Summary of Iran Stories in Today's BroadcastsBehnam NateghiMonday, May 17, 2004
<b>US Presses for Democracy and Human Rights in Iran</b>
• “The Islamic Republic of Iran is a theocratic, constitutional republic dominated by Shiite religious leaders,” the US State Department said on Monday in a report highlighting America's worldwide efforts over the past year to promote democracy and human rights. The report, titled <i>Supporting Human Rights and Democracy: The U.S. Record 2003-2004</i> summarizes actions in 101 countries intended to advance press and religious freedom and to end trafficking in persons as well as torture. The US human rights and democracy strategy for Iran centers on urging friends and allies to condition improvements in their bilateral and trade relations with Iran on positive changes in Iran's human rights policies and other areas of concern, supporting the continuing efforts of the Iranian people to institute greater freedoms and increase political participation in Iran, pushing for resolutions criticizing Iran's human rights policies at the UN and other international forums, and publicly highlighting the Iranian Government's abuse of its citizens' human rights, US State Department said in the Iran section of the report, after a brief description of Iran's political system and the Iranian government's rights abuses. (Behruz Nikzat)
<b>Tehran Prosecutor Bans Stalling Defendants</b>
• In a circular issued to judges under his supervision, Tehran prosecutor Said Mortazavi advised them against stalling defendants in courts and singing summons without legal merit, and said more than one judge should review a complaint during, before a criminal case is assigned. This circular is nothing new, and there is no legal vacuum requiring such circulars, Tehran-based lawyer <b>Nemat Ahmadi</b> tells <b>Radio Farda</b>. Criminal cases cost almost nothing to file, and for that reason, parties to civil cases abuse the criminal court system to settle their differences, he adds. All complaints are assigned by administrative staff, with no judicial training, he says. “I am happy that the Tehran prosecutor, who has been a judge before, finally admits to the problem of stalling cases,” he says. He suggests speeding up the judicial process by reducing the number of punishable crimes in the book, and says by better training the judges and involving lawyers in the judicial process, more time can be saved. (Farin Asemi)
<b>Iran's Threat for Israel: Comment and Reaction</b>
• The <i>Washington Times</i> writes: “One of Israel's biggest foreign policy nightmares is the possibility that Tehran will acquire atomic weapons and find the means to deliver them to Tel Aviv or other locations in Israel's industrial heartland. With such a deterrent capability, Iran could be tempted to think it could step up the level of terrorist violence against Israel in the Palestinian territories at no cost to itself. That would leave Israel with two high-risk options: launching a pre-emptive strike in the hope of decapitating Iran's nuclear weapons infrastructure; or hoping that a popular revolution topples the regime in Tehran very, very soon.”
• Even without the Islamic Republic, Israel's problems with Hamas and other Palestinian hard-liners would continue, Columbia University's <b>Gary Sick</b>, former US national security council advisor, tells <b>Radio Farda</b>. The problem of terrorism in the Middle East is rooted in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Iran undoubtedly supports the Hezbollah, Hamas and others, but these groups do not work for Iran, he adds. Writers of the Washington Times article are distorting the facts in order to push for a particular position. (Leyli Sadr)
<b>Islamic Student Activists Warn of More Arrests and Prosecution, Tehran Newspaper Says</b>
• The increasing summons, court warrants and jail sentences against student activists worries the leaders of the association of the Islamic student councils, a.k.a. Dafter-e Tahkim Vahdat, Tehran reformist daily <i>Vaqaye-ye Etefaqieh</i> writes.
<b>Majles Committee Blasts Auto Industry</b>
• Enjoying a total grip on the domestic market, Iranian automakers sell poorly made cars at 25 percent to 35 percent markup to the domestic consumer, the Majles special committee for investigation of the country's auto industry said in a stinging report, which industry officials try to prevent it from being read at an open session of the Majles. State-owned car makers and their semi-privately-held satellite companies, partially those partially owned by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC), have invested heavily in unrelated industries, such as food packing or importing corn and sugar cane. (Fereydoun Khavand)
<b>Officials, Mobs, Denounce US and Britain Over Attacks on Iraqi Shiite Insurgents</b>
• The Supreme Leader had said Muslims would not tolerate “such aggression.” Several conservative parties, including the Jam'iat Mo'talefeh Eslami, issued statements condemning the US.
• President Khatami called US military operations in Najaf and Karbala an insult to Shiites all over the world. Former President Hashemi Rafsanjani said the biggest mistake of the US was to involve Shiites in conflicts.
• A mob of nearly 100 people, whom a British foreign office spokesman described as “organized,” stoned the British Embassy in Tehran on Sunday, protesting against coalition attacks on Shiite insurgents in Iraq. The group introduced itself as members of the Tehran University branch of the volunteer division of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp, the Basij. A group of IRGC's Basij unit members and seminaries' students rallied against the US yesterday in Qum.
