Summary of Iran Stories in Today's BroadcastsBehnam NateghiSunday, February 15, 2004
<b>Rift in the Reformist Camp over Participation in the Elections</b>
• Over 600 election candidates, reformists and independents, have so far quit the elections, as a rift deepens within the ranks of the Khatami reformists, between those running for reelection, and those banned from reelection by the Guardians Council. The atmosphere of competition has more or less dominated the scene in the provinces, but there appears little interest in Tehran for the February 20 elections, head of the society of the reformist clerics' bloc in the Majles Tehran MP Majid Ansari said. Nearly 40 percent of the candidacy applicants were disqualified from running by the Guardians Council, he said, adding that 90 percent of banned applicants were reformists. One reason that the society of reformist clerics (Majma-e Rowhaniyoon Mobarez) chose to participate in the elections was to make the Tehran elections more competitive, he said. We cannot remain indifferent to the country's political destiny and give-in to the dangerous faction that sees its own victory in the mass annihilation of its rivals, he added. Meanwhile, in reaction to these statements, Qazvin reformist MP and head of the Majles legal and judicial committee Naser Qavami said the elections are not free and fair, and most of pro-Khatami reformists will not participate in them. Some reformists, he added, managed to have their bans overturned through closed-door negotiations, hoping that they would be reelected to the Majles, he said. But their action has created a rift in the reformist front, he charged. On the other hand, the conservatives, using the Friday prayer pulpits and the state radio-TV monopoly, are pressing hard to send their candidates to the Majles. However, three major conservatives, Asadollah Badamchian, Habibollah Asgaroladi and Ale-Eshaq, pulled out of the elections, because, they said, there are enough candidates in the right-wing Abadgaran coalition list to ensure the overall success for the conservatives. The pro-reform association of the Islamic student councils issued a statement boycotting the elections. It said the only way out of the present political impasse was to hold a referendum on the form of the government. (Jamshid Zand)
• In a statement, the association of the Islamic student councils (Daftar-e Tahkim-e Vahdat) said boycotting the elections could be a first step to the formation of a “new social movement.” (Shireen Famili)
• The number of election candidates who quit running reached 607, according to the interior ministry.
• Due to the presence of reformist candidates, the elections' atmosphere in Kerman appear hotter than other cities, local journalist <b>Ali Parham</b> tells <b>Radio Farda</b>. (Farin Asemi)
• The elections activities appear quite low key in Ahwaz and other cities of the Khuzestan province, echoing the general lack of interest in the elections in other parts of the country, local journalist <b>Mojtaba Gahestani</b> tells <b>Radio Farda</b>. Even the rural people are not interested, he says, adding that villagers have said this year they will not give their IDs to the candidates to vote for themselves on their behalf, indicating that in the past elections they did so. (Jamshid Zand)
• Less than 10 percent of the candidates have printed campaign posters for these elections, a Tehran print shop owner tells <b>Radio Farda</b>. Overall, compared to the previous elections, the print houses have had much less business, he adds. In their posters this year, the candidates avoid linking themselves to any of the dominant political parties, and use no religious slogans, he adds. (Jamshid Zand)
• There is less campaign advertising going on, compared to last year's Tehran city council elections, manager of a Tehrani ad agency tells <b>Radio Farda</b>. Fewer ads appear in the press and on television, he adds. (Jamshid Zand)
• Tehran governor criticized the Guardians Council for rejecting too many women candidacy applicants. Considering the few women who were allowed to run, the number of women MPs in the next Majles will be less than 4 percent. Compared to the previous elections, 60 percent more women applied to run in next week's elections, but 96 percent of them were disqualified by the Guardians Council. Women dominated the previous elections in many cities, where top vote getters were reformist women. (Arash Qavidel, Tehran)
