Author: Chalian Meline

National Review Online

June 13, 2006

Another `No Amnesty’ Amnesty
It was a nice try, at least.

By Mark Krikorian

It’s funny how every new `middle ground’ on immigration is in the same place
as the old ones.

The latest `middle ground’ proposal comes from Rep. Mike Pence (R., Ind.).
Pence, who has solid conservative credentials as head of the House
Republican Study Committee, offered what he billed as `The Real Rational
Middle Ground on Immigration Reform’ at a Heritage Foundation speech last
month. Since there’s no actual bill to look at, we have to judge from Rep.
Pence’s speech and other materials what the program would be like.

It starts out well enough. In seeking an alternative to amnesty, on the one
hand, and mass deportations, on the other, he laid out a four-step plan. The
first step is securing the border, and he included the entire enforcement
bill passed by the House in December (with two minor modifications) in his
measure.

Step two is to reject amnesty. That also sounds good, until you remember
that Senators Kennedy and McCain also deny their amnesty plan is an amnesty.
As do Senators Hagel and Martinez. And President Bush. They all deny that
they support amnesty because, as the president says, the only thing that
constitutes amnesty is `automatic citizenship,’ whatever that is.

Pence has a broader definition of amnesty:

Amnesty is allowing people whose first act in America was an illegal act to
get right with the law without leaving the country. Allowing twelve million
illegal aliens to stay in our country instead of leaving and coming back
legally is amnesty, no matter if fines or back taxes are paid, or how it is
otherwise dressed-up or spun by its proponents. The only way to deal with
these twelve million people is to insist that they leave the country and
come back legally if they have a job awaiting them.

This is exactly the same as the `touchback’ gimmick in the Senate amnesty
bill, which would require illegal aliens who have been here between two and
five years to cross the border to be enrolled in the permanent `temporary’
worker program and then immediately return to their homes and jobs.

That brings us to the third step: the guestworker amnesty. Yes, amnesty. Or,
if you prefer, legalization. Or normalization. Or regularization. Or earned
adjustment. Or whatever is the euphemism du jour. The fact remains that the
guestworker program in the Pence plan is explicitly designed to allow all
illegal aliens to keep their jobs and domiciles in the United States without
interruption.

The congressman is quite explicit on this point. In explaining the need for
speedy processing of the guestworkers, he says:

No employer in America wants to lose employees for an extended amount of
time. No worker who is earning money to feed and clothe a family can afford
to be off the job for long. … And, an illegal alien currently employed in
America will be willing to take a quick trip across the border to come back
outside of the shadows and in a job where he does not fear a raid by
Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In fact, I envision employers working
with placement agencies to make sure that their long-time illegal employees
get their paperwork processed, background checks performed, and visas issued
so that they will be back on the job quickly.

In the 1950s, this process was called – in official U.S. government
publications – `drying out the wetbacks.’ Whether it’s called an amnesty
instead, or is given some other label, the point is to let all illegal
aliens stay legally.

But maybe the amnesty is time-limited? And in fact, part of Pence’s `no
amnesty’ claim is that the guestworker visa would be limited to a total of
six years. This would be an encouraging requirement, except that, in the
congressman’s words, `At that point, the guest should decide whether to
return home or enter the separate process of seeking citizenship.’ If legal
immigration quotas are to remain in force, then these formerly illegal, now
`temporary,’ workers will have to leave, en masse, six years from now, which
is precisely the mass deportation the congressman said (correctly) is
unworkable. On the other hand, if these workers will be able to receive
permanent residency outside the current limits, as they would be under the
Senate amnesty bill, then this plan is the very `path to citizenship’ that
Rep. Pence made a big show of condemning. It’s unclear which of these is
true, but it’s undeniable that the plan is either dishonest or amateurish.

Step four really takes the cake: a promise – really, truly,
cross-my-heart-and-hope-to-die – to enforce the ban on hiring illegals in
the future. Pence himself says that since every illegal alien will be
legalized, employers wouldn’t need to hire illegals, but that enforcement
will be phased in nonetheless. This is exactly the bait-and-switch Congress
perpetrated in 1986 – legalization first, enforcement later (i.e., never).
It is for this reason that the House, animated by a `fool me twice, shame on
me’ skepticism, has insisted on `Enforcement First.’

There are plenty of other reasons to dismiss the Pence plan as unserious: by
not calling for an end to automatic citizenship at birth, it makes the
`temporary’ claim meaningless; his gimmick of having the private sector
screen the workers misses the point that they will still need to use (and
receive security clearances for access to) the very same databases that the
FBI and Department of Homeland Security use now; and to get `temporary’
workers, employers will merely have to attest that they tried to hire
Americans, rather than using objective measures to determine need, like
rising wages or low unemployment in the specific occupation in question.

In fact, I didn’t write about this plan when it was announced because I
didn’t think it possible that anyone could take it seriously. I was wrong.
Though the Pence amnesty plan hasn’t been widely covered, it has received
support, or at a least respectful hearing, from insiders who will affect the
final outcome of any bill. It’s no surprise, for instance, that amnesty
supporters like Dick Armey, John Fund, and Michael Barone have had nice
things to say about it (not to mention several newspaper editorial pages),
but even supporters of Enforcement First, like Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner and
Newt Gingrich, have been more receptive of the plan than a close reading of
it would warrant. It’s also ironic that Pence’s speech was delivered at the
Heritage Foundation, given that his plan appears to violate Heritage’s
`permanent principles’ on immigration; it will be interesting to see what
Heritage has to say about the plan.

In the end, the Pence Amnesty wouldn’t go down with the public any better
than the string of other amnesty plans that have been proposed over the past
couple of years. As Peggy Noonan wrote last week about the public’s
suspicions regarding immigration plans: `they think – they assume, at this
point, reflexively – that slithery, slippery professional politicians are
using and inventing complications to obfuscate and confuse. … Americans
don’t trust `comprehensive plans,’ because they don’t trust the
comprehensive planners.’

There’s only one way Congress and the president can earn back the public’s
trust on immigration: Enforce the law – comprehensively, confidently,
unapologetically. Then, after several years have passed and enforcement
mechanisms are in place and working, and the illegal population has shrunk
through attrition, Washington will have proven that, this time, it’s not
lying about immigration.

Until then, no deal.

Mark Krikorian is executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies
and an NRO contributor.
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National Review Online –
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CATHOLICOS OF ALL ARMENIANS MET REPRESENTATIVES OF 30 TURKISH MEDIA

ArmRadio.am
26.06.2006 16:49

Yesterday the Catholicos of all Armenians Garegin II met the
journalists in Istanbul. Representatives of about 30 Turkish media,
both print and broadcast, participated in the meeting with the Supreme
Patriarch. Editor-in-chief of the Turkey based "Zhamanak" newspaper
Ara Kochunyan told "Radiolur" that among others the Armenian Issue
was discussed.

As we have informed earlier, on June 20 the Catholicos of All Armenians
Garegin II left for Istanbul at the invitation of Archbishop Mesrop
Mutafyan and Ecumenical Patriarch His All-Holiness Bartholomew
I. This was the third visit of Armenian religious leaders to Turkey
during the last 50 years. In 1961 Vazgen I paid an official visit to
Turkey. In 1996 Garegin the First’s visit was non-official. Garegin the
Second’s visit is also of a non-official character. It was, however,
a unique opportunity for Turkish journalists to meet the Catholicos
of all Armenians.