• The prison abuse scandal has given the Islamic regime ammunition to attack the US, but in contacts with Iraqi governing council members, including Ahmad Chalabi and the EU, the Islamic government is busy protecting its interests in Iraq, Munich-based political activist <b>Mehdi Khanbaba Tehrani</b> tells <b>Radio Farda</b>. It was natural for the Supreme Leader and other officials to condemn the US attacks in the Shiite holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, Tehran University political science professor <b>Sadeq Zibakalam</b> tells <b>Radio Farda</b>. But the Iranian officials do not seek to empower characters such as Moqtada Sadr, who have shown their radicalism and their lack the religious authority, in comparison with such figures as Ayatollah Ali Sistani. (Fereydoun Zarnegar)
<b>Supreme Leader Relieves Radio/TV Director</b>
• The Supreme Leader relieved head of the state radio-TV monopoly Ali Larijani, and appointed in his place, Larijani's deputy Ezatollah Zarghami, who had also served Larijani as depuy culture minister before following him to the radio-TV organization, according to radio-TV spokesman Ali Agha-Mohammadi. In a visit to the radio-TV headquarters, the Supreme Leader praised Larijani.
• More than establishing the new appointee, the purpose of the Supreme Leader's visit was to promote Ali Larijani as his choice for the position of president of the republic, which will be soon vacated by Khatami, at the end of his second term in office, Paris-based commentator <b>Ahmad Salamatian</b> tells <b>Radio Farda</b>. The move, he adds, reinforces the recent trend of solidifying the Supreme Leader's grip on power by appointing to key positions younger officials who have been raised by the Supreme Leader's office, and would remain loyal to him, he adds. The traditional clerics, who customarily assumed all high-level positions in the Islamic Republic, have lost their popular support and credibility in the past decade, and that explains the reason why the Supreme Leader has handpicked a layman to takeover the presidency, he adds. (Mehdi Khalaji)
<b>Foreign Minister Visits Russian President</b>
• “Iran is an old and stable partner” and focused on bilateral relations, Russia's President Vladimir Putin said today during a meeting in Moscow with foreign minister Kamal Kharrazi. Putin accepted an invitation to visit Tehran later this year, in a trip that will coincide with the planned Tehran summit of the Caspian Sea littoral states.
<b> Ambassador Denies Tehran's Charge that Germany Sold Chemical Weapons to Iraq</b>
• Reacting to a plaque condemning Germany for selling chemical weapons to Iraq during the 1980-88 war, German ambassador to Tehran said Germany was the only country that prevented sales of such weapons to Iraq, and prosecuted those who were involved in such sales. The plaque in Tehran was the second of its kind unveiled by Tehran municipal government in retaliation for a plaque unveiled last month in Berlin condemning the Supreme Leader and other top Islamic officials' involvement in the 1992 terrorist attack on Kurdish opposition leaders in the Mykonos restaurant, which killed four, including head of the Iranian Kurdish Democratic Party.
<b>Iranian “Nations” Meet in a London Conference</b>
• In a day-long conference held on Sunday at London's Polish center, nearly 90 representatives from Iran's various ethnic minorities discussed their role in establishing democracy in Iran. The participants included Iranian Baluchi, Azeri, Kurdish, Turkmen and Arab activists. This conference discusses the rights of Iranian ethnic minorities and the place in a democratic Iran, organizer <b>Abdolsattar Dushaki</b>, a member of the Baluchestan United Front, tells <b>Radio Farda</b>. The most important topic of discussion was about ways to honor the minorities' civil and cultural rights as a way to boost Iran's national unity, former information minister and an advisor to the Geneva-based monarchist party <b>Dariush Homayoun</b> tells <b>Radio Farda</b>. (Shahran Tabari, London)
<b>Former Tehran Embassy Political Staffer Advocates US-Iran Negotiations</b>
• Negotiations between US and Iran can begin through establishing mutual respect, former political officer of the US Embassy in Tehran William Green Miller said during a speech at Washington's Woodrow Wilson International Center.
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علي سجادي (راديوفردا): امروز وزارت امور خارجه آمريکا گزارش سالانه خود درباره جوانب مختلف حقوق بشر در جهان را منتشر کرد. در اين گزارش بخشي هم به جمهوري اسلامي ايران اختصاص يافته است.
بهروز نيکذات (راديوفردا): در گزارش سالانه وزارت امور خارجه آمريکا که به رعايت جوانب مختلف حقوق بشر اختصاص دارد، در بخشي که به ايران مربوط مي شود، پس از اشاره به نوع و ساختار حکومت ايران، و نهادهايي که در کنترل مطلقه آيت الله علي خامنه اي قرار دارد، مي گويد: در ماه فوريه، انتخابات پارلماني ايران که دولت عملا اصلاح طلبان را از شرکت در انتخابات ممنوع کرد، برگزار شد. رعايت حقوق بشر دولت در سال 2003، و اوايل سال 2004، وخيم تر شد و تجاوزات بسيار به حقوق بشر ادامه يافت. اعدام هاي عجولانه و سرسري، مفقود شدن افراد، حضور بسيجي هاي تندرو در جامعه، استفاده از شکنجه، و ساير اقدامات تحقيرآميز با مردم، گسترش بيشتر يافت.
