Iran press reports 12 Dec Majlis session
Iran press review from BBC Monitoring
13 Dec 04
Sharq, 13/12/2004, p 7
Majlis Protests Against the Iran Zamin Festival
Pre-Agenda Speech — Seyyed Mehdi Purfatemi, Representative of Dashti and
Tangestan: Providing an Atmosphere for the Activity of All Tendencies
With a review of the Islamic Revolution’s history, we will reach the
conclusion that an important part of the two decades after the revolution’s victory
was spent on issues and conditions related to the revolution that were imposed
on us.
At the outset of the revolution, some of the political groups resorted to
violence because of lacking the culture of political activity. This was also the
time when foreign invasion or the war was imposed on our country. After that,
a part of our time was spent on reconstruction of the devastations of war. But
the third decade of the revolution, which was expected to be the decade of
stabilizing the system and institutionalizing the political participation of
people and transition toward a civil society, fortunately concurred with the
seventh presidential election. That election was rightfully described as an epic
by the eminent leader. The wishes and demands of the majority of people
actualized in Mr Khatami’s programs, even though some people had a different
interpretation and explanation for it in their reactionary frame of mind. His rational
and accurate policies and positions corrected the violent image of the
Islamic Republic of Iran that had been presented for the world community, so that
the idea of dialogue among civilizations was approved and praised by the world
as one of his innovations.
But we should keep in mind that the 2 Khordad epic that surprised the world
community and rendered America passive was the result of the freest and
broadest electoral competition in which the people eagerly and willingly went to the
polling places to vote for their favorite individual among the candidates with
different tendencies and expressed their demand and exercised their will. At
that time, on the verge of the third decade of the Islamic Revolution’s
victory, the Iranian people returned to the Islamic Revolution’s original slogans,
goals and aspirations. Imam’s intended values for the revolution once again
emerged and appeared in Khordad 76 [May 1997] and the process of development in
all fields and institutionalization of civic participation came on the agenda.
In this way, although the Khatami government faced reactions, obstacles and
opposition from its critics and opponents and unavoidably had to pay heavy
prices to continue the course of reforms, it also made lots of achievements in
economic, political, cultural and social fields.
Now, after two terms full of ups and downs and while only a few months are
left until the next presidential election, the slogans of all officials,
organizations and political groups and parties are aimed at the people’s maximal
participation in the election as the manifestation of the system’s republicanism.
In this regard, there are a few important points to consider: First, we all
believe according to narratives from the Prophet that all people are responsible
to take part in their destiny. Second, according to the Constitution, which
is derived from luminous verses of the Koran and is the external manifestation
of the thoughts and ideas of the late imam (God’s benedictions be upon him),
in the Islamic Republic system of Iran, people are in control of their destiny
by virtue of divine will. In this system, rulers are elected by the people and
election is the most important means by which the authorities are held
accountable and put under the people’s control. Third, in the present circumstances,
maximum participation will further ensure our country’s national security. So
we have to plan for the people’s presence in the ninth presidential election
and prepare the requirements and preconditions for their participation. Most
importantly, we must try to convince the people that their vote and presence
will be effective. This important matter will not be achieved unless in the
present critical political circumstances we prepare an atmosphere for the elite
and political groups and parties, and generally the enormous current that has
roots in the revolution is attached to Iran and is looking forward to bright
horizons for the future, regardless of their diverse tastes and tendencies, to
freely perform activity and express their views on various issues. In this way,
the people in a competitive environment will be able to choose the candidates
representing their favorite views to entrust the administrative affairs to
them. This is the very political development that some do not consider as a top
priority. Otherwise, if one group or party or a certain faction were after
preparing such conditions as to eliminate others from the competition and paid no
attention to the demands of others, obviously, even if the most authoritative
political figure should be nominated as candidate in this atmosphere, the
people wouldn’t find their presence reasonable. Another point is the role of the
mass media, which could be very useful and effective in communicating
information, provided that the national media and various communication networks and
the intelligence and security facilities are not exclusively put at the disposal
of a certain current, especially against another current. Hence, in view of
the people’s enthusiastic and lively turnout in the last two presidential
elections, we should prepare suitable grounds for the people’s active and hopeful
participation in this election as well. In this case, the next president will
be elected by the people’s majority vote, not with a minimal popular vote.