The issue of the accident at Ataturk Airport on the day of the visit
of the Patriarch was not evaded, either.

To remind, a group of 50 people organized an act of protest next t
the airport. Those protesting threw eggs on cars of two Patriarchs,
who were meeting Garegin II According to the editor-in-chief of
"Zhamanak" daily, the media coverage of today’s press conference and
the Catholicos’s visit was rather balanced and objective.

The hooliganism of the nationalists did not receive proper attention
of the media; the political parties did not respond, ether.

By the way, in the framework of the PACE summer session Turkish Prime
Minister Rejeb Tayyib Erdogan is expected to deliver a speech before
the European MPs on June 28. The topic is rather interesting: the
necessity of maintaining the balance between the freedom of speech and
the respect for the believers’ rights. The Armenian delegation will
try to receive the Prime Minister’s response regarding the Turkish
version of respecting the religious feelings.

A KINDERGARTEN REPAIRED IN AKHALKALAK

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Jun 26 2006

AKHALKALAK, JUNE 26, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Akhalkalak
kindergarten N 3 was repaired on the initiative of the Javakhk Call
foundation functioning in Javakhk.

Kindergarten Director Lamara Hovhannisian expressing gratitude
to the foundation mentioned that the repair was very timely. The
foundation’s investment made only 2 thousand USD, but this was also
of much importance for the repair.

According to the A-Info agency, the Javakhk Call charity foundation
was created on the initiative of Akhalkalak Mayor Nairi Iritsian and
has a goal to assist development of Akhalkalak infrastructures.

TENDER FOR RECONSTRUCTION OF YEREVAN-ZVARTNOTS HIGHWAY TO TAKE PLACE TODAY

Armenpress

YEREVAN, JUNE 23, ARMENPRESS: A senior official of the Yerevan
municipality said the tender announced for a major reconstruction of
a highway running from the capital city to Armenia’s biggest Zvartnots
airport will be held together.

Frunze Basentsian, head of the municipality department dealing with
major construction and improvement, said two companies are bidding
for the contract. He said the results will be summed up next week
and the reconstruction will in all likelihood start in late June.

Basentsian said the road will be transformed into a high speed
road. Casinos and furniture salons dotted along it will be screened
by a wall with a separate traffic section.

System Of A Down refute charges by Turkish media

Online Rock Radio, Greece
June 23 2006

System Of A Down has posted a statement at its official website
refuting claims by the Turkish media that the band’s 1998 tour featured
tickets with an anti-Turk slogan printed on them. The message reads
in part, "The Turkish media has been spreading blatant lies about
System Of A Down, among them the claim that we had an anti-Turk slogan
printed on tickets during our 1998 tour with Slayer.

The truth is that System Of A Down cancelled our shows opening for
Slayer in Turkey in 1998…there were no anti-Turkish slurs printed
on any tickets for that, or any other tour involving System Of A
Down." The statement adds that the band "wishes that the media be
conscious of the facts, responsible in their research, honest in
their writing, and dedicated to the essential importance of the truth."

Drummer John Dolmayan told us why the band pulled out of the shows:
"You know, we had an opportunity to play in Turkey and we decided
not to do it for a number of reasons, one of which being our personal
safety. You know, we do have a few songs in our repertoire that touch
on the Armenian genocide and we insist on playing them. In fact, we
had planned on playing only those songs. At that time there was one,
and we were gonna play it for our whole set if we went to Turkey."

SOAD has been highly critical of the Turkish governments for failing
to acknowledge and apologize for the genocide of 1.5 million Armenians
by the Turks during World War One. The members of SOAD are of Armenian
descent and lost family members in the atrocities.

SOAD will begin its co-headlining stint on this summer’s Ozzfest next
Thursday (June 29th) in Seattle, Washington.

The band plans to take a long hiatus after completing the tour,
during which all four members will work on individual projects.

The latest single from SOAD’s Hypnotize album is "Kill Rock ‘N’ Roll."

Watertown TAB & Press, MA
June 23 2006

Yummy goodies in Little Armenian bakery

By Katie McDonough/ Correspondent
Friday, June 23, 2006 – Updated: 10:54 AM EST

In most respects, winding Mount Auburn Street is a world away from
the majestic snowcapped mountains of Armenia. However, those familiar
with the area know that Watertown boasts a large Armenian population,
with a cultural and commercial center in and around Coolidge Square.

The ample variety of Middle Eastern bakeries, restaurants and shops
there form a captivating representation of that part of the world.

In the busy patchwork of the area some call "Little Armenia," one
business stands out from its competition. Massis Bakery and Specialty
Food Store has been in town longer than many Watertown residents.

The Ourfalian family opened the bakery in 1977 after coming to America
from Beirut, Lebanon. Having already been in the bakery business in
Beirut for a number of years, the family had plenty of experience
to apply to their new venture. Of course, starting fresh in a new
country brings its own challenges, and it took a few years for the
business to blossom.

The family~Rs two sons, Sarkis and Missak, were of high school age at
the time the bakery opened. The brothers helped their parents with the
business during high school and college, and even lent a hand through
the years when they pursued their own careers (Sarkis worked as an
engineer and Missak as an accountant). Now the roles are reversed:
The brothers run all parts of the business with only occasional help
from their parents.

In its almost 30 years in Watertown, Massis Bakery has changed
considerably. Though it began as a small, predominantly Armenian bakery
and grocery store, the business has expanded to overtake neighboring
sites and include a wide array of items for sale.

"As we grew and changed our product line, the store became more than
just Armenian," Sarkis Ourfalian said.

The name Massis, which refers to a mountain in Armenia, now serves more
as a reminder of the bakery~Rs origins than an accurate description
of its products. In addition to the traditional Middle Eastern items,
they currently import products such as olive oil and chocolate from
various countries such as Greece and Italy.

One of the first things you notice when you enter Massis Bakery is
the sheer volume of products inside. From the bakery counter on the
far right to the olive bar in the back left corner, there~Rs a little
bit of everything.

"If you come to our store and look up and down the aisles, you might
think you~Rre in Europe," Ourfalian said. "At the same time you might
be in Greece or Lebanon or other places in the world."

Like many businesses, Massis Bakery has had to make certain adjustments
over the years to keep up with a constantly evolving clientele. Even
their most enduring products, such as homemade Armenian pizza called
lahmejune, have undergone some modification.

"The traditionallahmejune is made with lamb or beef, but we make
it with chicken, or we make it vegetarian," Ourfalian said. "As the
clientele has changed, we~Rve accommodated."

The family has taken a similar approach with many of their bakery
items, including various kinds of cookies and pastries made fresh each
day. The traditional cookies, most of which include some combination of
dates, figs and sesame seeds, are available in a number of adaptations.

In addition to this keen ability to adapt to customers~R changing
tastes, another reason for the store~Rs success is the recent
popularity of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean foods. "Some of our
specialties, liketabouleh andhomus (or hummus), were not as well
known to people in the past," Ourfalian said.

As such foods came into the mainstream in recent years, larger
supermarket chains began carrying these products. It~Rs reasonable
to assume that this fact would hurt small, independent stores such
as Massis Bakery, but Ourfalian has a different perspective. "People
taste the foods in the supermarket, and then they taste ours. Right
away, they can tell there~Rs a big difference," Ourfalian said. "In
that way, supermarkets have improved our business."

