Author: Emil Lazarian

PRESENCE OF TURKISH TROOPS IN LEBANON WOULD PERPETUATE INSTABILITY IN THE MIDDLE EAST
ArmRadio.am
23.08.2006 13:22
The European-Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy welcomes
with relief the cease-fire that has put an end to the Israeli bombings
of Lebanon and to the suffering of the people. The Federation also
supports the international community’s current efforts aimed at
the normalization of the region under the aegis of the United
Nations. However, the European-Armenian Federation is gravely
concerned about the possibility of Turkish troops participating in
the peacekeeping force in this sensitive region.
“Let’s remember that Turkey is the old colonial power of the Near East
with clear territorial ambitions vis-a-vis Arab countries. Turkey’s
record of genocide, torture and suffering is permanently inscribed
in the collective memory of the Lebanese. Furthermore, Turkey’s
current abuse of its own ethnic minorities, including those of Arab
nationality, is a well-known reality in the region,” declared Hilda
Tchoboian, chairwoman of the European-Armenian Federation.
“The presence of Turkish troops in an international force would
be a serious mistake with dire consequences for the peacekeeping
operations. Turkey is not a peacemaker. Turkish forces will only
aggravate the current delicate situation in South Lebanon by adding
Turkey’s own regional liabilities to the present complexities in
Lebanon. After so much suffering, the Lebanese people deserve better,”
added Hilda Tchoboian.
The European-Armenian Federation also emphasizes that Turkish
troops would be particularly ineffective and inappropriate due to
the fundamental conflict of interest between their responsibility
as credible and responsible peacekeepers and the higher national
interests of Turkey anchored in the extensive requirements of its
military and strategic alliance with Israel.
The Federation therefore urges the international community to make
a more suitable choice for the makeup of the UN peacekeeping force.

RUSSIAN PASSENGER JET CRASHES IN UKRAINE, KILLING ALL 170 ABOARD
Sergei Venyavsky
AP Writer Irina Titova contributed to this report from St. Petersburg.
AP Worldstream
Aug 23, 2006
Investigators on Wednesday combed through the wreckage of a Russian
passenger jet that crashed into a Ukrainian field during a severe
thunderstorm, killing all 170 people aboard.
The flight recorders of the Pulkovo Airlines’ Tu-154 have not been
found.
The recorders could explain the cause of the third fatal crash this
year of a Russian passenger airliner.
Emergency officials said preliminary information suggested that
weather caused the crash about 45 kilometers from the city of Donetsk
in eastern Ukraine.
The plane was flying to St. Petersburg from the Russian Black Sea
resort of Anapa _ a holiday destination popular with families, flying
over Ukraine when it ran into trouble.
“Right now, it is difficult to determine the cause of the accident,”
Ukraine’s Transport Minister Mykola Rudkovsky said in televised
remarks. He noted, however, that weather had been severe, and suggested
the plane might have flown into a cyclone.
Ukrainian officials said a storm with heavy winds, driving rain and
flashes of lightning was raging through the region at the time. Russian
Emergency Situations Ministry spokeswoman Irina Andrianova, citing
information from her Ukrainian counterparts, said the plane was likely
hit by lightning.
The pilot asked to make an emergency landing before disappearing
from the radar screens at around 2:30 p.m. (1130GMT), said Mykhaylo
Korsakov, spokesman for the Donetsk department of Emergency Situations
Ministry, said. Rudkovsky also said that the pilot had asked for
permission to change course by about 20 kilometers (12 miles) to the
east, and was given permission.
The wreckage was found about an hour after the plane disappeared
from radar screens in Sukha Balka, a village about 400 miles (640
kilometers) east of Kiev. Under sunny skies Wednesday, fragments of
the plane _ its engines, parts of the landing gear, the nose and
chunks of the fuselage _ were scattered around fields and a small
forest. Authorities had stretched red tape around a 700 square meters
(7,500 square feet) area as investigators hunted for the flight
recorders.
Vadim Seryogin, head of the team from the Russian Emergency Situations
Ministry, said Russian investigators, prosecutors and security service
officials were at the site. Authorities planned to begin collecting
the bodies later Wednesday, and relatives were expected to visit the
crash scene.
Of the 170 people on board, 45 were children, Pulkovo Airlines
deputy director Anatoly Samoshin told reporters at the St. Petersburg
airport. The list of passengers, most of whom were from St. Petersburg,
appeared to include many families.
The crash was the third major incident involving Russia’s aviation
industry this year. It came less than two months after an Airbus A-310
of the Russian airline S7 skidded off a runway and burst into flames
on July 9 in the Siberian city of Irkutsk, killing 124 people.
On May 3, an A-320 of the Armenian airline Armavia crashed into the
Black Sea while trying to land in the Russian resort city of Sochi
in rough weather, killing all 113 people aboard.
Russian-made Tu-154s are widely used by Russian airlines for many
regional flights.

CONSTRUCTION OF NORTH-SOUTH HIGHWAY HALTED
Lragir.am
23 Aug 06
Recently the construction of North-South Highway in Nagorno Karabakh
Republic has come to a halt, moreover, many sections of the new
road are already ruined. In this connection Armenia Foundation and
the NKR government accuse each other. The causes are said to be the
lack of bitumen, tenders with breaches, etc. We have learned that
Armenia Foundation sent the results of the audit of construction of
the highway to the procuracies of Armenia and Karabakh. It is notable
that the tenders are won by the relatives and friends of high ranking
officials of Armenia and NKR.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

OPPOSITION FINDS OUT THE EXACT NUMBER OF EFFECTIVE MEMBERS
Lragir.am
22 Aug 06
Currently the opposition is preparing for developments in fall and the
parliamentary election by visits to regions, organizational problems
of local organizations and finding out the exact number of their
supporters and members, announced Hrant Khachatryan at the Pastark
Club on August 22 at the Pastark Club. He even emphasized that the
opposition, namely their political party are trying to find out the
number of members of the party who are able to struggle. This may
mean that the opposition is likely to fight for the parliamentary
election. Hrant Khachatryan does not deny this likelihood.
“I said “able to struggle” for those members of our political party
who must be included in the divisional committees.
And considering the former experience, they need to have some features
of gladiators to be able to resist. We are not likely to attack,
I am not calling for an armed confrontation, but people need to be
able to struggle to counteract the armed criminal, empty-handed, and
their clean hands may help them in struggle,” says Hrant Khachatryan.