• The conservatives try to appeal to the people's religious beliefs in order to have them turn out in force for the elections, a student in Tabriz tells <b>Radio Farda</b>. (Leyli Arman)
• <b>RadioFarda Democracy and Human Rights Roundtable: Lack of Public Interest in the Elections</b>: One reason for the public indifference to the elections is the conflict between the two factions, former permanent representative to the UN and a conservative candidate in the upcoming elections <b>Saeed Rajaee Khorasani</b> says. I believe that people have been unhappy with the conduct of the reformist Majles, because reformist MPs spent more time on their own political squabbles and less time on solving the people's problems, he adds. But voter turnout will be greater than what is being said in the disheartening analyses that we see these days, he says. I would not blame the Majles for the people's indifference to the political process, Tehran-based lawyer and human rights activist <b>Nemat Ahmadi</b> says. He disagrees with Kharasani's argument that the participation of the people in the official marches organized by the regime is any indication of the people's support for the regime. In Zarand, Keramn, from which both of us come from, I remember that a year before they shouted death to the Shah, the people rubbed the dust from the royal family's car on their eyes as a cure. We cannot draw any conclusions from the behavior of masses, which are a result of general consensus, he adds. It is hard to forecast the voter turnout, says Ohio University professor <b>Ali-Akbar Mahdi</b>. The people's indifference is rooted in the general dissatisfaction with the regime, he adds. (Fereydoun Zarnegar)
• Iran split as fun-hungry young spurn rigged poll, the <i>Sunday Times</i> reports. (Shahran Tabari, London)
• Eighty-five percent of Iranians boycott the elections, German weekly <i>Welt Am Sonntag</i> writes, quoting reformist MP Fatemeh Haqiqatju. (Shahram Mirian, Cologne)
• The defeat of the reformist faction in the February 20 elections is certain. However, the reformists managed to plant the seeds of certain liberties in Iran's political system, the Agence France Press writes in a commentary. (Masoud Malek)
<b>Majles Speaker Rejects Resignations of 130 MPs</b>
• The mass resignation of 130 MPs cannot be legally accepted, since the Majles would lose quorum and cannot continue its work, Majles speaker Mehdi Karrubi said, echoing the Supreme Leader who had called the resignation of Majles MPs and government officials unlawful and a religious offense. Resigning Majles MPs plan to attend Majles sessions for at least two weeks, in order to vote for the government's budget bill for the upcoming fiscal year, and then disappear. Some MPs have suggested using the Majles pulpit as a platform, each one taking half hour to read his/her resignation letter, and thus obstruct the normal operation of the legislature. (Mehdi Khalaji)
<b> Leftist Islamic Activist on Death Row Calls for Passive Resistance</b>
• Jailed leftist Islamic activist Hashem Aghajari, who was sentenced to death last year for criticizing the clerical rule and the Shiite principle of religious emulation, called for passive resistance against the regime in an open letter, published today by the state-run “students” news agency ISNA just days before the Majles elections. “Organizing un-free elections is an end point for the reforms within the regime,” Tehran teachers' college history professor Aghajari wrote. “The current generation should be given the right to choose their own structure of government and constitution,” Aghajari, a ranking board member of the leftist Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution (MIRO), added. “With passive resistance, the Iranian people should tell the totalitarians: No!” (Alireza Taheri)
.
جمشيد زند (راديوفردا): تا كنون بيش از 600 تن از نامزدهاي تاييد صلاحيت شده در تهران و شهرستانها از شركت در انتخابات اعلام انصراف كرده اند. هشت گروه از هجده گروه جبهه دوم خرداد اعلام كرده اند كه در انتخابات شركت مي كنند و ليست مشترك ائتلاف براي ايران را منتشر كرده اند، ولي ديگر سازمانها و احزاب طرفدار اصلاح طلبان انتخابات روز جمعه را ناعادلانه و غير آزاد خوانده اند و گفته اند كه در چنين انتخاباتي شركت نخواهند كرد.
در همين حال مجمع روحانيون مبارز، فعاليتهاي تبليغاتي خود را آغاز كرده است.
امروز مجيد انصاري، رئيس فراكسيون مجمع روحانيون گفت: فضاي رقابت و انتخاباتي به طور نسبي در كشور حاكم شده، اما در تهران شور و شوق انتخاباتي به چشم نمي خورد.