Ourfalian is also quick to point out that the foods are not only
tasty but very nutritious as well. The family uses mostly fresh,
natural ingredients, such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and
spices, in everything they make. This aspect appeals to a number of
demographics, from dieters and health food fiends to conscientious
parents and those with restrictive medical conditions. With a booming
business and growing clientele, it~Rs clear that such meticulous
measures are appreciated.

When you~Rre inside the bakery, it~Rs impossible not to be taken in
by all the colors and aromas around you; each aisle has something new
and intriguing you may not have heard of or tried before. One of the
most interesting things to see in the bakery, though, is not one of
the imported products or homemade bakery items for sale. Hanging on the
wall to right of the door as you enter are two framed photographs. The
top photo, taken in 1977, shows the two young brothers, Sarkis and
Missak, with their parents behind the bakery counter. The photo
below shows the same four faces beaming out from behind the same
counter 26 years later. Though decades have passed and the business
has transformed again and again, the family~Rs pride in and passion
for their work will continue well into the future.

What smells so good?

Massis Bakery is at 569 Mount Auburn St., and it~Rs open Monday
through Saturday from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Visit massisbakery.com for more
information.

AZERBAIJAN BRINGS DISCUSSION OF ITS PACE MANDATE TO KARABAKH ISSUE

PanARMENIAN.Net
22.06.2006 17:45 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Armenian delegation should be ready that
Azerbaijan may make unexpected statements at the PACE Summer Session,
Armenian Speaker Tigran Torosyan stated at a news conference in
Yerevan. In his words, Azerbaijan tries to attract attention of PACE
delegates to invented facts regarding Armenia, when Azerbaijan’s
mandate is discussed.

Torosyan reported that October 15-16 the PACE Monitoring Commission
will meet in Armenia. "We got the consent of the Commission. It is
now PACE Bureau’s turn to approve the trip. We should, in our turn,
clearly determine our tasks at the session," Torosyan underscored. He
added that PACE Interim Commission on Nagorno Karabakh will visit the
region in autumn and the PACE Bureau’s decision is already available.

LITHUANIAN PRESIDENT IMPROVING RELATIONS WITH TURKEY WORSENED BY PART RESOLUTION, PLEDGING SUPPORT ON ITS PATH TO EU

Baltic News Service
June 20, 2006 Tuesday 11:56 PM EET

Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus is trying to improve relations
with Turkey that have worsened after the Lithuanian parliament passed
a resolution, pledging assistance for the country on its path to the
European Union.

After a meeting with Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer in Ankara
on Tuesday, Adamkus said that the resolution passed by the Lithuanian
parliament would definitely not change Lithuania’s foreign policy.

Passed by the Lithuanian parliament at the end of last year, the
resolution urged Turkey to admit having committed genocide of the
Armenian nation almost 100 years ago. In response to the resolution,
Turkey made a diplomatic demarche. Lithuanian Ambassador to Ankara
Vytautas Nauduzas was summoned to the Turkish Foreign Ministry and was
warned that the resolution would worsen bilateral relations between
Lithuania and Turkey.

In the Armenians’ words, about 1.5 million Armenians were killed
during the genocide committed by the Ottoman Empire in 1915-1923.

Turkey, which is seeking EU membership, denies the fact of genocide,
saying that Armenians fell victims to the war that claimed the lives
of many Turks as well.

The Turkish president, in his turn, said it was agreed during the
meeting to avoid actions that would harm the development of relations
between the two countries. He also presented Adamkus with copies
of letters of Lithuania’s interwar President Antanas Smetona to the
first Turkish president, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

The Lithuanian leader told his Turkish counterpart that he could
not imagine the EU without Turkey, pledging assistance for Turkey’s
integration in the European community.

Lithuania became a member of the EU in 2004 after over a decade of
efforts to join the European family.

The Turkish president said he appreciated Lithuania’s support for
Turkey’s bid to join the EU.

Turkey started detailed EU accession negotiations last week, after
25 EU member states managed to find a way out of the deadlock over
Cyprus. The EU is pressing Turkey to open its ports and airports to
ships and planes of Cyprus, a member of the EU, and recognize the
Greek government of Cyprus.

If Turkey joined the EU, it would be the largest member of the bloc
in terms of area and population.

During their meeting, the Turkish and Lithuanian presidents also
discussed bilateral cooperation issues in political, economic and
cultural fields, prospects of Turkey’s integration into the EU,
relations with neighboring countries, possibilities of cooperation in
the field of energy, the Lithuanian president’s press service reported.

Adamkus thanked the Turkish leader for a mission performed by Turkish
servicemen. Turkish airmen have been deployed in Zokniai, Lithuania,
to perform the Baltic air policing mission.

Discussing regional cooperation, it was noted that South Caucasus
countries and Turkey were becoming very important in creating
alternative power supply possibilities.

In the Lithuanian president’s words, Turkey’s relations with Azerbaijan
are an excellent example of neighborly relations. He said Turkey’s
relations with Georgia were improving as well, adding that these
close ties were useful not only to the cooperating countries but
also to the entire region. In Adamkus’ words, joint projects of the
countries, such as an oil pipeline and a gas pipeline, may become
very significant in strengthening energy independence and security
of European countries. The president said Lithuania was interested
in expanding these projects to the Baltic Sea.

KARABAKH: UN BELIEVES THAT THOUGH EVERYONE IS EQUAL, SOME ARE MORE EQUAL

PanARMENIAN.Net
20.06.2006 13:42 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR) should be
the forth in the Agreement between Transnistria, South Ossetia and
Abkhazia, political scientist Hrazdan Madoyan stated in an interview
with PanARMENIAN.Net. "In spite of differences in details, the
common thing of those countries is important: they declared their
independence, underwent military aggression by states with large
territorial and human resources, defended their independence in
the war and now, 15 years later, they are much better formed as
sovereign states, than those, who attacked them to annex them,"
he said. In his words, no one can deprive peoples of the right to
live on their own. "There are several dozens of states with less
territory and population, however no one questions their right to
free and independent existence. The matter is that the UN believes
that though everyone is equal, some are more equal," Madoyan said.

As of recognition of Montenegro independence by the US and Russia,
Madoyan believes that NATO geopoliticians have managed to split south
Slavs on the basis of religion. "Thus an artificial problem was formed
– the Montenegro independence, which won over half of the republic
population. Transnistria has not oil or gas pipelines, thus it is
not interesting. If it wants to live on its own – let it live. Thus,
official recognition of the TMR (Transnistrian Moldovan Republic),
after which the "M" will be omitted, is impending," the Armenian
political scientist underscored.

RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
_________________________________________ ____________________
RFE/RL Iran Report
Vol. 9, No. 22, 19 June 2006

A Review of Developments in Iran Prepared by the Regional Specialists
of RFE/RL’s Newsline Team

******************************************** ****************
HEADLINES:
* IRANIAN OPIUM CULTIVATION MAKES A RETURN
* FEMALE DEMONSTRATORS IN TEHRAN BEATEN AND DETAINED
* REFORMERS URGED TO UNITE FOR POLLS
* CENTRAL BANK ANNOUNCES UNEMPLOYMENT FIGURES FOR PREVIOUS YEAR
* ACADEMICS WARN OF NEGATIVE ECONOMIC TRENDS
* EXILED OPPOSITIONIST SAYS IRGC TURNING TO BIG BUSINESS
* TEHRAN NOTES ‘POSITIVE’ ASPECTS OF INTERNATIONAL NUCLEAR PROPOSAL
* SCHOLAR SUGGESTS IRANIAN WEAPONS PROGRESS UNDERESTIMATED
* SUPREME LEADER PRAISES NUCLEAR ACHIEVEMENTS
* NEW SIGNALS COULD HINT AT NUCLEAR PRESSURE FROM MOSCOW, BEIJING
* TURKEY DEPORTS IRANIAN AZERI LEADER
* SAUDI, IRAQI OFFICIALS VISIT TEHRAN
* SYRIAN MILITARY DELEGATION SIGNS AGREEMENT IN IRAN
* AHMADINEJAD ENCOURAGES PALESTINIAN ‘RESISTANCE’
* PUTIN SAYS GAZPROM COULD FINANCE PLANNED IRANIAN PIPELINE
* TAJIK BORDER-GUARD CHIEF MEETS WITH IRANIAN OFFICIALS
**************************************** ********************

IRANIAN OPIUM CULTIVATION MAKES A RETURN. Iranian authorities capture
more opiates than any other country in the world, but officials there
say they have yet to develop a counternarcotics strategy. That
approach has arguably contributed to the fact that opium cultivation,
once thought to have been wiped out in Iran, has resumed. Moreover,
drug-related security problems are increasing. It is more than merely
a policy problem, as Iranian officials say unemployment is a major
reason why people turn to poppy cultivation and drug smuggling.
Without a counternarcotics strategy — and until the country reins in
double-digit unemployment and rampant underemployment — Iran will be
unable to win its war on drugs.
The head of Iran’s Drug Control Headquarters,
Fada-Hussein Maliki, told visiting Afghan Interior Minister Moqbal
Zarar on June 13 that profits in the narcotics trade surpass those in
the oil business. Maliki warned of the connection between narcotics
and terrorism, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).
Maliki also told his Afghan guest that Iran has controlled the drug
problem through "prudent policies."
Yet in a meeting earlier the same day with a delegation from
the British House of Commons, Maliki pledged that Iran would develop
policies to combat drug smuggling and abuse, IRNA reported. Maliki
said the counternarcotics campaign must be reformed.
Such policy-oriented efforts have been an issue in Iran for
some time, but Maliki’s statement suggests that they remain
unresolved. Indeed, in late May he promised that a policy would be
forthcoming and the campaign would be reformed, according to IRNA on
May 20. Maliki added that relevant laws would be amended.

Interdiction Efforts

Protecting Iran’s eastern borders and preventing the
entry of drug smugglers has been a government priority for many
years, but it is a difficult task. The frontier with Afghanistan and
Pakistan is more than 1,800 kilometers long, and the terrain is
extremely rugged. There is a perception that security efforts have
diminished recently, and Iranians were outraged by grisly attacks on
motorcades traveling through the southeast in March and again in May.
Iranian national police chief General Ismail Ahmadi-Moqaddam
said in early April that Afghanistan and Pakistan cannot secure their
borders. He also accused "the narcotic drugs mafia in those
countries" of being "officially guided and supported by the
Americans," "Aftab-i Yazd" reported on April 10. A few days later,
Iranian and Pakistani officials met in the city of Quetta in
southwestern Pakistan to discuss tightening border security, IRNA
reported on April 12.
Around the same time, the Rasul-i Akram base at which police,
military, and other security agencies in southeastern Iran’s
Sistan va Baluchistan Province will coordinate their activities was
established in the city of Zahedan, state television reported on
April 13. During the inauguration ceremony, police chief
Ahmadi-Moqaddam said drugs are at the root of problems in the east
and that opium cultivation in Afghanistan has worsened since 2002,
according to "Aftab-i Yazd" of April 15. Ahmadi-Moqaddam warned that
the establishment of the new base would not solve all the problems.
After the second highway attack, in early May, Iranians’
anger over eastern insecurity picked up. Zahedan parliamentary
representative Hussein-Ali Shahriari warned that if the central
government could not provide security, locals would establish
vigilante groups, "Aftab-i Yazd" reported on May 14. Shahriari noted
that violence in the province was not a recent development — 35
people were killed in a 2004 incident, and 11 were killed in 2005.
Shahriari accused the United States of encouraging ethnic differences
in an effort to worsen the situation.
There was also talk in Iran’s legislature of
interpellating the interior minister, Hojatoleslam Mustafa
Pur-Mohammadi, and of questioning provincial security, law
enforcement, and intelligence officials, "Etemad" reported on May 15.
Deputy speaker Mohammad Bahonar said that if the police could not
establish security, then the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps would be
asked to do so.
Qasem Rezai, deputy commander of the Rasul-i Akram base, said
later in May that the prevalence of drug trafficking and other forms
of crime is due to the absence of jobs, "Aftab-i Yazd" and "Iran"
reported. Rezai warned that "one cannot create security with guns."
He added that security forces were in control during the day but the
bandits owned the night.

Opium Cultivation

The U.S. State Department’s Bureau of International
Narcotics and Law Enforcement determined in 1998 and 1999 surveys
that a "negligible" amount of opium was being cultivated in Iran. The
report did not rule out the possibility of cultivation in more remote
areas, and reports suggested opium was being cultivated along the
border with Turkey.
Opium-poppy cultivation appears to be making a comeback. In
Iran’s southwestern province of Kohkiluyeh va Boirahmad, there
were late-April reports of opium cultivation. One local complained
that "in many parts of the province, poppy is openly cultivated and
authorities show almost no reaction," "Siyasat-i Ruz" reported on
April 24. Another local said poor people resort to opium cultivation
because their needs and demands are ignored.
Mohammad Movahed, who represents the province in the national
legislature, suggested that people from other parts of Iran are
behind the phenomenon, "Siyasat-i Ruz" reported on April 27. Movahed
cited the large number of educated but unemployed young people, and
argued that "unemployment in the province should be taken seriously."
He claimed that young people have told him "explicitly that this
matter has made them resort to drug dealing."
Movahed said President Mahmud Ahmadinejad’s
administration would be more effective creating four realistic
provincial job-creation projects than creating 70 different ones.
Nor is Kohkiluyeh va Boirahmad, in the southwest, the only
place where opium-poppy cultivation occurs. National police chief
Ahmadi-Moqaddam said poppy planting has been going on in various
regions "for several years," according to "Siyasat-i Ruz" of April
27.
The deputy secretary-general of Iran’s Drug Control
Headquarters, on the other hand, said on April 26 that the "mass
cultivation" of opium has been eradicated, according to IRNA. He
called claims of opium cultivation fabrications, except in some cases
where it takes place in remote regions.
Regardless of the government’s efforts or talk of
"isolated" opium cultivation, the situation appears to be worsening.
A Health-Care Organization official noted in Aftab-i Yazd" on April
19 that drug abuse is increasing twice as fast as the population
growth rate. Subsequent statements and incidents appearing in the
Iranian media hint at the same conclusion.
The secretary of the national pharmacologists association,
Seyyed Jamal Vaqefi, said in late April that up to $200 million worth
of pharmaceuticals is smuggled into Iran every year, IRNA reported on
April 24. He said those drugs are available in many unregulated
locations, and he claimed that Iranians consume an excessive amount
of drugs.
During a May 16 legislative session, lawmakers from Tabriz
and from Taft, Mohammad Reza Mirtajedini and Jalal Yahyazadeh,
respectively, said that fake tablets of the drug ecstasy were
responsible for the recent deaths of four schoolgirls, "Resalat"
reported. They said the tablets were made from rice pesticide.
Between June 3 and June 9, Iranian police seized more than 5
tons of drugs across the country, IRNA reported on June 13. Moreover,
295 smugglers and 465 addicts were turned over to the judiciary.
(Bill Samii)