Hrant Khachatryan says the main strength of the opposition against
the money of Bargavach Hayastan and the criminal of the Republican
Party is the people’s support. He thinks that the situation in the
upcoming parliamentary election will be close to a situation at
war. The leader of the CRU says the opposition is currently holding
debates and meetings to reveal the visible points in common for
cooperation. Hrant Khachatryan says in mid-September the CRU is going
to hold an assembly of the political party. “We think it will be highly
probable and expedient that the opposition come together in control
over elections, but several alliances form before the election, which
would contain more comprehensive ideological projects and elements,”
says Hrant Khachatryan.
He does not deny that the opposition may cooperate with certain
pro-government forces. Hrant Khachatryan is for the elimination of
the barrier between the government and the opposition perceived by the
public. The leader of the CRU says this barrier is the result of the
situation that occurred after October 27. Hrant Khachatryan says,
however, that this division did not facilitate change of power,
whereas the dialogue and debate between the opposition and the
government is a necessary factor for the electoral system, thinks
the leader of the CRU.
“I do not mean a secret arrangement between the opposition and
pro-government forces for some wretched percentage. I mean a serious
public debate on in which sphere, which individuals and which moods
correspond to the aspirations of the public. I think the elections are
not a period of war, but a period when all the forces representing the
public take a serious test,” says the leader of CRU. For his political
party, Hrant Khachatryan says in the process of elections they will try
to cooperate with all the forces working on the level of individuals,
“be it the head of state, the prime minister, the attorney general
or some other influential person.”
“Because they all have serious leverages, the future of the Republic
depends on them. In the course of time using connections, for the
time being, I think that I personally and out political party have
the possibility to appeal to their conscience and thought and we
must use all the possibilities to prevent them from throwing the
history of the nation and people back by another 20 years being led
by their craving for power,” says Hrant Khachatryan. He says he
wishes the pro-government and opposition forces became separated
from the oligarchic criminal element, “even if it is on the level
of individuals, members of some parties”. Hrant Khachatryan thinks
that the prime problem of Armenia is not the steady behavior of the
political force but the establishment of the system of government on
a political organization, it does not matter whether this political
organization is not sustainable and established. Hrant Khachatryan
says Armenia needs a real liberal system, and pseudo-liberalism is
the country’s enemy.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

GOVERNOR OF GEGHARKUNIK MARZ PRESENTS WORK DURING TWO MONTHS OF HIS TERM OF OFFICE TO ARMENIAN PRESIDENT
Noyan Tapan
Aug 22 2006
YEREVAN, AUGUST 22, NOYAN TAPAN. At the August 22 working meeting with
the Armenian President Robert Kocharian, the governor of Gegharkunik
marz Arsen Grigorian presented the main problems of the marz and the
work done during the two months of his term of office. In particular,
they spoke about measures to prevent unauthorized construction on the
shore of Lake Sevan. According to a press release submitted to NT by
the RA President’s press service, Robert Kocharian gave an assignment
to discuss the problem related to the areas surrounding Sevan in
order to stop unauthorized construction in the future. The aim is to
regulate the land allocation problem so as to separate the functions
of land allocating, using and supervisory bodies. During the meeting,
the interlocutors spoke about the government’s assistance to the areas
afflicted by the drought, and about the execution of the community
budgets. They also addressed the construction work being implemented in
the marz, particularly issues related to the construction of community
and intercommunity roads and the construction and repair of schools.

“DAYS OF ARMENIAN CULTURE” TO TAKE PLACE IN KUBAN
Noyan Tapan
Aug 22 2006
TUAPSE, AUGUST 22, NOYAN TAPAN. “Days of Armenian Culture” will take
place in Kuban on August 26 and 27, within the framework of the “Year
of Armenia in Russia.” According to the “Yerkramas” (country) newspaper
of Armenians of Russia, the celebration will open on August 26 in the
village of Tenginka, the region of Tuapse, and will continue on the
next day in the House of Culture of the city of Tuapse. Armenian
amateur groups of folk and estrada music and performers of the
Krasnodar region will participate in the event organized by the
“Hamshen” Armenian cultural-educational union of the city of Tuapse.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

DRAFT LAW ON TOTAL STOCK-TAKING OF AGRICULTURE DEVELOPED
Noyan Tapan
Aug 22 2006
YEREVAN, AUGUST 22, NOYAN TAPAN. The RA National Statistical Service
and the RA Ministry of Agriculture have jointly developed the draft
law on total stock-taking of agriculture, Head of the RA National
Statistical Service Stepan Mnatsakanian stated at the August 22
press conference. In response to a question of NT correspondent,
he said the draft law was developed with the assistance of the
International Food Organization in line with a number of similar laws
of EU countries. According to S. Mnatsakanian, the draft law on total
stock-taking of agriculture is now at the stage of interdepartmental
discussion and will be submitted to the RA government by late
2006. According to S. Mnatsakanian, there are 339 thousand farms in
Armenia. The stock-taking of agricultural capacities was, for the
first and last time, done in 1920.

ARMENIAN REPUBLICAN PARTY AND PROSPEROUS ARMENIA TO BECOME RIVALS AFTER ELECTIONS
Panorama.am
15:14 22/08/06
Hrant Khachatryan, Constitutional Rights Union (CRU) chairman, thinks
that cooperation between the Armenian Republican Party (HHK) and
Prosperous Armenia (PA) is coordinated from the same source. However,
CRU head believes that the two have disagreements. Khachatryan thinks
that the opposition must provoke conflicts between the two making
good of the situation. He also thinks that the rivalry between the
two should be shaped in such a way that the two control each other.
In Khachatryan’s view, HHK and PA will stop their cooperation right
after the parliamentary elections since both of them would like to
have their own candidate as a president.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Turkish Daily News
July 13, 2006 Thursday
Pipeline And Seaport Security
Although it is deprived of oil and natural gas resources, owing to its
geographic position Turkey is about to become one of the most
important transit pipeline countries in the world in the next few
years since our country is not only a key country in terms of
geopolitics but also lies between Europe and a region that accounts
for most of the world’s oil production.
In this context it is possible to talk about an extended Eurasian
project, which the United States purportedly aims to bring into
existence in the region surrounding the Caspian Sea. China and Russia
are not included in this plan, which is whetting the appetite of the
major powers.
Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan — project
countries bounded by the Caspian — have 4.5 billion tons of proven
and 18 billion tons of potential reserves. According to forecasts,
total exports of these countries will reach 52 million tons in 2005,
140 million tons in 2010 and 215 million tons in 2015. The Caspian
region will be the producer of 4.7 million barrels daily, most of
which will be available for export, a figure that can by no means be
underestimated, considering daily oil exports of Saudi Arabia are 7.6
million barrels and Iran 1.9 million barrels.
