Author: Manouk Vasilian

Saturday Review: Adaptation of the week No. 58 The Sweet Hereafter (1997)
The Guardian – United Kingdom
May 14, 2005
ANDREW PULVER

Author: Russell Banks (b1940) grew up in New Hampshire and, after a
childhood and adolescence marked by family strife and low-paid work,
he moved to Boston and experienced the burgeoning counterculture first
hand. After attending college in his mid-20s, Banks found academic
work, and started publishing stories in the late 1960s. In 1974 his
first novel, Family Life , came out. A spell living in the West Indies
in the mid-70s resulted in The Book of Jamaica (1980), but it was
Continental Drift (1985) that proved a breakthrough. Banks was
subsequently hired by Jonathan Demme to work on a screen adaptation
that never materialised. Affliction (1989) and The Sweet Hereafter
(1991) cemented his reputation, as did the film versions of both that
followed in the mid-90s. Banks currently teaches at Princeton and his
most recent novel, The Darling (2005), is set against the civil
turmoil in Liberia.
Story: Banks was inspired by a school bus crash in Alton, Texas in
1989 that killed 21 children. He relocated the story to a
characteristically icebound New England landscape (the fictional town
of Sam Dent, New York). The crash and its aftermath is presented in
four sections, each told as a first-person narrative by a different
character: the bus driver, the principal witness, the lawyer who leads
an attempt to gain compensation, and a survivor. Banks uses the
changing perspective to throw light on the moral and emotional
subtleties surrounding the trauma – most disturbingly in the final
section, when the survivor deliberately wrecks the legal action as
revenge against her abusive father.
Film-maker: Born in Egypt in 1960 to Armenian parents, Atom Egoyan was
raised in Canada after his family emigrated. His early features,
including Family Viewing (1987) and The Adjuster (1991), were studies
of emotional dependency and addiction. In Calendar (1993), Egoyan
himself played a photographer returning to Armenia in an
autobiographical cultural essay. He subsequently explored the Armenian
genocide in Ararat (2002). For The Sweet Hereafter , Egoyan cast
veteran British character actor Ian Holm alongside his regular
collaborators, which include his Lebanese-Armenian wife Arsinee
Khanjian.
How book and film compare: Egoyan dispenses with the novel’s
four-voice structure, reconfiguring events so that the lawyer,
Mitchell Stephens, becomes the central figure. Stephens’ difficulties
with his own daughter, Zoe, therefore become more significant to the
narrative, paralleling the town’s plight over losing so many
children. Egoyan also removes the sexual abuse element from the final
act, making the motivation of the wheelchair-bound victim, Nicole,
considerably more ambiguous. Egoyan considered the story a “grim
fairytale”, and introduced a Pied Piper motif (along with a medieval
music score) to underline its fabular nature.
Inspirations and influences: Part of a Canadian film-making generation
that included David Cronenberg, Egoyan has cut out an individual path,
but shares with Cronenberg a fascination with fetishistic and
addictive behaviour, though to less gruesome effect. As a poet of
dislocation and isolation, Egoyan’s closest equivalent is arguably
American writer-director Paul Schrader, who made an adaptation of
another Banks novel, Affliction , in the same year as The Sweet
Hereafter .
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

A1plus
| 15:07:05 | 10-05-2005 | Politics |
PEOPLE SHOULD GOVERN THE STATE VIA REFERENDA
According to the survey conducted on A1+ website, the Armenian citizens want
to actively participate in making decisions, which are significant for the
state and society. The citizens can play a big role if the Constitution
provides for the right of initiating a referendum to know the public opinion
on an issue.
The votes of 219 people, who answered the question «Do you support the
conduction of referenda on civic initiative» divided the following way.
Yes – 80%
No – 13.2%
Difficult to answer – 5.9%
Presently we are inquiring about your opinion on another issue. «Who should
appoint judges?’». Participate in the survey on our site. You opinion is
important to make the clear picture of the situation.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