Majlis Protests Against the Iran Zamin Festival
Political Desk: The Majlis speaker and a few members of the Developers
[Abadgaran] Coalition yesterday in the Majlis open session were protesting about the
way in which the theater festival of Khuzestan had been held. Meanwhile, a
representative close to the traditional spectrum of the conservatives began to
criticize the conduct of some of the fundamentalist faction’s members. As the
parliamentary correspondent of Sharq reports, Gholam Ali Haddad-Adel, the
Majlis speaker, ‘Emad Afrugh, representative of Tehran and the chairman of the
Cultural Committee, and Hassan Now’i-Aqdam, representative of Ardebil and member
of the Majlis presidium, were those who denounced the incidents of the Iran
Zamin Theater Festival in Ahvaz as being contrary to Islamic principles, against
Islamic veiling and chastity, and regrettable. These representatives in their
statements called for the removal of high-ranking governmental directors from
office. These protests, however, were voiced under such conditions that Mohsen
Yahyavi, representative of Borujerd and a member of the Islamic Association
of Engineers, protested at one of the members of the Majlis fundamentalist
faction whose bodyguard and driver had abducted a student girl at gunpoint with
the Xantia automobile and identification card of Majlis. Addressing Haddad-Adel
in a notice, Yahyavi said: “If a representative’s bodyguard did make a student
girl with Islamic veiling get in his car by showing an identification card
and at gunpoint, he must be considered as an adversary of religion. And if the
story is not true, newspapers must be stopped from publishing such news items.”
Valiollah Shoja’purian, representative of Behbahan and member of the minority
faction, also severely condemned the action by the Justice Department of
Khuzestan in arresting the general director of the guidance department of
Khuzestan Province. A few fundamentalist representatives also submitted written
notices in protest against the Iran Zamin Festival. In this festival, which was held
in the city of Ahvaz, artistic groups from a number of countries including
France, Armenia and some Islamic countries were present and staged their
theatrical performances.
We Cried Tears of Blood
But the first one to criticize the government and the minister of guidance
was ‘Emad Afrugh, who dealt with the issue of cultural transformation in his
pre-agenda speech. He said: “The meaning of cultural transformation is that we
axe the roots of our ideological concepts and the Islamic Revolution’s essence,
objectives and aspirations with our own hands and by using governmental
facilities, resources and opportunities.” He explained: “We heard of cultural
imperialism, ancient Spain and Andolos in our youth. But why have we forgotten that
period of history?” Comparing the present time with the old period, he said:
“I don’t think in Andolos they transformed the system from inside in the name
of theocracy. But what we are seeing today is that official organizations and
cultural officials by using governmental resources are axing the Islamic
Republic’s aspirations and objectives, including its cultural objectives.” Then he
spoke about the closing ceremony of the Iran Zamin Theater Festival and
considered it an instance of transformation from the inside. Afrugh said: “It might
be said that this event was in a private ceremony. If this was the case and
anyone wanted to criticize, I would stand against it in the name of private
boundary. But unfortunately, this program was held in a public place, in the name
of the Islamic Republic and in the presence of provincial and ministerial
officials.” Afrugh stated: “True Iranian artists should resist against this
obscenity and artistic transformation, because this festival was supposed to be a
theater festival, but instead it was a dance festival, especially the dance of
men and women together.” Noting that Islam and the Islamic Republic have
boundaries, the chairman of the Cultural Committee said: “The officials cannot say
they were faced with an action that was already done, because before the
performance the programs were played for the board of referees.” He added: “The say
it was only three minutes, but this is just a quantitative standpoint and the
qualitative views are important here.” At the end, Afrugh addressed the artists
and said: “If you want art to be perpetual, criticize yourself
introspectively so that the public prosecutor wouldn’t have to.”
Hassan Now’i-Aqdam was the next representative from the fundamentalist
faction who described the Iran Zamin Theater Festival as a scandal that broke the
heart of the owners of the revolution and the inheritors of the martyrs’ blood.
He too confirmed Afrugh’s statements in his pre-agenda speech and requested
the president to issue a decisive order for investigations into the matter, so
as to thwart the enemies from further playing with the inheritors of the
martyrs’ blood, the revolution’s selfless devotees and the revolution’s goals by
means of cultural transformation at our own hands.