Pipelines in the surrounding areas:
This is how the need for transporting energy produced in the world’s
biggest reserve basin to the West, primarily through Turkey, emerges
on the basis of a number of criteria.
Oil from the Persian Gulf, except for Iraqi oil flowing through the
Kirkuk-Yumurtalik line, does not concern Turkey, which shows that
Turkey will be the transit line for Caspian oil especially as well as
for Russian and Iranian natural gas. In this context the
1,580-kilometer-long Tengiz (Kazakh)-Novorossisk pipeline with 26
million tons of annual throughput capacity and the Atirau-Samara line
inside Russia with a 15 million/ton annual capacity are important to
us. The fact that oil passing through these pipelines flows into
Russia and not Europe, and their lack of usefulness, particularly for
European Union countries, attaches particular importance to the 1,730
kilometer Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline with a 50 mln/ton
throughput capacity. In addition, there are plans to extend the
project by including Kazakh oil in the BTC. To realize this, the Aktau
(Kazakh-Baku) line will be built.
Another ongoing project planned in Caspian countries that concerns
Turkey is the Baku-Tblisi-Erzurum natural gas pipeline, which is
currently under construction. The following pipelines and pipeline
projects that extend to Western Europe from the Black Sea and bypass
the Turkish straits are:
Burgaz (Bulgaria)-Dedeagac (Greece) (350 km) 30 mln/ton — at project
level
Burgaz-Vlore (Albania) 35 mln/ton — at project level
Baku-Supsa (Georgia) 6 mln/ton — under operation
Odesa-Brodi (inside Ukraine) — operates at 40 mln/ton
In addition, there are the Baku-Novorossiysk (Russia), Tengiz
(Kazakhstan)-Novorossiysk and Baku-Mohachkale (Caucasus)-Novorossiysk
pipelines, which all enable the export of Kazakh and Azerbaijani oil
to the Black Sea, to be shipped on vessels. These pipelines going
around Turkey aim to bring natural gas and oil to world markets,
particularly to Europe. Even though direct pipelines to Europe going
around Turkey are outside the scope of this article, the only routes
apart from the Turkish straits, which are unsuitable for large-scale
transport, available for energy pumped to the Black Sea and which has
no alternative other than being shipped by sea from that point on, are
the Samsun-Ceyhan pipeline and other potential pipelines that can be
connected to Ceyhan. However, it makes better sense to view the
revolution and possibilities brought by the BTC, which forced Russia
to a breaking point where it would have to realize Turkey’s strategic
position in energy transportation in view of the existing pipelines.
BTC and Caspian region
The fate of Central Asian and Caucasian oil under Russia’s control
until now was changed when Azerbaijani oil produced in the Caspian Sea
was pumped to Ceyhan through the BTC. It wouldn’t be a far-fetched
assumption to say that not only the fate of Caspian oil but also the
fate of Caspian countries was changed. For the last 15 years,
strategists have been preoccupied with how Russia — which has been
increasingly using its oil and natural gas as a political weapon —
would act in delivering Caspian energy resources to the world market
and whether it would place countries of the region in a difficult
situation, in such a situation where a pipeline such as the BTC did
not exist.
The preliminary engineering work on the project launched by persistent
efforts of the United States, which saw the risk of Russia using such
a weapon 14 years ago, began on Nov. 15, 2000. The Turkish Petroleum
Corporation (TPAO) would hold 6.35 percent of BTC shares while the
BTC’s major partner, BP Exploration (Caspian) Ltd., would have 30.10
percent of shares, according to this project.
The BTC traverses Azerbaijan and Georgia — the two most important
countries of the Caucasus, one of the world’s most unstable regions —
while it bypasses Armenia, which is at war with Azerbaijan. Meanwhile,
work to bring in oil from Kazakhstan for pumping enough oil to feed
the pipeline has been concluded between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan.
As well as the completion of this pipeline, which created great
repercussions in the world, completion of the Baku-Tblisi-Erzurum
(BTE) pipeline to export natural gas from the Shah Deniz gas field in
the Caspian Sea to Europe through Turkey, and the first gas being
pumped into to the Azerbaijani section of this pipeline, are also good
news of projects completed regarding Turkey’s energy pipelines.
The Russian Federation, which initially objected to U.S. attempts to
pass Caspian oil through an alternative route, namely Turkey, wanted
to prevent former Soviet republics from becoming independent from
Russia. An alternative route would allow Caspian countries to access
the world market at volumes and prices they set independently of
Russia. However, giving up on its Caspian policy after realization of
the project by U.S. efforts, Russia started to concentrate on a
strategy that would make good use of Turkey’s highly advantageous
position as a transit country. Russia now seems to have understood
that Turkey will not let 145 million tons of Caspian oil pumped into
the Black Sea annually be shipped through the Turkish straits for
security reasons as well as for physical restrictions.
Russia and the United States have achieved a political balance in the
Black Sea. Turkey’s rights arising from the 1936 Treaty of Montreux
prevent Russia from pressuring Turkey to allow heavier tanker traffic
in the straits since Russia has now understood that such pressure
would lead to Turkey backing the United States to assert a stronger
presence in the Black Sea region. Russia, having changed strategy in
light of these facts and accepted a political and commercial logic in
its energy policy, is now making plans to make better use of Turkey’s
geographic position to transport oil from the Turkish Black Sea coast
to Ceyhan. Russia’s plans include pumping natural gas and oil to
points further beyond Ceyhan, even to Israel. Another issue worthy of
attention is the potential of Israel — a serious consumer of energy
— to make money on pumping the oil it buys to Southern Asia through
the Ashkelon-Elyat pipeline, which traverses the Red Sea.
Work on pipeline security:
In case all of these pipeline projects are brought to completion,
Turkey, which will then be a significant transit country —
particularly the town of Ceyhan, the end point of most of these
pipelines, will gain strategic status and importance. It is highly
possible that the Ceyhan Port might reach a status similar to that of
Rotterdam, the world’s most important oil port.
However, Caspian oil being pumped down to the eastern Mediterranean
and the Middle East, one of the most troubled regions of the world,
necessitates serious measures to be taken on the part of Turkey in
terms of gulf and terminal security. Security measures tailored to fit
the particularities of the Middle East, abounding with the world’s
bloodiest terrorist organizations, from the pipelines’ point of entry
into our borders, even gathering intelligence and deterring action
beyond our borders, are crucial.