FEMALE DEMONSTRATORS IN TEHRAN BEATEN AND DETAINED. Police and
security forces, including baton-wielding female agents, beat mostly
female demonstrators gathered in central Tehran on June 12 to call
for equal civil and legal rights for women in Iran, RFE/RL’s
Radio Farda reported the same day. One unnamed participant told Radio
Farda that "a very large crowd" of demonstrators included older
women, girls, and boys. Another witness told Radio Farda that police
surrounded the crowd, then began to break up the gathering,
apparently before the protest event had formally begun, beating
participants and arresting some people, many of whom were driven away
in minivans to unspecified locations. "There has been a lot of
fighting, [and] people were chanting slogans," the witness told Radio
Farda. The source said police commanders and plainclothes agents were
directing the forceful response from a nearby mosque.
A security official said on June 12 that the organizers of
the event did not have a permit and it was therefore illegal, IRNA
reported. Ali Jahanbakhsh, director-general for political and police
affairs of the Tehran Governor-General’s Office, said that any
group that wants to hold a rally or other demonstration must first
obtain a permit from the Tehran Governor-General’s Office.
Noted Iranian human rights activist and lawyer Mehrangiz Kar
said at RFE/RL headquarters in Prague on June 12 that the authorities
were aware of plans for the demonstration before it took place, and
the organizers received court summonses.
The Office for Strengthening Unity (Daftar-i Tahkim-i Vahdat,
DTV), a politically active student organization, has denounced
suppression of the women’s rights event, Radio Farda reported on
June 13. The DTV called for the immediate release of the arrested
participants, particularly its own members. They include: Bahareh
Hedayat, Shahla Entessari, Masumeh Loghmani, and Atefeh Yusefi. DTV
spokesman Reza Delbari told Radio Farda that all the detainees were
sent to Evin prison.
Justice Minister Jamal Karimi-Rad said in Tehran on June 14
that "most" of the people arrested at the Tehran rally "are presently
free, and a limited number remain under arrest" while an
"interrogator is pursuing investigations with them," the Iranian
Students News Agency (ISNA) reported the same day. Karimi-Rad said
student detainees have been released so they could study for coming
university exams.
A journalist arrested that day, Taraneh Bani-Yaqub, has also
been released, RFE/RL’s Radio Farda reported on June 14. She was
one of four reporters arrested on June 12 while covering the protest;
another, Lila Farhadpur, was released hours later, Reporters Without
Borders stated on its website on June 13. It was unclear whether the
two others the group reported as detained — Bahman Ahmadi-Amui and
Jila Bani-Yaqub — have been released. (Bill Samii, Vahid Sepehri)

REFORMERS URGED TO UNITE FOR POLLS. Hadi Qabel, a member of the
reformist Participation Front, told the Iranian Labor News Agency
(ILNA) on June 11 that he was certain reformers will agree on a
limited number of candidates for elections to the Assembly of Experts
— a senior body of clerics — due on November 17. He expressed hope
that a consensus would end existing divisions among reformist
parties, and allow for a reformist alliance in local council
elections after the Experts polls.
A former deputy interior minister, Mahmud Mirluhi, told ISNA
the same day that divisions have been the principal cause of
reformist defeats in the country’s last three elections. A
consensus, he said, is "the only…suitable strategy" for reformers
if they wish to compete in coming elections, while continued discord
is a "gift to…rivals." He said that Expediency Council chief Akbar
Hashemi-Rafsanjani, a key regime official usually considered a
conservative, is now a reformer. "Given the conduct of conservatives,
Hashemi’s sidelining and recent Qom incidents, he must be placed
in the reformist camp," he said. Rafsanjani was heckled — apparently
by right-wing radicals — as he spoke in Qom on June 5. (Vahid
Sepehri)

CENTRAL BANK ANNOUNCES UNEMPLOYMENT FIGURES FOR PREVIOUS YEAR. A new
report from the Central Bank of Iran states that the national
unemployment rate was 12.1 percent as of March 20, 2006, Fars News
Agency reported on June 5. The overall population was 68.6 million
and the working population was 22.3 million. (Bill Samii)

ACADEMICS WARN OF NEGATIVE ECONOMIC TRENDS. Fifty academics have
written to President Ahmadinejad warning him about the state of
Iran’s economy and criticizing economic policies as inflationary
and against set economic plans, RFE/RL’s Radio Farda reported on
June 15. New York-based academic Siamak Shojai told Radio Farda that
a group of people who have been neutral or technocratic since
Iran’s 1979 revolution have for the first time engaged themselves
in the public sphere. Shojai described the move as an important step
toward identifying some of Iran’s problems. "For the first
time…a number of academics and specialists that have worked as
technocrats in these years have come forward," he said. In their
letter, Shojai told Radio Farda, the economists highlighted
grievances like excessive state intervention in business and
employment regulations as well as noting increased imports and
government spending, but also pointed to broader issues that have led
to economic problems.
A deputy head of Iran’s state customs authority told Fars
News Agency on June 11 that Iran will raise tariffs on a number of
imported goods in a move that it quotes a prominent businessman as
describing as contradictory with Iran’s stated bid to join the
World Trade Organization (WTO). Mahmud Beheshtian suggested import
duties will be raised on mobile telephones, household durables,
clothes, textiles, meat, fruit products such as juice concentrate,
and sugar, Fars reported. In the case of silk, he said, the increase
is tenfold. But Masud Daneshmand, a businessman and member of the
Iran Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told IRNA that such moves
threaten to sidetrack Iran’s accession to the WTO and contradict
its public welcome of WTO observer status. Higher duties are an
injustice to Iranian consumers, Daneshmand said, and the government
can back domestic producers through other means, such as long-term,
interest-free loans.
Separately, the agriculture jihad minister — who oversees
Iran’s rural-development programs — informed legislators on June
11 that Iran intends to be self-sufficient in rice production "in the
next three years," ISNA reported. Mohammad Reza Eskandari said every
Iranian currently consumes an average 36-37 kilograms of rice per
year.
Iranian officials, traders, and businessmen met in Tehran on
June 13 to discuss Iran’s decision to hike tariffs on some 1,000
imported goods in the Persian year to March 20, 2007, Radio Farda
reported on June 14. The tariffs are intended to protect Iranian jobs
when many Iranian manufactures cannot compete with equivalent
imports, Radio Farda reported. It quoted the head of the Tehran
Chamber of Commerce, Alinaqi Khamushi, as telling Industries Minister
Alireza Tahmasbi that "we should not be afraid of the facts…90
percent of our products are no longer competitive."
Tahmasbi said in Tehran on June 13 that Iran does not
consider high tariffs a long-term means of boosting or improving
domestic production, ILNA reported the same day. But he said tariffs
in Iran were lowered in recent years without proper study beforehand.
It may take Iran up to a decade to join the World Trade Organization,
he said, and meanwhile, many countries impose tariffs on imported
manufactures or have protective or "antidumping" regulations, "but
Iran does not have this mechanism," ILNA reported. (Vahid Sepehri)