Representatives of the fundamentalist faction also issued a few separate
written notices to the minister of Islamic culture and guidance regarding the Iran
Zamin Theater Festival that Gholam Ali Haddad-Adel, the Majlis speaker, read
out from the Majlis tribune. In these notices, Sattar Hedayatkhah,
representative of Buirahmad and Dena, Seyyed Mohammadreza Mirtajeddini, representative of
Tabriz, Azarshahr and Osku, and Seyyed Ahmad Hosseini, representative of
Sirjan and Bardsir, warned the minister of Islamic culture and guidance about the
promotion of vulgarity, the breaking of boundaries and the violation of divine
tenets in the Iran Zamin Festival of Ahvaz. Also, Representatives Seyyed
Ahmad Musavi and Nasser Sudani of Ahvaz, Seyyed Nasser Musavi of Ramhormoz,
Mohammad Sa’id Ansari of Abadan, Seyyed Mohammad Taqi Mohassel-Hamedani of Bafq and
Mehriz, Shokrollah ‘Attarzadeh of Bushehr, Genaveh and Deylam addressed
notices to the interior minister regarding the participation of the provincial
governor of Khuzestan and his deputies in the Iran Zamin Festival of Ahvaz. These
representatives also gave notices to the minister of Islamic culture and
guidance regarding the protests of the people of Ahvaz against this festival.
We Will Defend the People’s Cultural Rights
The Majlis speaker, Gholam Ali Haddad-Adel, summed up the protesting
statements by the fundamentalist faction’s members and said: “I have asked the
chairman of the Cultural Committee to follow up on the issue, so that we could defend
the people’s cultural rights.” He said: “The pious people of Ahvaz and
Khuzestan and the religious authorities of this area have shown reaction against
what happened, and the people’s most natural expectation from the officials is
that they observe Islamic tenets in such programs.” He asserted: “When the
officials know they should be careful with cultural programs, and at the same time
they invite groups of women dancers from non-Islamic countries, the least
thing to be said is that they were imprudent and careless.” The Majlis speaker
stated: “Why should theatrical groups unfamiliar with Islamic tenets be invited
to perform programs in Iran? So the first step would be for the high-ranking
officials to declare their position and respect the people’s demand. Besides,
any of the officials who committed an infraction or mistake must be interrogated
and reprimanded.”
Ratifying the Urgency of a Draft Bill to Suspend the Jury Law
Political Desk: The Majlis representatives approved the urgency of a draft
bill to suspend the jury law for political and press crimes passed in the Sixth
Majlis and to reinstate the previous jury law.
As the parliamentary correspondent of Sharq reports, according to the single
article of this draft bill, the jury law passed on 12/24/82 [3/14/2004] in the
Sixth Majlis will be suspended because of its financial burden and the lack
of financial sources for this purpose, and the previous jury law passed on
2/11/1379 [4/22/2000] will be in effect. Yesterday, when this draft bill was
propounded in the open session, Mohammad Mirtajeddini, representative of Tabriz and
the spokesman for the fundamentalists faction, explained: “Ever since the
Sixth Majlis passed the new jury law and the previous one was abolished, the
press court has been closed.” He said: “The current law has financial burdens and
presently cannot be practiced. According to this law, there are 500 people in
Tehran, 250 people in the capitals of provinces and 150 people in small cities
who are qualified to serve as jurors in political and press courts.” He
added: “Twenty-one of these people will be chosen by lot for membership in the
jury, and 14 members will be chosen in the capitals of provinces.” Mirtajeddini
said: “Execution of this law takes time and money, and for this reason we want
the previous law to be restored.” But Akbar A’lami, representative of Tabriz
and a member of the minority faction, objected to Mirtajeddini’s explanations
and said: “There is suspicion that the Seventh Majlis is opposed to freedom of
expression and is seeking to restrict political activities. So if we pass this
draft bill, we will strengthen these doubts.” A’lami said: “According to
Article 168 of the Constitution, legal proceedings for political and press crimes
must be conducted by a competent court, and this court must be held openly and
with the presence of a jury. If we want to make alterations in this law, this
is not the way to do so.” He said: “When a law is passed, its financial burden
is also taken into consideration. So we should ask the respective officials
why the law isn’t being practiced.” After A’lami’s explanations, a vote was
taken and the majority of representatives voted for the urgency of this draft
bill.
Investigation About the Ministry of Health
The proposal for investigating the Ministry of Health and Treatment, which
had been approved earlier in the Health Committee, yesterday was propounded in
the Majlis open session and passed with 140 votes.