Having fully grasped the importance of the matter, Turkey might be
considered to have laid out the procedures to ensure oil and natural
gas transportation and related security issues to a certain extent in
accordance with the requirements of our day. However, this is not to
say that these procedures and regulations do not provide a clear
explanation of the protection of our ports acting as oil and natural
gas terminals.
Pipeline security and uninterrupted functioning of pipelines are
important national economy and national security issues. At this
point, the security of vessels transporting energy resources within
and outside of Turkey’s territorial waters is of utmost importance in
terms of being a reliable transit country. Sabotage of the
Kirkuk-Yumurtalik pipeline has rendered this pipeline
dysfunctional. The same situation could emerge in the Caucasus,
triggered by the enmity of Armenia against Azerbaijan or potential
initiatives and provocations from other powers in Russia and the
Caucasus and their collaborators at home, who resort to ploys or
playing games in the region.
Despite everything, establishing a special force to secure the safety
of the BTC and assigning the gendarmerie forces the task of ensuring
security on other pipelines demonstrate that Turkey’s approach to the
matter is serious. According to media reports, security measures so
far taken and put into effect concerning the pipelines, the
responsibility of which lies with the state-owned Turkish Pipeline
Company (BOTAS), are:
– BTC crude oil pipeline security: The part of the pipeline in Turkey
during its construction was protected by five gendarmerie stations and
22 gendarmerie squads. Ten gendarmerie stations and 22 gendarmerie
squads will be protecting the pipeline during its operation.-
Iraq-Turkey crude oil pipeline security: This line is under protection
by 21 gendarmerie stations. The remaining three pipelines
(Batman-Dortyol, Ceyhan-Kirikkale, Selmo-Batman) are being protected
by security units under general safety and security rules.-In
addition, work directed towards systems including developments in
crude oil pipeline security and moving pipelines in areas of
settlement outside these areas is under way. A motorcycle squad
patrolling the area 24 hours a day is being planned in this context.
Security of the Ceyhan Port:
Protecting its new position as one of the world’s new energy
crossroads and to further enhance its capacity is of vital importance
in terms of our economic interests.
At this point, total security of the Ceyhan Port and Iskenderun Bay
asserts itself as an issue as important as the security of pipelines
passing through Turkey.
Security of the Port of Samsun, which is the most likely candidate to
become the starting point for the pipelines, is also important from
this point of view.
Having one of greatest naval and air forces of the world, particularly
in the Mediterranean, and having established total control over the
eastern Mediterranean owing to this military power, is a significant
advantage in this context. Northern Cyprus, which faces the Gulf of
Iskenderun, is of crucial importance. At this point all pressure from
the EU or the United States to pull out of Cyprus should be resisted
at all costs. It shouldn’t be forgotten that Britain is not giving up
two of its bases in Cyprus although it has shut down many of its bases
across the world.
The U.S. very recently set up a military command center close to Baku
on the Caspian Sea and two radio stations to be administered from that
command center in close proximity to the Russian and Iranian
border. The United States’ purpose is to be able to keep suspicious
vessels and planes as well as land operations under control and to
monitor all wireless communication, including cellular
phones. Applying this security measure set up at the starting point of
the BTC pipeline against terrorist activity symmetrically in the Gulf
of Iskenderun region and even on northern Cypriot soil at Cape Zafer
in Karpaz could be of great use in terms of security, and it would
also signal the permanence of Turkey’s presence in Cyprus.
Our Southern Sea Field Command has an effective dominance in the
eastern Mediterranean, where clearly more and more pipelines will lead
to. However, in addition to such a military force, specialized units
that can more effectively ensure seaport and shore security have been
organized in developed countries. The Coast Guard Command, founded in
Turkey in 1982 on a very sound decision, is the key power that can
carry out this function.
The role and power of our naval forces are acknowledged in NATO’s
Operation Active Endeavour in the Mediterranean and other
international operations carried out under BLACKSEAFOR and provide a
high degree of security.
Although the level of security in these two seas in general has
reached a state of perfection, setting up a more effective system of
control in the Black Sea and eastern Mediterranean in accordance with
changing conditions and taking precautions against elements posing
risks and threats are important for our country in military, political
and economic terms. The presence of a deterrent, preventive, effective
and flexible security system against risks and threats to our economic
assets and interests as well as against terrorist activity is a
guarantee as important for states and institutions in economic
cooperation with us as it is for us. While the dimension of current
and potential threats is not of a scale our armed forces cannot
tackle, our sea and land forces being better organized to combat
terrorist activity, renewing equipment and training to this purpose
are important in terms of continuation of oil and natural gas flow
from Eurasia and building confidence for starting new projects in
countries of the region.
Effective security factors:
Political issues in the eastern Mediterranean, the lack of authority
and security in the countries of the region and the presence of
terrorist organizations as well as the proximity of these to Ceyhan
are issues meriting attention. Potential threats coming from the sea
include transportation of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), human,
drug and arms trafficking, and terrorist activity. The possibility of
vessels being used as instruments of terrorism should be paid
attention to. It would be beneficial to enhance checkpoint security
and have vessels entering our territorial waters file a
declaration. Work on establishing a Sea Security Coordination Center
should be intensified in this context. Radar, observation, listening
and monitoring systems should be set up for control, which is more
effective and deterring.
Even though the inventory of the Coast Guard Command seems to be
adequate for protecting and guarding our 8,300-kilometer-long coast
line, the Ceyhan and Samsun ports will soon work at a higher capacity
and, parallel to this, the volume of traffic in these ports will
significantly intensify, increasing the burden at these two
ports. Although five new AB412 helicopters, renovation of three CN-235
helicopters for coastal security purposes, 12 KAAN-33 coast guard
boats and six coast guard type 80 boats, which are being planned to be
added into the armed forces’ inventory, would significantly help the
command to carry out its duty as expected, it would be wise to rapidly
and continuously renew equipment and platforms in accordance with the
ever-hanging conditions.
The intensive efforts of the U.S. Coast Guard for coastal security
following the terrorist acts of Sept. 11 are important for proving the
sensitivity of the issue as ports extending over a large area, and the
fields where these ports open to the sea, allow terrorist
organizations that try to make maximum use of today’s advanced
technology and weaponry to move comfortably. We need to grasp this
fact and increase the number of flying platforms of the Coast Guard
Command. Another issue worthy of attention is the possibility of
criminal organizations draining toxic waste into areas close to our
shores.