EXILED OPPOSITIONIST SAYS IRGC TURNING TO BIG BUSINESS. Prominent
Iranian oppositionist Mohsen Sazegara told Radio Farda on June 11
that the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has become
increasingly involved in large-scale economic and construction
projects in the past 15 years and is moving away from its initial
mission as a popular army to defend Iran and its post-1979
revolutionary regime. He said the most recent example is a $1.3
billion project — signed last week between the IRGC and the National
Iranian Gas Company, which is affiliated with the Oil Ministry —
whereby the IRGC will build a pipeline to transport gas from Asaluyeh
in southern Iran to the eastern Sistan va Baluchistan Province.
The IRGC is reportedly implementing 247 other "economic
projects," Radio Farda added, quoting IRGC commander Abdolreza
Abedzadeh. Sazegara, who was imprisoned in Iran in 2003 for his open
advocacy of a secular, democratic system, said the IRGC’s power
and close ties to the state effectively nullify domestic competition
for projects. The IRGC has become a "full-blown party" involved in
various private and public activities, he told Radio Farda. (Vahid
Sepehri)

TEHRAN NOTES ‘POSITIVE’ ASPECTS OF INTERNATIONAL NUCLEAR
PROPOSAL. Iran’s ranking nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, said
in Cairo on June 11 that the offer by six major powers on its nuclear
program, which may include technology transfers and other incentives
in exchange for a freeze by Iran on sensitive fuel-making activities,
is "positive" but sections on uranium enrichment need clarification,
Reuters reported the same day. Iran has repeated that it has a right
to make nuclear fuel. Critics want Iran to drop the fuel-making
process because of its potential bomb-making applications.
In Tehran on June 11, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza
Assefi said Iran will examine Western proposals "and prepare our
proposals," for which no deadline has been set, "Aftab-i Yazd"
reported on June 12. He said Iran accepts some of the proposals it
has read and considers others "ambiguous" and others "unnecessary,"
the daily added. Iran will not drag out this process, Assefi said,
but it needs time to examine the proposals. The contents of the
Western package of proposals have not been officially disclosed.
A member of the Iranian parliament’s national security
and foreign policy committee, Rashid Jalali-Jafari, said in Tehran on
June 11 that Iran will not "cross its red line" — that is, the
cessation of uranium enrichment — unless any suspension is temporary
and limited "and does not endanger Iran’s national interests,"
ISNA reported the same day. Many Iranian officials have rejected a
suspension of enrichment outright. Jalali-Ja’fari said that Iran
has "absolutely no intention of setting aside this technology," but
he added that if Western proposals "are such that the suspension of
enrichment helps national interests," there would be "no problem"
accepting suspension "for a short time."
Parliamentary speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel said separately
that Europe’s "return to negotiations is a victory for Iran,
Europe, and international bodies," ILNA reported on June 11. He said
the return to talks shows Europe’s "independence," while the
resolution of international crises through diplomacy boosts the
credibility of international bodies. Iranian officials, he said, will
certainly respond to recent EU proposals on Iran’s nuclear
program, ILNA reported.
Government spokesman Gholam-Hussein Elham said in Tehran on
June 12 that Iran’s positions on the nuclear fuel cycle and
"peaceful nuclear technology" are "clear," and that "we have said our
country has attained this technology, and this is a recognized right"
of Iran, ISNA reported the same day. He said Iran will not discuss
its "evident right" with the five permanent members of the Security
Council plus Germany, the states most actively involved in the effort
to curb Iran’s nuclear program. "That is because it is not
acceptable in international norms for a country to negotiate over its
evident, legal, and recognized rights, and this is not negotiable,"
he said, adding that Iran could discuss "shared concerns" about its
program.
Iran, Elham added, is examining its own nuclear dossier
proposals to the great powers and will make statements at an
unspecified date. He separately dismissed safety concerns over the
Bushehr nuclear plant being built on the Persian Gulf. Gulf neighbors
have in the past expressed concern over its environmental impact.
Elham said Western and Eastern specialists have participated in the
project and "the highest standards" have been respected, ISNA
reported.
An unnamed U.S. State Department official told Reuters in
Vienna on June 12 that Iran must not be allowed to examine
"indefinitely" a recent proposal concerning its nuclear program while
at the same time continuing to pursue sensitive fuel-making and
related activities. He was speaking on the sidelines of a meeting of
the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) governing board, which
met the same day to discuss Iran’s program. He added that
ministers from the Group of Eight (G8) industrialized countries will
likely discuss "where we stand on Iran" at a scheduled meeting on
June 29-30, Reuters reported.
Also on June 12, IAEA Director-General Muhammad el-Baradei
said Iran needs to improve its cooperation with the UN nuclear
inspectorate, and he urged Iran to help clarify remaining questions
on its nuclear program, Reuters reported. Reuters also quoted the EU
High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier
Solana as saying in Luxembourg on June 12 that he hopes to contact
Iran by June 17-18 to learn its views on the nuclear proposal.
In a related matter, the European Union is to present the
IAEA with a document noting that "concerns" persist over Iran’s
contested atomic program and urging Iran to "respond positively" to a
recent package of proposals designed to encourage Tehran to curb
sensitive nuclear activities, AP reported, citing a draft of the
document. The document threatens possible "further steps…in the UN
Security Council" if Iran "remains defiant," but mentions no possible
use of force, AP added.
The U.S. envoy at the IAEA, Gregory Schulte, speaking in
Vienna on June 14, also threatened "further steps" if Iran "chooses
not to negotiate" over its program. AP noted that the language by
both parties was intended to avoid provoking Iranian intransigence as
it mulls over the proposal.
Manuchehr Mottaki said in a telephone conversation with
Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D’Alema on June 14 that the EU
proposals are a step forward in the dispute and that Iran is
carefully considering them, IRNA and ANSA reported. D’Alema told
ANSA that he thinks direct talks with Iran could help persuade it to
accept the proposals. Mottaki was in Madrid, where he met with
Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, AFX News reported.
He said at Madrid airport that the resolution of Iran’s
disagreement with the international community will require efforts to
assure "a country’s right to develop a certain type of energy"
but also to resolve other states’ possible concerns, ANSA
reported.
In Tehran the same day, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman
Hamid Reza Assefi said he is hopeful about the prospects of talks
with the EU if "reason predominates," Fars News Agency reported.
Assefi claimed that "most of the international community now supports
Iran’s nuclear activities." Not only has the United States failed
to create a consensus against Iran, Assefi argued, but "a consensus
has taken shape against America’s positions toward Iran,"
farsnews.com reported.
Meanwhile, Nonaligned Movement (NAM) states are to reissue a
previous statement supporting Iran’s program, Reuters reported on
June 14. A May 30 statement by NAM members backed Iran’s
fuel-making activities, Reuters reported. It quoted Iran’s envoy
at the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, as saying in Vienna on June 14
that "we really appreciate it" and that "NAM support for us" in the
past three years has been "very valuable." (Vahid Sepehri)

