Summary of Iran Stories of Today's BroadcastsBehnam NateghiWednesday, January 01, 2003
<b>US Sanctions Squeeze Iran's Air Transport</b>
* Roads and transportation minister Ahmad Khorram told the Majles that US sanctions have caused severe problems in Iran's air transportation system by making it nearly impossible to acquire new planes. Responding to the MPs questions about the delays and cancellations of Iran Air flights, he added that some of the aging fleet of Boeing and Airbus jets have been grounded because US sanctions block Iran's access to spare parts. He said many of Iran's problems could be resolved through greater tolerance in foreign policy. (Siavash Ardalan, Prague)
<b>Majles Amends Civil Code on Personal Freedoms</b>
* The Majles approved an amendment to article 570 of the civil code that would punish civil servants and agents of all government bodies with fines, jail and discharge from public service for violating citizens' personal liberties and constitutional rights. Tehran-based lawyer and human rights advocate Nemat Ahmadi tells <b>Radio Farda</b> that there is no shortage of laws in Iran, but "rogue" officials stationed in every institution and government body prevent the implementation of those laws. He criticizes judiciary practices such as solitary confinement of defendants and blocking their access to lawyers as unlawful. He adds that instead of new laws, "we need to find a way to implement our laws." (Jamshid Zand)
<b>Three Views on the Pollsters' Trials</b>
* Tehran judiciary chief Abbas-Ali Alizadeh said officials of the two pad-locked polling agencies who are being tried for spying for the US confessed to passing military intelligence to foreigners. Unlike other political defendants in recent history, the defendants in the pollsters' trials admitted to "errors" and asked for forgiveness. Some reformists said this defense showed courage in admitting their mistakes, but Behruz Geranpayeh's wife said her husband has been brainwashed in prison. A third group believe that the confessions of radical reformist Abbas Abdi, a vocal critic of President Khatami's compromising posture, was a calculated admission that the reform movement is deadlocked. Behruz Geranpayeh, Abbas Abdi and Hossein Ghazian, officials of thetwo polling agencies, were arrested after the publication of a poll that showed a majority of respondents favor the resumption of US-Iran relations. (Mehdi Khalaji, Prague)
<b>High Unemployment among Women with Graduate Degrees</b>
* Tehran University professor Nasrin Jazani told a gathering of government officials in Qazvin that 71 percent of graduate students admitted this year to Iran's universities are women, but according to the latest figures, nearly 89 percent of women with graduate degrees cannot find jobs. She said women's employment dropped from 13.9 percent before the revolution to less that 8 percent immediately after the revolution, and is now less than 11 percent. Washington-based sociologist Hossein Ladjevardi tells <b>Radio Farda</b> that the unemployment of 89 percent of educated women means a high level of frustration among young educated women. He adds that for the past 24 years Iranian women have resisted the Islamic Republic and their resistance becomes greater as they become better educated. (Iraj Arianpour, Washington)
<b>Reformists and the Regime's Legitimacy Crisis</b>
* Behzad Yaghmaian, author of a study on Iranian youth called "Social Change in Iran" published last year by New York State University Press, tells <b>Radio Farda</b> that the reform movement of Khatami and his followers marked a genuine rift within the regime, but was doomed to splinter, because the reformists within the regime, including President Khatami, would not go as far as rejecting the clerical rule and the absolute power of the Supreme Leader. He says the Islamic Republic is crumbling under the force of the youth movement. He adds the regime's legitimacy crisis began when the constitution was amended in 1989 in order to make way for Ali Khamenei, who was not accepted as a source of religious emulation, to assume the position of the Supreme Leader. He says the election of Khatami to the presidency, last year's resignation of the Esfahan prayer leader Ayatollah Taheri, and the arrest of Hashem Aghajari were all different manifestations of that same crisis. (Behnam Nateghi, New York)
<b>Review of Tehran Morning Press</b>
* <i>Aftab-e Yazd</i> quotes the roads and transportation minister who warns that continued US sanctions worsen conditions in the aviation sector. <i>Entekhab</i> reports that the Majles launched its own news agency. <i>Etemad</i> reports on people's protests against the plan to raise domestic air fares. <i>Resalat</i> quotes jailed pollster Behruz Geranpayeh who apologizes in court for "mistakes." <i>Hamshahri</i> reports that the private sector has received permission to provide phone service. (Amir Armin, Washington)
<b>Iranian- and Muslim-Americans Ask US to Stop Arresting Visa Violators</b>
* Iranian- and Muslim-Americans asked the US to stop the practice of arresting Muslim visa violators who report to INS offices to register in compliance with new Justice Department regulations. (Mahdieh Javid, Washington)
<b>Civil Aviation Chief Criticized Antonov Jets</b>
* The head of Iran's civil aviation authority confirmed during a question and answer session at the Majles that pilot error was the cause of last week's crash of the Ukrainian Anotonov-140 that killed 46. He said Antonov jets, a version of which is being manufactured in Iran's Shahin-Shahr jet building complex near Esfahan, need better electronics and more advanced engines. (Ardavan Niknam, Prague)
<b>Khorasan Governor Calls for Repatriation of Afghan Refugees</b>
* Khorasan province governor Hasan Rasuli said Iran no longer considers its 2.5 million Afghan immigrants refugees. He called for measures such as cutbacks in subsidies and financial and social services to Afghans living in Iran to encourage them to return home. (Nazi Azima, Prague)
<b>Ahwaz Pipe Workers Demand Back Pay</b>
* Workers at the Ahwaz pipe factory staged a demonstration to demand months of back pay, but within a few minutes of the start of their march, police arrived with buses and took away them all away. The state-owned Ahwaz pipe factory has been struggling with financial problems since 1996. (Nazi Azima, Prague)
<b>Russia's Gazprom to Participate in Iran-India Gas Pipeline</b>
* Russia's Gazprom announced that pending approval by Pakistan; it would invest and participate in preliminary studies of the project to build a gas pipeline from Iran to India through Pakistan. (Mani Kasravi, Moscow)
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احمد خرم، وزير راه و ترابري ديروز در مجلس هشدار داد اگر تحريم هاي آمريكا عليه ايران رفع نشود، در آينده با مشكلات بدتري مواجه خواهيم بود. خرم در پاسخ به سئوال نماينده اي در باره علت تاخير يا لغو پرواز هاي هواپيمائي در ايران، گفت تحريم ايران از سوي «استكبار» مانع خريد هواپيماي نو و تجهيزات مدرن و تقويت ناوگان هواپيمائي كشور است. وي گفت چند فروند هواپيماهاي ايرباس و بوئينگ ايران به علت كهولت و نقص فني زمين گير شده اند. وي از مسئولان جمهوري اسلامي خواست در زمينه رفع تحريم ايران تلاش كنند و اظهارداشت اگر فضاي كشور را فضاي تعامل با دنيا قرار دهيم، بسياري از مشكلات قابل حل است اما اين كار برعهده وزارت راه نيست.