As some circles speculate, the question of whether the amount of money
Turkey will spend on all these security measures would be covered by
the estimated $300 million from the BTC is a matter of mathematical
calculation. However, ensuring the sustainable energy security of our
country, which imports 72 percent of its energy and creates surplus
value in the economy through rational policies, employing the
advantages of Turkey’s geopolitical significance and increasing the
country’s power and potential to supply energy for the rest of the
world, is also important. Our gains will be worth the expense in any
case and will allow Turkey to ascend higher in the world as it
deserves as well as enhance our relations with the countries of the
Caspian region and the Central Asian Turkic republics.
Table:
Inventory of the Turkish Coast Guard Command:
Floating platforms:
12 – 80 Class boats
5 – Kaan-29 Class boats
18 – Kaan-15 Class boats
4 – SAR-35 Class boats
10 – SAR-33 Class boats
10 – Turkish-type boats
8 – 70-ton boats
10 – Metal coastal patrol craft
Flight platforms:
9 – AB-412 EP helicopters
3 – CASA-CN 235 aircraft *Ali Kulebi is acting president of the
National Security Strategies Research Center (TUSAM). He can be
contacted at [email protected]
Copyright 2006 Financial Times Information
Global News Wire – Asia Africa Intelligence Wire
Copyright 2006 Turkish Daily News Source: Financial Times Information
Limited – Middle East Intelligence Wire
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
_________________________________________ ____________________
RFE/RL Iran Report
Vol. 9, No. 31, 22 August 2006
A Review of Developments in Iran Prepared by the Regional Specialists
of RFE/RL’s Newsline Team
******************************************** ****************
HEADLINES
* HAILING HIZBALLAH ‘VICTORY,’ IRANIAN OFFICIALS CONDEMN U.S., U.K., ISRAEL, AND UN
* IRAN’S AMBITIONS WORRY LEBANESE LEGISLATOR
* UN NUCLEAR RESOLUTION DISMISSED BY IRANIANS
* U.S. TREATMENT OF WOULD-BE IRANIAN VISITORS CAUSES WORRY
* CHINA GETS NEW IRANIAN ENVOY
* PRESIDENTIAL CABINET COMES IN FOR CRITICISM
* PUBLICATIONS ENCOUNTER LEGAL DIFFICULTIES
* POLICE CONFISCATE SATELLITE DISHES
* AHMADINEJAD MAKES PROVINCIAL VISIT
* POLICE AMBUSH BACKFIRES
* KURDS SHELLED BY IRAN AND TURKEY
* IRANIAN-AMERICAN SENTENCED FOR TRYING TO SEND DUAL-USE GOODS TO IRAN
* IRAN REPORTEDLY ACTING AGAINST BIRD FLU, CHOLERA
* CRACKDOWN ON ILLEGAL FOREIGN WORKERS
* IRAN WILL IMPORT FUEL TO MEET DEMAND
******************************************* *****************
HAILING HIZBALLAH ‘VICTORY,’ IRANIAN OFFICIALS CONDEMN U.S.,
U.K., ISRAEL, AND UN. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wrote to
the Hizballah chief Hassan Nasrallah on August 17 to congratulate him
on what he termed a “victory for Islam” over Israeli forces in
Lebanon, Hizballah’s Al-Manar television and the Islamic Republic
News Agency (IRNA) reported the same day. Hizballah faced off Israeli
attacks in Lebanon from July 12 to August 14.
“You imposed your military superiority over” Israel and
“ridiculed the myth of invincibility and false aura of the Zionist
army,” IRNA quoted Khamenei as saying in the letter. He added that
the war showed “the real face of American rulers and some European
countries” who he described as standing by “the disgusting and hated
face” of Israel. Khamenei claimed the Israeli operations “showed what
disasters can befall human societies when the rulers of countries are
detached from mercy…and reason and sincerity.”
Khamenei also said Hizballah resistance has thwarted the
United States’ and Israel’s “illusory plan for the Middle
East.” But in a presumed reference to postwar plans to extend
Lebanese government control to Hizballah-controlled areas and disarm
the group, Khamenei warned that the “enemy is now trying to cut this
potent…arm, sow discord among statesmen, and sow the virus of
impatience and doubt.”
Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani told
reporters in Tehran on August 16 that the United States and United
Kingdom are responsible for all the Lebanese who died in the recent
conflict with Israel and for all the damage to Lebanese
infrastructure, IRNA reported. Larijani praised what he described as
Hizballah’s victory, and he added that “Hizballah is a matter of
honor for all Arab states.” Larijani said UN Security Council
Resolution 1701, which halted the conflict, should have come much
sooner. He also criticized aspects of it for interfering with
internal Lebanese politics.
President Mahmud Ahmadinejad said during his tour of Ardabil
Province on August 16 that the United States and United Kingdom
should be expelled from the Security Council, IRNA reported. “Those
intending to block global peace and tranquility from taking hold are
not qualified to be in the [Security Council],” he said, adding that
the United States and United Kingdom should face a war crimes trial.
Earlier in the day, Ahmadinejad said the United Nations is a
tool of the United States and Israel, IRNA reported.
Also on August 16, the legislature’s national security
and foreign policy committee issued a statement calling for Israel to
be punished for “crimes against humanity” and for it to pay
compensation to Lebanon, IRNA reported.
Ahmadinejad told a crowd in the northwestern city of Ardabil
on August 15 that “we can see that God’s pledges came true in
Lebanon” as he hailed a Hizballah “victory” in the recent
Israeli-Lebanese conflict, state television reported. Israel once saw
itself as “invincible,” Ahmadinejad continued, but Hizballah defeated
“these idolatrous powers within 33 days with the help of God, and
[now they] fly the flag of victory in the proud Lebanon.”
The parliament’s speaker, Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, said on
August 15 that Hizballah emerged as the victor in its recent conflict
with Israel, IRNA reported. “The army of the Zionist regime showed
itself powerless for the first time after failing to break the
determination of the Lebanese people and the Islamic resistance
movement [Hizballah] 33 days after the start of the war in Lebanon,”
Haddad-Adel said. He went on to congratulate the Lebanese people —
nearly 1 million of whom were displaced by the fighting — and
government, as well as Hizballah Secretary-General Sheikh Hassan
Nasrallah. Haddad-Adel also spoke out against Arab states that were
silent, and he criticized UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which
ushered in a cease-fire.
Hojatoleslam Ahmad Khatami, a substitute Tehran Friday Prayer
leader and member of the Assembly of Experts, said on August 15 that
the conflict in Lebanon should serve as a lesson to Israel and the
United States if they are considering an attack on Iran, state
television reported. “The Lebanese Hizballah’s 70-kilometer-range
missiles transformed Israel into a country of ghosts,” Khatami said.