در گزارش سالانه وزارت امور خارجه آمريکا همچنين پس از اشاره به درگذشت زهرا کاظمي، هنگامي که در بازداشت بود، ضرب و شتم دانشجويان و بازداشت هزاران دانشجو، و همچنين توقيف روزنامه نگاران، و ممنوعيت انتشار روزنامه هاي مربوط به اصلاح طلبان، گفته شده است که دولت همچنان به سياست تبعيض خود عليه جامعه بهايي و ساير اقليت هاي مذهبي و از جمله يهوديان، مسيحيان، سني ها، و صوفي ها ادامه داد و حقوق کارگران را که شامل آزادي انجمن هاي صنفي مي شود، به شدت محدود کرد.
وزارت امور خارجه آمريکا در گزارش سالانه خود مي نويسد: استراتژي حقوق بشر و دمکراسي ايالات متحده در مورد ايران، بر ترغيب و تشويق کشورهاي دوست و متحد متمرکز است، که در مناسبات دو جانبه، و تجاري خود با ايران، شرط بهبود وضعيت حقوق بشر را مطرح کرده، و خواستار تغييرات مثبتي در سياست هاي حقوق بشر ايران و ساير جنبه هايي که موجب نگراني است، بشود.
آمريکا از متحدان و دوستان خود مي خواهد که از ادامه تلاش هاي مردم ايران براي دستيابي به آزادي هاي بيشتر و افزايش مشارکت سياسي حمايت کنند، و ضمنا از قطعنامه هايي که سياستهاي حقوق بشر ايران را در سازمان ملل متحد و ساير مجامع بين المللي مورد انتقاد قرار مي دهد نيز پيشتيباني کرده و علنا بر تجاوز دولت ايران به حقوق بشر شهروندان اين کشور تاکيد ورزد. در گزارش وزارت امور خارجه آمريکا همچنين آمده است که هر چند ايالات متحده روابط ديپلماتيک با ايران ندارد، ولي به تلاش هاي همه جانبه خود براي تحت فشار قرار دادن دولت ايران که تجاوز به حقوق بشر شهروندان خود را متوقف سازد، ادامه مي دهد.
چنين سياستي در کليه بيانيه هاي عمومي ايالات متحده آمريکا، بازتاب داشته است. پرزيدنت بوش و مقامات بلندپايه آمريکا مکررا حمايت خود را از مردمي ايران و تلاشي که براي دستيابي به آزادي، دمکراسي، و دولتي شفاف تر و پاسخگوتر به عمل مي آورند، ابراز داشته اند، و به آن ادامه خواهند داد. آقاي پاول، وزير امور خارجه آمريکا ايران را به عنوان کشوري که مورد توجه و نگراني خاص است، براي پنجمين سال پي در پي و با در نظر گرفتن راهنمايي که در قانون آزادي هاي بين المللي مذاهب آمده است، مشخص کرده است.
وزارت امور خارجه آمريکا در گزارش سالانه حقوق بشر خود مي گويد: ايران در حال حاضر به موجب قوانين آمريکا، نمي تواند از کمک هاي رسمي و عملي ايالات متحده برخوردار شود. ولي صداي آمريکا برنامه هايي براي ايران پخش مي کند، و وزارت امور خارجه ايالات متحده، از وب سايتي که به زبان فارسي است، و مستقيما درباره سياست هاي آمريکا با مردم ايران سخن مي گويد، حمايت مي کند. و راديوفردا نيز در تمام مدت 24 ساعات، جريان اطلاعات را به سوي مردم ايران باز نگاه مي دارد.
وزارت امور خارجه آمريکا در پايان گزارش خود مي گويد که در واکنش نسبت به زلزله بم، که بيش از 40 هزار نفر کشته شدند، ايالات متحده آمريکا به سرعت گروه هاي کمک هاي بين المللي و عمران خود را به ايران اعزام کرد. آمريکا همچنين به مدت شش ماه ممنوعيت هايي را که در مورد ايران قائل شده بود، لغو کرد، تا بدين وسيله منظور کمکهاي نوع دوستانه خود را به سبب فاجعه اي که رخ داده بود بيان کند. وزارت امور خارجه آمريکا در گزارشي به كنگره آمريكا تحت عنوان Supporting Human Rights and Democracy: The U.S. Record 2003-2004 تلاش آمريكا براي توسعه رعايت حقوق بشر و دمكراسي در 101 كشور جهان را تشريح كرد. در فصل ايران، پس از توصيف ساختار حکومت و موارد نقض حقوق بشر و عدم رعايت دمكراسي، وزارت امورخارجه آمريكا مي نويسد: استراتژي حقوق بشر و دمکراسي ايالات متحده در مورد ايران، بر ترغيب و تشويق کشورهاي دوست و متحد متمرکز به پافشاري بر شرط بهبود وضعيت حقوق بشر در مناسبات تجاري با ايران؛ همچنين، حمايت از ادامه تلاش هاي مردم ايران براي دستيابي به آزادي هاي بيشتر و افزايش مشارکت سياسي؛ و حمايت از قطعنامه هايي که سياستهاي حقوق بشر ايران را در سازمان ملل متحد و ساير مجامع بين المللي مورد انتقاد قرار مي دهند.