SCHOLAR SUGGESTS IRANIAN WEAPONS PROGRESS UNDERESTIMATED. Graham
Allison, director of the Belfer Center for Science and International
Affairs at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, writes
in the June 13 issue of "Yale Global Online" that "the American
intelligence community may be seriously underestimating Iran’s
progress toward a nuclear bomb." Allison claims inaccurate
assessments of Iraq’s alleged weapons capabilities have led to
excessive caution regarding Iran, and he describes as worrisome the
unanimity of the intelligence community that Iran is unlikely to have
a nuclear weapon until the next decade. Before the Iraq war, he says,
the community was fairly united in its belief about Iraqi weapons
efforts.
Allison says he questions the assumption that an Iranian
freeze of overt nuclear activities would solve the problems, and he
asks whether success in the open activities is necessarily connected
with success in the clandestine ones. Allison also asks if Iranian
scientists have passed an intellectual "point of no return." Allison
raises the possibilities that Iran has purchased highly enriched
uranium internationally and is already building bombs or that it has
purchased nuclear warheads internationally and is placing them on its
Shihab-3 missiles. (Bill Samii)

SUPREME LEADER PRAISES NUCLEAR ACHIEVEMENTS. Supreme Leader Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei praised Iran’s scientific achievements in a speech
to nuclear-industry officials in Tehran on 15 June and said
development of the country’s nuclear technology is far more
important than oil discovery and extraction, ISNA reported the same
day. Iran earns the bulk of its revenues through the sale of crude
oil. Khamenei said Iran will not "give in to…pressures" exerted by
Western powers who fear Iran will develop nuclear weapons and will
continue its nuclear program.
Iranian Atomic Energy Organization chief Gholamreza Aqazadeh
addressed the same gathering, saying his organization has formed
several research and specialist training centers for new personnel,
ISNA reported. (Vahid Sepehri)

NEW SIGNALS COULD HINT AT NUCLEAR PRESSURE FROM MOSCOW, BEIJING.
Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad on June 16 called a package of
international incentives aimed at persuading Tehran to abandon
sensitive nuclear activities "a step forward." The comments come one
day after Ahmadinejad met with the Russian and Chinese presidents on
the sidelines of a Eurasian summit in Shanghai. Moscow and Beijing
have resisted Western efforts to seek UN Security Council sanctions
against Iran, but recent events suggest they are also pressing Tehran
to make some concessions to international concerns.
President Ahmadinejad’s encouraging assessment of the
incentives package was accompanied by less clear language about when
Iran will formally respond to the offer.
"We see this [package] overall as a step forward, and I’ve
asked my colleagues to carefully consider it," Ahmadinejad said. "God
willing, we will express our views within the framework of the
national interests of the Islamic Republic of Iran."

Ready For Dialog?

The comments are Ahmadinejad’s first public response to
the package, and come less than 24 hours after talks with Russian
President Vladimir Putin. Putin had emerged from that June 15 meeting
claiming that Iran was "positively" assessing the offer.
Putin also said Ahmadinejad had assured him that Iran was
ready to resume dialog on its controversial nuclear program.
The package of proposals is backed by the five permanent
members of the UN Security Council (Britain, China, France, Russia,
and the United States) plus Germany.
It reportedly contains a number of industrial and economic
incentives, including the possible lifting of some U.S. trade
sanctions against Tehran. It is also believed to include the supply
of at least one light-water nuclear reactor to Iran.
U.S. officials have warned that if Iran turns down the
incentives, it could face "the weight of the Security Council," which
could push for sanctions.
Today in Shanghai, President Ahmadinejad rejected the threat
of sanctions to pressure his country on the nuclear issue.
"I think the word ‘sanction’ should be removed from
the political [lexicon]," Ahmadinejad said. "Sanctions should not be
used as a threat or as a tool for exerting pressure."
Ahmadinejad — who has repeatedly invoked national pride in
defending Iranian nuclear activities — said his country supports
"constructive talks on equal footing."

Some Skepticism

Ahmadinejad also said that Iran is not seeking to develop
nuclear weapons.
Despite similar comments by Iranian officials, Western
countries are concerned that Iran could use enriched uranium, for
producing nuclear bombs. The United States have accused Tehran of a
covert nuclear weapons program. The UN’s nuclear watchdog, the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), says Iran has failed to
convince it that its nuclear efforts are purely peaceful in nature.
Today, Chinese media quoted President Hu Jintao as telling
Ahmadinejad that while China understands Iran’s concern over its
right to a peaceful nuclear program, "the critical point" is "to
build mutual trust between Iran and the international community."
President Putin said after the meeting with Ahmadinejad on
June 15 that any country, including Iran, has a right to use nuclear
technology. But he added that countries must do it in a way that
"does not arouse the concerns of the international community on the
nonproliferation issue."

Mounting Pressure

Ahmadinejad did not disclose the details of his talks with
Putin or Hu. But he said "our views and positions on many issue are
close, or even identical."
Russia and China, which each have significant economic
interests in Iran, have pressed for negotiations to defuse the
standoff with the United States and Europe over Iran’s nuclear
program.
Both countries have called on Iran to seriously consider the
current offer.
Chinese President Hu reportedly said the package of
incentives provides a "new opportunity for the settlement of the
issue."
The U.S. ambassador to the IAEA, Gregory L. Schulte, has
called on Iran to respond positively to the offer and suspend its
uranium enrichment.
The United States and the other five countries that agreed on
the package have not set a concrete deadline for Iran to respond.
EU foreign policy chief Solana said on June 14 that he has
held "constructive" telephone conversations with Iran’s top nuclear
negotiator, Ali Larijani.
Solana had officially conveyed the package of incentives to
Iran during a visit to Tehran on June 6.
Agencies report that EU leaders gathered at an EU summit in
Brussels are expected later today to call on Iran to take the
"positive path" and give an "early response" to the package.
On June 15, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jintao
said that Iranian officials might need "some extra time" before they
can formally react to the proposals.
Iranian officials have said they will respond in "due course"
while stressing that talks should be "unconditional." (Golnaz
Esfandiari)

TURKEY DEPORTS IRANIAN AZERI LEADER. Mahmudali Chehraganli, one of
the leaders of the Southern Azerbaijan National Awakening Movement
that claims to represent Iran’s large Azeri minority, was
apprehended on June 9 by Turkish police on the grounds that his life
was allegedly in danger and deported to Azerbaijan, his country of
choice, day.az reported on June 10. Chehraganli reportedly arrived in
Turkey on June 5 from the United States, and told journalists there
he planned to travel to Baku on June 16, whereupon Iran’s
ambassador in Baku, Afshar Suleimani, commented that he does "not
think that the Azerbaijani authorities will issue him a visa and
permit him to carry on his work here."
According to an unconfirmed report by the opposition
newspaper "Yeni Musavat" on June 11, Azerbaijani National Security
Ministry officials arrested Chehraganli in Baku late on June 10,
together with his daughter who was accompanying him, and put them
both on a plane to Dubai.
Chehraganli told day.az in a June 13 interview that he
arrived legally in Baku, having obtained a visa, but was subsequently
detained by security officials who demanded that he leave the country
immediately, and after being taken with his family directly to Baku
airport, he decided to fly to New York, where the Movement has an
office. Chehraganli said that his arrival in Baku "disturbed someone,
and the Azerbaijani government acted in accordance with the wishes"
of the Iranian authorities.
However, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov
denied on June 12 that Chehraganli was constrained to leave Baku on
June 10, day.az reported. Mammadyarov said Chehraganli left
Azerbaijan of his own volition after consultations with persons
Mammadyarov did not name. The Azerbaijani National Security Ministry
similarly denied on June 12 that Chehraganli was deported. (Liz
Fuller)