“So if one day they decide to carry out even a minor aggression
against Iran, they must fear the day that our 2,000-kilometer-range
missiles strike the heart of Tel Aviv.” Israel and the United States
should forsake “their aggression and expansionist policies,” Khatami
said. (Vahid Sepehri, Bill Samii)
IRAN’S AMBITIONS WORRY LEBANESE LEGISLATOR. Lebanese
parliamentarian Walid Jumblatt, who is the leader of the Druze sect
and the Progressive Socialist Party, has spoken out against the
Iranian and Syrian roles played in his country’s affairs, “Le
Monde” reported on August 15. Jumblatt conceded that Hizballah has
destroyed the image of Israeli invincibility but put it in the
context of “the Syrian-Iranian game.” “Iran is negotiating on the
scorched earth of Lebanon the terms of the continuation of its
nuclear program,” Jumblatt said. “As for Syria, it wants to avenge
itself in Lebanon, from which its troops were chased out [in April
2005], and it is now sidelined by Iran.” Jumblatt added, “The Syrians
and Iranians wasted no time saying that the UN resolution [1701] is
not in Lebanon’s interest.” (Bill Samii)
UN NUCLEAR RESOLUTION DISMISSED BY IRANIANS. President Mahmud
Ahmadinejad said in the Ardabil Province city of Kosar on August 17
that Western states are in no position to denounce others as threats
to international peace when “they are the only group that violates
the independence of states,” IRNA reported. “These are the people”
who bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, he said, “and are now
taking on a peace-loving countenance and depriving the Iranian nation
of its right to use peaceful nuclear energy.” He said Iran has
repeatedly stated the peaceful aims of its nuclear program, and “in
spite of [its] clarifications, they say Iran may [deviate] toward
making a nuclear bomb,” IRNA reported.
“The governments that make this charge against Iran must
themselves be disarmed,” he said. Ahmadinejad added that when “a
group appears and tries to stand up” to these states “and reveals
their dirty face to the world, they label them terrorists.” He said
unspecified efforts to sow discontent in Iran would fail. “They think
that by provoking certain people…and with their public postures,
they can create divisions between the people of Iran,” when “Iran is
a large, close-knit family,” he said.
Speaking in Tehran on August 16, Foreign Minister Manuchehr
Mottaki said after a meeting with Malian Foreign Minister Moctar
Ouane that Iran is willing to discuss the suspension of uranium
enrichment with Europe, Radio Farda and IRNA reported. There is no
rationale for a suspension, he added, but Tehran is willing to talk
about that or any other subject.
Supreme National Security Council Secretary Larijani said
during an August 16 meeting in Tehran with Chinese Deputy Foreign
Minister Cui Tiankai that UN Security Council Resolution 1696, which
calls on Iran to suspend nuclear enrichment activities by August 31,
will not affect the country’s nuclear policy, state television
reported. Larijani said the issue can be resolved through dialogue
and added that Tehran will respond on August 22 to the international
package of incentives it received in early June. Larijani said Iran
intends to begin industrial-scale uranium enrichment and that it is
entitled to do so.
Kermanshah parliamentary representative Jahanbakhsh Amini
noted that 14 of 15 Security Council members voted in favor of the
resolution (Qatar opposed it), “Aftab-i Yazd” reported on August 15,
and said Tehran must take serious diplomatic measures if it wants to
dissuade other countries from joining this group. Tabriz
representative Eshrat Shayeq described the resolution as
“unacceptable” and added that “neither we nor any other country
consider ourselves as obligated to pay for the political
reconstruction of superpowers.” She accused Washington of trying to
impose its will, and she added that the UN and the Security Council
are not impartial.
In an August 14 speech to the nation on the state of the
economy, President Ahmadinejad discussed the nuclear situation,
saying that those who have harnessed the use of nuclear power are
trying to prevent Iran from doing so, state television reported. He
accused other countries of trying to undermine Iranians’ unity,
and Ahmadinejad said it is bad for Iranians to speak with multiple
voices. “They lie when they claim that they have given up trying to
create discord among us,” he charged. Ahmadinejad also detailed his
administration’s accomplishments and described the steps he has
taken to deal with unemployment and waste. (Vahid Sepehri, Bill
Samii)
U.S. TREATMENT OF WOULD-BE IRANIAN VISITORS CAUSES WORRY. Iran is
protesting the detention and fingerprinting of a group of Iranian
academics and engineers when they tried to enter the United States to
attend a scientific gathering. They all had valid entry visas and
were bound for a northern Californian reunion organized by alumni of
Tehran’s prestigious Sharif University of Technology on August
4-6. Iranians living in the United States have expressed fear that
the travelers were victims of rising tensions between Washington and
Tehran.
Behnam Kamrani was among the Iranian engineers, scientists,
and company executives who traveled to the United States to attend a
forum on disaster management and entrepreneurship in Santa Clara,
California.
Kamrani is a Sharif University alumni who currently lives in
Sweden and works for a U.S. company. He told Radio Farda that upon
his arrival at Minneapolis airport, he was simply told his visa has
been revoked.
“We had requested a visa, [and] the U.S. Embassy did a
background check on us and gave a positive answer,” Kamrani said.
“They issued the visa, [and] we bought a ticket and informed them as
to the date on which we would enter the U.S. Then, when we got to the
U.S., everything collapsed. They temporarily detained and
interrogated us and asked us strange questions.”
Despite the nine hours that Kamrani spent at the airport
before being sent back, he considers himself among the lucky ones.
Academics who had entered the United States at other ports of
entry — including Los Angeles and San Francisco — appear to have
faced tougher conditions. Some have described their experience as a
“nightmare,” and said that they had to spend the night in a jail
alongside criminals.
Kamrani recalls meeting a few of them: “They had handcuffed
them and taken them to a prison. One lady who had two daughters said
they had separated them during the night. The ladies said that a man
who was in charge had told them the next day — when they were about
to be sent back — that the visas were canceled because it was
thought likely that those who come from Iran might exchange
information about the nuclear issue.”
Some of the Iranians claim to have been told that their visas
were revoked due to U.S. national security concerns. They were
reportedly given the choice of withdrawing their applications or
being deported.
Some said they were told that they could not apply for U.S.
visas for up to 10 years.
Several of the detainees have said they were insulted and
humiliated, and subjected to what they have described as harsh
treatment.
Conference organizers have said that more than 50 Iranians in
all were refused entry and sent back to Iran.
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Janelle Hieronymus declined
to explain the refusals, saying only that “all visa applications are
adjudicated in accordance with the U.S. Immigration And Nationality
Act. Each application for a visa is adjudicated on a case-by-case
basis.”