KARABAKH ETHNOGRAPHER REFUTES WORDS OF AZERBAIJANI DELEGATE TO PACE
STEPANAKERT, MAY 2. ARMINFO. “As a men engaged in study of inscriptions
on the historical and architectural monuments in Shushi and epitaphs
in the local cemeteries of 18-20th centuries, I can state with a
full responsibility that in the period under review the main part
of the population in Shushi were Armenians and Russians.” A Karabakh
ethnographer Hrachik Haroutiunyan, the author of the monograph “Shushi:
newly found ethnographic inscriptions about the history of the town”
informed ARMINFO’s correspondent to Stepanakert.
Haroutiunyan made such a statement commenting on the information of
Azerbaijani mass media that at the spring session of PACE a member of
the Azerbaijani delegation, MP Rafael Huseynov prepared and distributed
a document entitled “The state policy of Armenia aiming damaging the
gene pool of the Azerbaijani people and its historical memory.”
Huseynov says that Armenia in Shusha have destroyed all the historical
cemeteries and there is no Armenian cemetery in Nagorny Karabakh older
than 160 years. “It is nothing but a regular awkward false report made
by the Azerbaijani party. In the historical citadel of Nagorny Karabakh
– in the town of Shushi – there are several old cemeteries. That is, 4
Armenian, 1 Russia, 1 Armenian- Russian, and 1 Persian cemeteries.” The
specialists expressed desire to study Azerbaijani cemeteries as well,
but there are no old cemetery in Shushi.
He thinks that the Azerbaijani party tries to mislead the international
community, hereby stirring up inter-national strife.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Center for National and International Studies
75 Yerznkian Street
Yerevan 375033, Armenia
Tel: (+374 – 1) 52.87.80 or 27.48.18
Fax: (+374 – 1) 52.48.46
E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]
Website:
April 26, 2005
ACNIS Roundtable on Public Opinion and the Armenian Genocide
Richard Hovannisian Keynotes
Yerevan–The Armenian Center for National and International Studies (ACNIS)
today released the results of a public survey on “The Armenian Genocide: 90
Years and Waiting” which it conducted among 1900 citizens from Yerevan and
all of Armenia’s regions.
ACNIS founder Raffi K. Hovannisian invited the participants to stand in a
moment of silence for the one and a half million victims of the Armenian
Genocide and the millennial homeland of which they were brutally
dispossessed. “These 90 years could not make the Armenian nation forget this
defining calamity, nor did they relieve the deep pain of the Genocide
survivors and all Armenians the world over. The day will come when the
civilized world condemns the Armenian Genocide, and Turkey too will
recognize its crime against humanity. The current domain of European
integration offers a pivotal chance for Armenia and Turkey to enter the
European family together, having solved all outstanding issues, including
the watershed legacy of the Genocide, and thus opened a new page in
Armenian-Turkish relations. Justice at home, justice in the world–this
should be the standard for Armenia’s and its people’s quest,” Hovannisian
said.
Professor Richard G. Hovannisian, Chairholder of Modern Armenian History at
UCLA, delivered keynote remarks on “The Enduring Legacy of the Armenian
Genocide.” Reflecting on a variety of challenges in the modern academic
world relating to the Armenian Genocide, Hovannisian underscored that all
serious scholars, both Armenian and foreign, and even several Turkish
intellectuals, share the same conclusions, though with different
interpretations, that the Armenian Genocide is an historical fact and
undeniable reality. “According to the prevailing approach in academic
circles, the Armenian Genocide was truly planned and premeditated, and a
mere opportunity was needed to launch it. World War One provided such a
cover,” Professor Hovannisian noted, demonstrating that after Ottoman Turkey
lost its European territories in the Balkan wars, its primary response was
the expulsion of all Armenians from their homeland in Asia Minor and their
settlement by Turks. Before the 1915 final solution, there already was in
place a state program of reducing the proportion of the Armenian population
in each of its historic regions to 5-10 percent, which was then methodically
implemented as genocide.
ACNIS research coordinator Stepan Safarian focused in detail on the findings
of the opinion poll. Accordingly, 44.7% of surveyed citizens nearly always
have participated in Genocide commemorations in their mature life, 42.5%
sometimes, and only 9.8% have never participated in them. As for the
motivation for going to Tsitsernakaberd or other memorials on April 24 every
year, 63% find that it is their duty to respect the memory of the martyrs,
17.3% want to show the world that Armenians do not forget their history,
whereas 9.7% think it is a way of protesting against Turkish denial of the
fact of Genocide. For 3.4% of citizens it is merely a long-standing
tradition, for 0.3% just an occasion to go for a walk, and 3.8% do not go
anywhere that day.
Hence, 95% of respondents assert it is very important to mark that day with
a national commemoration every year, while it does not matter much for 4.2%
and is not important at all for 0.5%. 39.6% of citizens feel pain when
thinking about the Armenian Genocide, 21.1% revenge, 18.1% hatred, 11.5%
enmity, 5.2% sympathy for the victims, and 2.1% have a sense of guilt. 64.7%
consider the human loss of the Genocide to be the biggest, 34.1% believe it
to be the territorial loss of homeland, 18% the nation’s loss of spirit and
will, and 15.4% loss of the pre-Genocide intelligentsia.
Who is first and foremost responsible for the Armenian Genocide? In response
to this question, 61.1% accuse the Turkish state in its entirety, 54.8% the
Young Turk government, 23.1% the Turkish people, 29.7% Germany, 13.4% the
Russian Empire, 10% traditional Armenian parties, 6.5% the entire Armenian
people, 6.2% Great Britain, and 5.2% Jews.
62.6% of surveyed citizens think that “a Turk remains a Turk, always capable
of committing genocide,” 6.9% are of the opposite opinion, and 28.9% believe