به گفته آقاي انصاري چهل درصد از داوطلبان ثبت نام شده نامزدي انتخابات مجلس، رد صلاحيت شده اند كه نود درصد آنان به جبهه دوم خرداد تعلق دارند. او دليل شركت مجمع روحانيون مبارز در انتخابات را بوجود آمدن جو نسبي رقابتي در برخي از حوزه ها و در تهران عنوان كرد. آقاي انصاري به سازماندهي مجدد گروههاي دوم خردادي و ايجاد يك رهبري متمركز اشاره كرد و گفت: ما نمي توانيم نسبت به سرنوشت كشور بي تفاوت باشيم و تسليم جريان خطرناكي شويم كه پيروزي خود را در قتل عام سياسي رقيب مي بيند.
در واكنش به شركت مجمع روحانيون مبارز و چندين گروه ديگر جبهه دوم خرداد در انتخابات، امروز ناصر قوامي، نماينده مردم قزوين گفت: معترضين روند انتخابات معتقدند كه انتخابات دور هفتم آزاد و عادلانه نيست و اكثريت گروههاي دوم خرداد در اين انتخابات شركت نخواهند كرد. آقاي قوامي با پيش بيني عدم راهيابي اين عده از اصلاح طلبان حكومتي به مجلس گفت: گروههايي از جبهه دوم خرداد به طمع آنكه بتوانند وارد مجلس شوند، با رايزني توانستند صلاحيتشان را تاييد كنند و تصور مي كنند كه مي توانند وارد مجلس شوند. ناصر قوامي اين عمل آنان را نادرست و ايجاد شكاف در جبهه دوم خرداد خواند.
از سوي ديگر به گفته ناظران، جناح محافظه كار با استفاده از صدا و سيما، روزنامه هاي سرتاسري خود و خطبه هاي نماز جمعه در شهرستانها شديدا در تلاشند تا نامزدهاي انتخاباتي خود را در تهران و شهرستانها به مجلس هفتم بفرستند. گزارشها حاكي است كه امروز سه تن از چهره هاي شاخص محافظه كاران اعلام كرده اند كه در انتخابات شركت نمي كنند. حبيب الله عسگراولادي، اسدالله بادامچيان و آل اسحاق دليل انصراف خود را وجود نيروهاي اصولگرا و حمايت از فهرست ائتلاف آبادگران در تهران ذكر كردند.
از سوي ديگر دفتر تحكيم وحدت، شاخه علامه با صدور بيانيه اي اعلام كرده است كه انتخابات دور هفتم مجلس شوراي اسلامي را تحريم مي كند. در بيانيه بزرگترين تشكل دانشجويي ايران گفته مي شود خواست مردم امروز نه تغيير حاكمان كه اصلاح ساختار دوگانه اي است كه امكان دستيابي به رفاه و آزادي را از آنان سلب نموده است. اين تشكل همه پرسي را تنها راه برون رفت از بحران كنوني خوانده است.
در همين حال واكنشها نسبت به موضعگيري محمد خاتمي، رئيس جمهوري اسلامي براي برگزاري انتخابات همچنان ادامه دارد، گرچه آقاي خاتمي در سخنراني خود در بيست و پنجمين سالگرد انقلاب از دعوت مستقيم مردم به شركت در انتخابات خودداري كرد. مجمع روحانيون مبارز فعاليتهاي تبليغاتي خود را آغاز كرد. مجيد انصاري، رئيس فراكسيون مجمع روحانيون، دليل شركت مجمع روحانيون مبارز در انتخابات را بوجود آمدن جو نسبي رقابتي در برخي از حوزه ها و در تهران عنوان كرد. وي از سازماندهي مجدد گروههاي دوم خردادي و ايجاد يك رهبري متمركز خبر داد. در واكنش به شركت مجمع روحانيون مبارز و چندين گروه ديگر جبهه دوم خرداد در انتخابات، امروز ناصر قوامي، نماينده مردم قزوين گفت که گروههايي از جبهه دوم خرداد به طمع آنكه بتوانند وارد مجلس شوند، با رايزني توانستند صلاحيتشان را تاييد كنند و تصور مي كنند كه مي توانند وارد مجلس شوند. ناصر قوامي اين عمل آنان را نادرست و ايجاد شكاف در جبهه دوم خرداد خواند.