State Department official Laura Tischler would not comment on
specific cases to RFE/RL, but she noted that U.S. officials are
obliged to turn away anyone whose visa has been revoked.
Tischler suggested that the Iranians’ visas might have
been revoked “when they arrived, or when they were in transit.”
Some observers speculate that the travelers are victims of
growing U.S.-Iranian tensions over the current conflict in Lebanon
and Iran’s refusal to abandon sensitive nuclear activities.
Najmedin Meshkati, a graduate and professor at the University
of Southern California’s Viterbi School of Engineering and an
alumni of Sharif University, told RFE/RL that the treatment the
academics received at U.S. hands has outraged Iranian-Americans.
Meshkati said the U.S.-based Sharif University of Technology
Association is taking steps to protest the incidents and encourage
some investigation.
“One [step we’d like to take] concerns the legal aspect
— we want to find out what the rights of the people who were
returned are and what can be done legally. The other [step] is public
relations,” Meshkati said. “The third step is to contact U.S.
authorities — including senators from California — so the issue is
investigated in the U.S. Congress. If they treat Iranians who visit
this country legally in this heinous manner, then [there is a risk
that] there is no difference for Iranians who live in this country
legally. I really think that enough is enough — we are really hurt
about this disrespect. We should really stand up to it.”
Meshkati said Iranians should not be punished for the
policies of their government.
“I don’t know why Iranians who travel to the U.S. must
pay the price for the Iranian government’s actions,” he said.
“Are Saudi citizens paying the price for the actions of [Saudi-born
Al-Qaeda leader Osama] bin Laden? No. I don’t understand why
everything goes wrong when it comes to us Iranians.”
The United States cut diplomatic ties with Iran following
that country’s Islamic Revolution and the abduction of U.S.
diplomats at its embassy in Tehran in 1979.
But limited cultural, scientific, and sports exchanges have
continued between the two countries. (By Golnaz Esfandiari; Radio
Farda correspondent Elaheh Ravanshad contributed to this report from
Sweden; RFE/RL correspondent Heather Maher contributed from
Washington, DC.)
CHINA GETS NEW IRANIAN ENVOY. Iran has appointed Javad Mansuri, a
former ambassador in Pakistan and former deputy foreign minister, as
its next ambassador in China, Mehr reported on August 9, adding that
he will be taking up his post “in the coming days.” Mansuri was
proposed by Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki and approved by
President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, the agency stated. Mansuri was a deputy
foreign minister for cultural and consular affairs, then Asia-Pacific
affairs, between 1981 and 1990, Iran’s envoy in Pakistan until
1993-94, after which he has been an adviser to the foreign minister,
Mehr stated.
Separately, Iran’s ambassador in Turkey, Firuz
Dolatabadi, said Iran will continue its support for Lebanon’s
Hizballah, RFE/RL’s Radio Farda reported on August 9, citing an
interview with the Turkish daily “Radikal.” Dolatabadi reportedly
accused Great Britain and the United States of trying to dismember
Lebanon and Iraq, using the Kurdistan Workers Party to do that in
Iraq. (Vahid Sepehri)
PRESIDENTIAL CABINET COMES IN FOR CRITICISM. Hojatoleslam Hussein
Ebrahimi, a member of the conservative Tehran Militant Clergy
Association (Jameh-yi Ruhaniyat-i Mobarez-i Tehran), said on August
16 that President Mahmud Ahmadinejad’s trips to the provinces and
his legislative measures are well-intended but that some cabinet
members seem unable to execute the relevant tasks, ISNA reported.
Ebrahimi advised the president to ensure that the cabinet’s level
of commitment equals his own. Ebrahimi also recommended warning or
replacing unnamed government managers who he said do not implement
presidential policies for political reasons.
Reformist former legislator Davud Suleimani criticized the
cabinet for its failure to fulfill campaign pledges to improve
people’s economic well-being, “Etemad” reported on August 15. He
called for a report on the government’s performance that would be
publicly available so people can judge for themselves, and he
recommended a complete change in the cabinet.
Ilam parliamentary representative Dariush Qanbari said in
“Etemad” that the cabinet has been unsuccessful, adding that
Ahmadinejad intends to change his commerce, roads and transportation,
and welfare and social security ministers. Qanbari added that many of
his colleagues would like to see the agricultural jihad, education,
and health ministers replaced as well. (Bill Samii)
PUBLICATIONS ENCOUNTER LEGAL DIFFICULTIES. “Karnameh” had its license
revoked and Managing Editor Negar Eskandarfar received a suspended
one-year prison sentence on August 14 for articles offending morality
and chastity, ILNA reported. The Tehran Penal Court’s decision
follows a ban on the same publication by the Press Supervisory Board.
Eskandarfar has appealed the decision.
Also on August 14, “Cheshmandaz” Managing Editor Lutfollah
Meysami was found guilty of publishing materials that damage the
system and the country, insulting and libeling the police, and
propagandizing against the system, ISNA reported. The Tehran Penal
Court acquitted Meysami on charges of publishing false reports,
publishing anticonstitutional reports, publishing materials that are
offensive to Islam, and insulting the country’s judiciary.
On August 7, the Press Supervisory Board instructed “Sharq”
newspaper to replace its managing director, ISNA reported on August
12, because the paper has received 70 warnings to date. These
warnings relate to the alleged publication of atheistic materials,
divisive materials, and materials that violate Supreme National
Security Council directives.
President Mahmud Ahmadinejad recently offered congratulations
on the eve of Journalists Day (August 8), IRNA reported. (Bill Samii)
POLICE CONFISCATE SATELLITE DISHES. Police raided Tehran’s
Behjatabad residential district on August 14 and confiscated
residents’ satellite dishes, Radio Farda and ILNA reported.
Tehran police chief Morteza Talai described it as a “routine task.”
“The police are duty-bound to enforce the law,” he explained, “and as
long as the use of satellite dishes is illegal, we have to perform
our duty to that end.” Residents complained that they did not receive
advance notice of the raid.
Tehran prosecutor Said Mortazavi said in early August that
the headquarters for the promotion of virtue and prohibition of vice
recently discussed satellite dishes, “Etemad” reported on August 7.
Some people set up the dishes where they are visible, he said, and
the action is necessary because this is a violation of social norms.
Special teams will be trained to deal with satellite dishes, he
added. If people turn their dishes in, he continued, the police will
not take action against them. (Bill Samii)
AHMADINEJAD MAKES PROVINCIAL VISIT. Ardabil Province’s
governor-general, Ali Nikzad, announced on August 13 that President
Ahmadinejad would visit on August 15, provincial television reported.