SAUDI, IRAQI OFFICIALS VISIT TEHRAN. Saudi Foreign Minister Saud
al-Faisal was in Tehran on June 12 to meet with President Mahmud
Ahmadinejad and Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki to discuss
regional politics, the nuclear dossier, and Iraq, ISNA reported.
Al-Faisal said after his meeting with Mottaki that "Saudi Arabia
supports the peaceful resolution of Iran’s nuclear issue" and is
grateful that Iran has declared it is not pursuing nuclear weapons.
Ahmadinejad later told him the two states should cooperate in "energy
management" and activate a joint committee to oversee various areas
of bilateral cooperation. He said Iran and Saudi Arabia should work
with Iraq’s government to promote security and progress in Iraq,
ISNA reported.
Separately the same day, Ahmadinejad met with Iraqi Vice
President Adil Abd al-Mahdi in Tehran, ISNA reported. Ahmadinejad
said "intelligence and sympathy" have helped form a new Iraqi
government and are the key to future successes. With such qualities,
he said, Iraqis will prevent "the occupiers" from achieving their
goals of "pillaging Iraq’s resources and the continuation of
insecurity." Al-Mahdi said he hopes for an expansion of Iraq-Iran
ties and Iran’s participation in unspecified water, electricity,
and oil projects, ISNA reported.
Mottaki said in remarks in Madrid published in "El Pais" on
June 15 that there is a "dirty plan" afoot to "create, back, and
continue ethnic and religious confrontations in Iraq and other parts
of the Islamic world." He said Iran supports "all Iraqis," whatever
their ethnic or religious affiliation, and their participation in
Iraq’s government. Unfortunately, he said, "terrorist groups"
have been created "with the financial and military backing
of…specific countries now making propaganda of fighting them under
the banner of the war against terrorism," elpais.es reported. He did
not specify what country he was referring to. "There are no good or
bad terrorists," Mottaki said. He urged the Iraqi government to take
measures to end terrorism on its territory, and said he hopes a date
is set for the departure of foreign coalition forces from Iraq.
(Vahid Sepehri)

SYRIAN MILITARY DELEGATION SIGNS AGREEMENT IN IRAN. Major General
Hussein Firuzabadi, chief of the joint staff of Iran’s armed
forces, met on June 13 in Tehran with the visiting Syrian Defense
Minister General Hassan Turkmani, IRNA reported. Firuzabadi said Iran
is ready to cooperate with Syria, particularly in the area of defense
industries. He also praised Syrian resistance to Israel. The Syrian
delegation arrived in Iran the previous day.
Iranian Minister of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics
Mustafa Mohammad-Najjar met with Turkmani on June 12, Syrian Arab
Television and IRNA reported. According to Syrian television, the two
sides discussed bilateral cooperation, and they described their
defense and military links as a model for the region and a
contributor to peace and stability. Regional topics of discussion
included Iraq, its government, and its territorial integrity, as well
as Palestine. Turkmani said the Syrian and Iranian armed forces must
be prepared to confront the unnamed "joint enemy," and he expressed
support for Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Mohammad-Najjar, according
to IRNA, emphasized Iranian support for Syria and said: "Syria’s
security is considered as part of the security and national interests
of Iran. We find ourselves bound to defend it."
The Iranian and Syrian defense ministers on June 15 signed an
agreement to strengthen their "strategic" relationship, provide a
vigorous response to "disorder and insecurity" in the region, and
form an ongoing joint-defense committee, ISNA reported the same day.
At a subsequent news conference, Mohammad-Najjar said the Syrian
delegation’s visit conveys a message of solidarity between
Islamic states. He said he and Turkmani discussed Iran’s support
for "the Lebanese resistance," presumably the Hizballah, ISNA
reported. "We shall continue to support the resistance, and the
people of Palestine," he said. Mohammad-Najjar suggested that Iran is
not unduly concerned by "America’s threats," and said regional
peoples have come to realize these are "merely psychological
operations…[but] these threats will not get anywhere, and we shall
maintain our course." Iran, he said, will continue missile
"development and research" as part of a defensive policy of
deterrence.
Both ministers stressed that their states consider their
respective security a mutual concern. Turkmani said Iran and Syria
are forming a common front against Israeli threats. "We work to
mobilize movements and forces against America and Israel," Turkmani
said. "We have always consulted, and keep consulting, with Iran in
this regard."
General Karim Qavami, head of Iran’s regular air force,
met with Turkmani in Damascus on June 7, SANA reported. (Bill Samii,
Vahid Sepehri)

AHMADINEJAD ENCOURAGES PALESTINIAN ‘RESISTANCE.’ President
Mahmud Ahmadinejad met on June 11 in Tehran with visiting Palestinian
Foreign Minister Mahmud al-Zahhar, Tehran television and IRNA
reported. Al-Zahhar, who is a senior member of Hamas, was advised by
his host, "You [Palestinians] should intensify your resistance as it
is the key to winning the battle against bullying and spurious
powers," IRNA reported. Ahmadinejad went on to say that the Hamas-led
government should also concentrate on developing Palestine and
exposing the misdeeds of the "Zionist regime," both agencies
reported.
Ahmadinejad said the Islamic community should support the
Palestinian government, and he emphasized Iran’s support for that
government as it tries to "liberate the holy Qods [Jerusalem]."
Ahmadinejad criticized Western support for Israel, IRNA reported.
Al-Zahhar expressed gratitude for continuing Iranian support.
Tehran pledged to assist the Hamas-led government financially after
the United States, EU, and Israel said they would withhold support
pending Hamas’ renunciation of violence and its recognition of
Israel’s right to exist. (Bill Samii)

PUTIN SAYS GAZPROM COULD FINANCE PLANNED IRANIAN PIPELINE. Iranian
President Mahmud Ahmadinejad told his Russian counterpart Vladimir
Putin at the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)
in that Chinese city on June 15 that the two countries should work
together to set gas prices, RIA Novosti reported. "We can closely
cooperate from the standpoint of setting natural-gas prices…in the
interests of global stability," Ahmadinejad argued.
Addressing reporters in Shanghai on June 15, President Putin
said that Gazprom is prepared to help build a proposed natural-gas
pipeline linking Iran to India through Pakistan, international news
agencies reported. He specifically mentioned the possibility of
financial help and called the project, which the United States
opposes, "perfectly feasible" and "perfectly profitable." Iran,
India, and Pakistan have been negotiating for months about the
proposed $7 billion pipeline project. (Patrick Moore)

TAJIK BORDER-GUARD CHIEF MEETS WITH IRANIAN OFFICIALS. The head of
the Tajik border guards, Colonel General Saydamir Zuhurov, returned
to Dushanbe on June 14 after concluding a three-day official visit to
Iran, Asia-Plus reported. Zuhurov met with Islamic Revolution Guards
Corps commander Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi, in Tehran to
discuss the expansion of bilateral cooperation in border security and
the counterterrorism and counternarcotics efforts. (Richard
Giragosian)

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Copyright (c) 2006. RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved.

The "RFE/RL Iran Report" is a weekly prepared by A. William Samii on
the basis of materials from RFE/RL broadcast services, RFE/RL
Newsline, and other news services. It is distributed every Monday.

Direct comments to A. William Samii at [email protected].
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