Mironev’s Speech in the Open Session
Sergey Mironev, the chairman of the Russian Federation Council, yesterday
came to the Majlis open session and said: “There are unique capacities for useful
reciprocal cooperation in various aspects between Russia and Iran. The old
relations between the two countries are not only values that the nations of both
countries respect, but also a geopolitical fact and an element of stability
and security in Asia. This is why Russia considers your country as an important
partner both in bilateral relations and on the international level.” Mironev
asserted: “We would like to deepen our close and trust-building talks with
Iran over a wide range of issues, especially in view of the complicated situation
in the region.”
Amendment to the Election Law
In yesterday’s open session, the Majlis representatives approved the urgency
of a draft bill to reform the Majlis election law for Babolsar. This draft
bill, when finalized, will determine the destiny of this constituency. Meqdad
Najafnezhad, the elected candidate for Babolsar and Fereydun Kenar, resigned
before the approval of his credentials in Majlis and this matter led to
differences between the Guardian Council and the Interior Ministry. With the final
ratification of this urgent draft bill, if elected candidates for the Islamic
Consultative Assembly resign before or after the Guardian Council confirms the
accuracy of elections and until the candidates’ credentials are approved by the
Islamic Consultative Assembly, and if they officially announce their resignation
to the governor office of their constituency, their resignation will be
accepted and the new representative of the constituency will be elected in the
first midterm election after the resignation.
Resalat, 13/12/2004, p 3
The Speech of the Representative of Neyshabur
Hojjat ol-Eslam Hossein Sobhaninia, representative of Neyshabur, was the
second pre-agenda speaker in yesterday’s Majlis open session. He said: “The big
blight of the country’s nuclear diplomacy was that our diplomats viewed the
three sides of the triangle of America, the agency and Europe as separate from
each other and with excessive optimism failed to notice the division of work
between them.” He added: “Whenever Iran considered a pivotal role for the
Europeans, they obtained concessions from our country in return for some promises. But
when the time came for closing Iran’s nuclear case, the Europeans answered
that they wanted to do so, but America was exerting pressure and the agency
wouldn’t permit it.” Reiterating that the attainment of nuclear technology was
Iran’s absolute right, Sobhani said: “Under the present circumstances, it seems
that our country’s nuclear officials, while strengthening the negotiating team
and correcting their flaws, need to consider more comprehensive strategies by
viewing the sides of the mentioned triangle.”
The Speech of the Representative of Ardebil
Hassan Now’i-Aqdam, representative of Ardebil, was the fourth pre-agenda
speaker in the Islamic Consultative Assembly’s open session yesterday. Noting that
the consistent salary payment system was one of the most important
legislations in the Seventh Majlis, he said: “The Seventh Majlis, in line with
accomplishing the strategy of social justice, from the outset of its establishment
demanded the government to submit this bill to the Majlis before the budget bill
of the year 84 [3/21/2005 to 3/20/2006]. But unfortunately, in spite of our
frequent inquiries, this bill hasn’t been sent to the Majlis thus far.” He went
on to express regrets over the Iran Zamin Festival and said: “This festival
broke the heart of the revolution’s owners.” He added: “We are sorry that the
advocates of the culture of laxness and negligence stage such programs to satisfy
the revolution’s enemies and eradicate the revolution’s aspirations.”
Ratifying the Private Sector’s Activity in the Domain of Post and Telegraph
In yesterday’s open session, the Islamic Consultative Assembly passed the
generalities of a bill to authorize issuing licenses for post and telegraph
activities to the private sector. This bill permits the government to transfer a
part of its post and telegraph activities to the private sector.
The Majlis representatives also ratified the agreement between the
governments of Iran, Austria, Cyprus and Algeria for cooperation in the fields of public
health and medical and industrial sciences.
Resalat, 13/12/2004, p 3
On the Sidelines of the Majlis
Article 90 Committee Investigates Ahvaz Incident
The Article 90 Committee criticized the minister of guidance for negligence
in confronting the elements involved in the scandalous incident at the Ahvaz
theater.
In yesterday’s session of the Article 90 Committee, the film of the closing
ceremony of the Iran Zamin Theater Festival, which had been held last week in
Ahvaz, was displayed for the members of this committee. Shameless scenes
contrary to ethical principles, mixed dances of men and women, and promotion of
indecent and unethical relations evoked the representatives’ regret and protest.
After reviewing the scandalous film of the Ahvaz theater festival, the members
of the Article 90 Committee criticized the hesitation and indifference of the
minister of guidance and the imprudence pervading this ministry. The
representatives considered the mismanagement of the minister of guidance as the cause
of such inappropriate behaviors and corruption of the domain of art with
vulgarity.
Members of the Article 90 Committee demanded the minister of guidance to
follow up on the reasons behind this incident, to confront the organizers of the
scandalous Ahvaz theater festival and discharge the culpable directors.
Save the State News Agency!
The representative of Tabriz addressed a notice to the minister of guidance
regarding the publication of certain items in the Islamic Republic News
Agency’s bulletins.
Ms ‘Eshrat Sha’eq, representative of Tabriz, yesterday in a notice that was
read out by the Majlis speaker criticized the Islamic Republic News Agency for
publishing in its bulletins certain news items aimed at promotion of
secularism by means of the news sources of the Hypocrites [Mojahedin-e Khalq] and
called for adoption of due measures. The representative of Tabriz also gave the
president a notice about some of the educational activities by the presidential
institution’s Center for Participation of Women.
Representatives of Khuzestan Protest Against Ahvaz Festival
A group of representatives of Khuzestan protested against the scandalous
ceremony of the Iran Zamin Theater Festival in Ahvaz.
In this regard, Nasser Sudani, representative of Ahvaz, told our
correspondent: “The Iran Zamin Theater Festival and specifically its closing ceremony are
not defensible at all. The conduct at this ceremony was at odds with ethical
and human values.” He said: “The regrettable point is that the provincial
governor of Khuzestan and the general director of the guidance department of the
province were also present at the mentioned ceremony, but not only did they not
protest about the ceremony, they even gave prizes to the organizers.” Sudani
said the dismissal of different elements responsible for this incident and the
apology of the Guidance Ministry officials to the people of Khuzestan were the
least corrective measure expected. He asserted: “Before the Iran Zamin
Theater Festival in Ahvaz, I had acquired evidence that showed some inappropriate
things might happen at this festival. So I reflected this matter to the minister
of guidance and he promised to look into the issue. But no measure was taken
in practice and that led to this ugly ceremony.”
Representatives Be Observant
The Majlis speaker emphasized the need for representatives to be observant of
the actions and behaviors of their friends and acquaintances.
Yesterday, following the notice by Engineer Yahyavi, representative of
Borujerd, who called for investigations about the kidnapping of a student girl by
the bodyguard of one of the representatives of Khorramabad, Dr Haddad-Adel
stated: “One of the duties of representatives is to watch the deeds of their
friends and acquaintances and be careful that no one would take advantage of their
position in the guise of being close to them.” Pointing out the news items
published in some newspapers about the hideous behavior of the bodyguard of one of
the representatives, Engineer Yahyavi said: “If this matter is true as these
newspapers have written, we must demand the Judiciary to severely confront the
perpetrators. And if the item is not true, we must confront the newspapers
that published this piece of news.” It is worth mentioning that although this
representative is not a member of the fundamentalist faction, some of the
multipurpose correspondents whose mission is to undermine the Majlis yesterday were
trying use the improper action by this representative’s bodyguard as a pretext
to discredit the fundamentalist figures of Majlis.
Discussions About the Presidential Election in the Majority Faction
The general assembly of the fundamentalist representatives faction is holding
a session this week on Tuesday. In this session, which is going to be held
Tuesday after the evening prayers at the parliament building, the
representatives will be informed about the latest views on the presidential election and the
process of negotiations regarding the candidates and their programs. Also,
the members of three workgroups of the fundamentalist faction for consideration
of bills and proposals and offering expert views to the representatives will
be elected in this session.
An Independent Committee for Women and Youths
The proposal for establishing the Committee on Women, Family and Youths will
be considered in Majlis on Tuesday.
Announcing this matter, ‘Eshrat Sha’eq, representative of Tabriz and a member
of the women’s faction, said: “The issue of women, youths and family, in view
of the problems these classes are dealing with, is of immense importance and
requires that we have an independent committee in the Majlis to address these
matters. In the Fifth Majlis, there used to be such a committee. But
unfortunately the Sixth Majlis dissolved that committee instead of strengthening it.
Therefore, considering the need that is felt for attending the problems and
difficulties of youths and women, a group of representatives have signed a
proposal to reform the Majlis regulations and establish a special committee under the
title of Women, Family and Youths, and this proposal will soon be considered
in the Majlis.”
From: Baghdasarian