Nikzad said the president and his cabinet will visit nine cities.
Also on August 13, commanders of the Ashura and Al-Zahra
battalions of the Basij met in Asadabad’s Jameh Mosque for a
briefing on upcoming war games, provincial television reported.
One week earlier, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps’
new Imam Hussein base was inaugurated in the province’s Aslanduz
district, provincial television reported, and the Ashura battalions
began a three-day exercise at the IRGC’s Qods garrison in
Meshkinshahr. (Bill Samii)
POLICE AMBUSH BACKFIRES. Eight policemen were killed and three others
were wounded in an August 12 gunfight with bandits along the
Bam-Zahedan road in southeastern Iran, state radio reported. “The
incident took place during an ambush laid by the [police] to capture
the bandits in that region,” Interior Minister Purmohammadi said on
August 13, according to ISNA. Eastern Iran has been plagued by
violence for many years in what appears to be a low-level insurgency
and also in incidents relating to smuggling, and Purmohammadi said
more military bases will be established in the region. (Bill Samii)
KURDS SHELLED BY IRAN AND TURKEY. As operations against the Kurdish
Pejak group continue, Iranian and Turkish artillery fired on areas
predominantly inhabited by Kurds along their shared border on August
13, Iraq’s Al-Sharqiyah Television reported (see “RFE/RL Iran
Report,” July 7, 2006). Pejak is affiliated with the Kurdistan
Workers Party (PKK). The Iranian artillery reportedly shelled
Khumyrah, Lulan, and Nazdaridakh, and Turkish artillery shelled Qabir
Zahir, Khwakurk, and Gurghan. (Bill Samii)
IRANIAN-AMERICAN SENTENCED FOR TRYING TO SEND DUAL-USE GOODS TO IRAN.
Mohammad Fazeli, a computer technician from California, was sentenced
by a U.S. federal court on August 7 to one year in prison for his
effort to ship dual-use products to Iran, “The San Jose Mercury News
Reported” on August 8. The 103 Honeywell pressure sensors that Fazeli
tried to send to Iran via the United Arab Emirates detect pressure in
liquids or in gases and can be used as components in detonators for
explosives. (Bill Samii)
IRAN REPORTEDLY ACTING AGAINST BIRD FLU, CHOLERA. Hussein Behbudi,
the head of the Gilan Medical Science University in northern Iran,
told Fars News Agency on August 9 that “about a month ago,” local
authorities detected bird flu among poultry on a farm near the town
of Imamzadeh Hashem in the northern Gilan province, prompting
officials to kill all domestic poultry within a 2-kilometer radius as
a precautionary measure. He said the symptoms have not been seen
among wild birds, but “there is still bird flu in Gilan.” He added
there are no cases so far in Iran of bird flu spreading to people.
Police and local authorities have also killed 1,800 chickens,
turkeys, and ducks suspected of having bird flu at an unspecified
date in “villages around the town of Masal” in Gilan, the daily
“Aftab-i Yazd” reported on August 10.
Separately, Health Minister Kamran Baqeri-Lankarani said on
August 9 that Iran is taking precautionary measures to prevent
cholera entering into the country from neighboring states, IRNA
reported. “Neighboring states are denying there is endemic cholera in
their countries, but preventive measures are being carried out…in
Iran,” he said. Baqeri-Lankarani added that Health Ministry officials
are trying to obtain “clear information from these countries” on the
disease. Preventive moves may include “quarantine” in frontier zones,
especially on the eastern frontier, he said. (Vahid Sepehri)
CRACKDOWN ON ILLEGAL FOREIGN WORKERS. Police in the eastern Iranian
city of Mashhad have arrested more than 1,000 foreigners recently who
did not possess valid documents, ISNA reported on August 15. In the
month beginning October 22, new measures will be implemented in an
effort to curtail the employment of foreigners working illegally in
Iran, “Kayhan” reported on August 13.
Mohammad Hussein Salehi-Maram, director-general of
foreigners’ affairs at the Labor Ministry, said 1 million
foreigners — mostly Afghans — are working illegally in Iran and
they take jobs from Iranians. Many foreigners work in construction,
tailoring, or textiles, he added.
Salehi-Maram said foreigners are used because they are cheap,
because some employers are ignorant of the law, and because the
foreigners themselves are unfamiliar with the relevant legislation.
He added that some contractors in the state sector and the parastatal
sector also use illegal foreigners, and this sets a bad example.
Under the new plan, those who employ illegal foreigners will be fined
five times the daily minimum wage, 300,000 rials ($34). (Bill Samii)
IRAN WILL IMPORT FUEL TO MEET DEMAND. Iran will not curb domestic
gasoline consumption despite expected shortages but rather import
more to meet demand, Reuters and RFE/RL’s Radio Farda reported on
August 17. Iranian officials are expecting shortages in the second
half of the Persian year running to March 20, 2007. Iran recently
bought several cargoes of gasoline for delivery in September,
indicating a decision to renew imports after a month-long suspension
of such purchases, Reuters reported on August 15.
On August 16, Farhad Rahbar the head of the Management and
Planning Organization, said “gasoline rationing is off the government
agenda until further notice,” Mehr reported. “There will be no
rationing…while the state of transportation…is not organized,” he
told a Tehran seminar. Rahbar said people’s “living and welfare
situation” will suffer if they have to buy expensive gasoline above a
fixed weekly or monthly amount charged at current, subsidized prices.
He added that the government is working on expanding public
transportation and removing old, fuel-inefficient cars.
Petroleum Minister Kazem Vaziri-Hamaneh said in Tehran on
August 8 that gasoline consumption in Iran is equivalent to a liter
per day for every Iranian, “and this is unprecedented in the world,”
“Aftab-i Yazd” daily reported on August 9. He said fuel wastage has
become “ordinary for the people and government” and Iran’s
government has “not been prepared to put pressure on the people to
reduce their consumption.”
Vaziri-Hamaneh said the government is planning to introduce
an unspecified number of minibuses to increase the public-transport
fleet.
He said separately that President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has
instructed the petroleum and finance ministers to “examine the
executive procedures” of a plan — apparently proposed by Ahmadinejad
— to sell crude oil cheaper to poorer countries. “This is the
president’s own viewpoint,” Vaziri said. He said Iranian
officials have not yet discussed the use of oil as a “political
instrument” — for example, in response to UN sanctions over
Iran’s nuclear activities — but “we shall use any factor in the
system’s interests, even oil,” “Aftab-i Yazd” reported. (Vahid
Sepehri)
********************************* ************************
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].
For information on reprints, see:
p
Back issues are online at
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress