother Ahmad Qabel, tells RFE/RL that the judiciary told his brother's wife last week to put up 300 million rials as bail in order to gain the release of her husband. Ahmad Qabel spent 125 days in solitary confinement after he criticized Ayatollah Khamenei, Leader of the Islamic Republic, for indifference to public opinion. Hadi Qabel says his brother is healthy and that jail has not changed his political views. (Siavash Ardalan) Mehrangiz Kar Condemns Her Husband Pourzand's Jail Sentence * Prominent lawyer and human rights activist Mehrangiz Kar, in Washington for cancer treatment, says friendship and contacts between her journalist husband, Siamak Pourzand, 73, and his former colleagues living in the US and Europe, does not constitute "activity against the security of the Islamic Republic." Last week, a mysterious court held in Tehran's airport sentenced Pourzand to eight years in prison. Kar tells RFE/RL that she hopes her husband would reconsider his decision not to appeal the verdict. She says the intelligence ministry, which is the judiciary's enforcement arm in matters of national security, has no involvement in the arrest and trial of her husband. Pourzand was kidnapped by unidentified men from the front of his sister's home in Tehran four months ago. (Amir-Mosaddegh Katouzian) Egyptian Journalist Predicts Victory for Reformers in Iran's Domestic Conflict * Iranian affairs expert Khaled Salah, political editor of the Egyptian weekly, al-Ahram-ol-Arabi, tells RFE/RL that the sentencing of Siamak Pourzand shows that realities in Iran are different from the government's claims about democracy. Many Iranian politicians, particularly the conservatives, have little respect for the opinions of their opponents, but in spite of arrests and prison sentences, many journalists remain defiant. Victory in this conflict, he predicts, will be with the journalists. (Farideh Rahbar, Cairo) Regime Fears Freedoms Would Bring It Down, Says Kardovani * The regime's insecurity and its lack of self-confidence motivates the conservatives to ban newspapers and arrest journalists, says writer Kazem Kardovani, a member of Iranian Writers Association, who is in Barcelona, Spain, to attend a two-day conference on freedom of press in the Islamic world, North Africa and the Middle East. Kardovani says the regime escalated pressures against journalists and political activists due to its increased fear of people's power. (Jean Khakzad, Paris) Khatami's Emergency Plan to Fight Joblessness * President Khatami says he is working on an emergency plan to quickly create hundreds of thousands of jobs. He declines to give details of his plan in order to avoid the appearance of making false promises. The number of jobless in Iran is nearing five million and will surpass six million, or 27 percent of the workforce, by the end of the Third Five-Year Development Plan in 2005. Khatami talks about the need to create at least one million jobs per year, but can his emergency plan respond to this pressing need? (Fereydoun Khavand, Paris) Tehran Buries Six Victims of Central Park Boat Accident * The bodies of four students, a teacher and a boatman were pulled from under the waters of a man-made pond in Tehran's central park. The six drowned yesterday when a small rowboat carrying 17 students, their teacher and the boatman capsized. The city government blames the park's private maintenance contractor, but the company officials say they had taken over the project only a day before the incident. City council officials cite the lack of safety equipment in the park and the irregular arrangement with the contractor as factors contributing to the tragedy. Tehran-based journalist Roya Maleki tells RFE/RL that since school officials paid only half of the fare per child asked by the boatman, he piled 15 students and their teacher into a boat with capacity of only seven. (Mahmonir Rahimi) WORLD * Chirac is favored to win in the French Presidential election. (Jean Khakzad, Paris) * Prime Minister Sharon, in Washington to meet President Bush, will offer his own peace plan on Monday. (Jamshid Chalangi, Cairo) * Several women are candidates in Bahrain's first ever local councils elections. (Farideh Rahbar, Cairo) * FAO warns that hunger threatens 40 percent of Afghan population. (Ahmad Ra'fat, Rome) * Russia can replace Middle East as a major source for American oil imports, writes American Enterprise Institute analyst Leon Aron in an article published by the New York Times. (Alireza Taheri) * Iranian photographer Manuchehr Deqati, who is appointed as one of the 27 UN observers of the Afghan supreme council elections tells RFE/RL about the role to be played by the UN observers. (Golnaz Esfandiari, Kabul) ARTS AND IDEAS Contemporary Political Thought in Iran * In the 110th segment of the series on the development of modern political thought in Iran, Paris-based scholar Javad Tabatabai tells RFE/RL about the series. (Nazi Azima) Historical Review: Development of Political Thought in Europe * Tehran-based political science professor Gholamhossein Mirzasaleh discusses the role played by European thinkers in the intellectual and technical development of Europe. (Nazi Azima) Classical Love Stories: Domes from Nazami's Haft-Peykar * California-based scholar of classical Iranian texts continues with his recitation of the story of Domes from Haft-Peykar. Poetry reading * Iraj Gorgin reads the poem "Beyond the Waters" by major contemporary poet, the late Sohrab Sepehri.
محمد خاتمي رئيس جمهوري اسلامي طي يك سخنراني در مراسم معرفي آموزگاران نمونه گفت اگر دولت از مسير جنبش اصلاح طلبي منحرف شود، از مقام خود استعفا خواهد داد. وي در اين سخنراني از لزوم رعايت حقوق و آزادي هاي مردم دفاع كرد.