that Turkey’s governmental policies are one thing but its average citizens
another. 81% are convinced that today’s Republic of Turkey is accountable
for the Genocide, 7.6% assert the contrary, with 11.4% finding it hard to
answer. 72.9% trust that Turkey will recognize the Genocide in the next five
to ten years if the international efforts of Armenia and the Diaspora for
recognition are activated and/or the United States and the European Union
exert stronger pressure on Turkey. 12.8% think this to be impossible, and
14% have difficulty answering. 93.5% hold that Armenia should claim
reparations from Turkey; 67.7% of these expect official acknowledgment and
apology, education, and removal of all forms of denial, 60.7% return of
territories in Western Armenia, 44.1% financial reparations to the heirs of
the victims.
It is noteworthy that 39.8% agree with Armenia’s current posture toward
Turkey, 29.1% do not agree, and 31.1% find it difficult to answer.
Nonetheless, a clear majority (76.3%) believe that the Armenian side should
establish relations with Turkey without forgetting the past. 51.8% are
against Turkey’s accession to the European Union, 25.2% are in favor of it,
and 23% do not give a firm response.
The formal interventions were followed by contributions by National Academy
of Sciences Vice President Vladimir Barkhudarian; professors Babken
Harutiunian, Khoren Palian, and Vardan Khachatrian of Yerevan State
University; Sonia Mirzoyan of the Armenian National Archives; Giro Manoyan
of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation; Edgar Martirosian of UCLA; Tigran
Matosian of the Museum-Institute of the Armenian Genocide; Taline Papazian
of the Paris Institute of Political Sciences; National Press Club
chairperson Narine Mkrtchian; Armen Aghayan of the “Protection of Liberated
Territories” public initiative; Noyan Tapan News Agency political analyst
Davit Petrosian; and several others.
42.5% of respondent citizens participating in the ACNIS poll are male and
57.5% female; 14.7% are 16-20 years of age, 20% 21-30, 20.8% 31-40, 22.2%
41-50, 13.5% 51-60, 6.1% 61-70, 2% 71 or above. 47.1% of them have received
a higher education, 13.1% incomplete higher, 18.4% specialized secondary,
15.3% secondary, and 1.9% incomplete secondary training. 54.8% are actively
employed and 19.8% unemployed, 7.2% are pensioners and welfare recipients,
and 15.4% students. Urban residents constitute 65.2% of the citizens
surveyed, while rural residents make up 34.8%. 32% of all respondents hail
from Yerevan, and the rest are from outside the capital city.
Founded in 1994 by Armenia’s first Minister of Foreign Affairs Raffi K.
Hovannisian and supported by a global network of contributors, ACNIS serves
as a link between innovative scholarship and the public policy challenges
facing Armenia and the Armenian people in the post-Soviet world. It also
aspires to be a catalyst for creative, strategic thinking and a wider
understanding of the new global environment. In 2005, the Center focuses
primarily on civic education, conflict resolution, and applied research on
critical domestic and foreign policy issues for the state and the nation.
For further information on the Center or the full graphics of the poll
results, call (3741) 52-87-80 or 27-48-18; fax (3741) 52-48-46; e-mail
[email protected] or [email protected]; or visit or
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenians Launch Nationwide Genocide Ad Campaign
LOS ANGELES, April 20 /PRNewswire/ — Armenians have taken their
message to an unprecedented level this week with a nationwide
advertising campaign raising awareness about the Armenian Genocide.
The 30-second commercials coincide with an official letter to the
March For Humanity received from Senator Bob Dole. “From 1915 to
1923, 1.5 million Armenians perished through a policy of deportation,
torture, starvation, and massacre,” reads the letter signed Bob Dole.
“Despite the vast numbers of victims, many people remain unaware of
this significant tragedy.”
“Americans have been kept in the dark about the Armenian Genocide and
the subsequent horrors experienced by its 1.5 million victims,” said
Vicken Sosikian director of the March For Humanity. “Our ad campaign
aims to educate the public about this crime against all humanity.”
The March For Humanity is a 215-mile walk from Fresno, Calif. to
Sacramento. Started on April 2, the 19-day trek will conclude on April
21 with a rally at 11 a.m. on the steps of the state capitol building.
The Rally For Humanity will feature many elected officials including
California State Assembly Majority Leader Assemblyman Dario Frommer
and Speaker Pro-tem Assembly member Leland Yee.
“The March For Humanity brings people together in spirit of remembrance
for all those who suffered. The more we spread awareness of such
atrocities, the better prepared we are to prevent them in the future,”
wrote Senator Dole. “Thanks for all you do to educate our nation
about this genocide.”
On April 24 Armenians worldwide will mark the 90th anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire, seeking official
recognition and reparations from the Turkish government.
More information about the Armenian Genocide, the March For Humanity,
and the Rally For Humanity are available at
SOURCE March For Humanity
04/20/2005 02:12 ET

Suspect in weapons smuggling case extradited to United States
AP Worldstream
Apr 18, 2005
An Armenian man suspected of playing a role in a weapons smuggling plot
has been extradited to the United States, the U.S. embassy said Monday.
Armen Barseghyan, who was flown to the United States on Friday, will
appear in court this week, along with 20 others who have also been
indicted in this case, the embassy said in a statement.
U.S. authorities last month charged 18 people in an alleged scheme to
smuggle grenade launchers, shoulder-fired missiles and other Russian
military weapons into the United States. Officials said the arrests
resulted from a year-long investigation in which an FBI informant
posed as an arms buyer who claimed to have ties to al-Qaida.
Another Armenian, Artur Solomonyan, was arrested March 14 at a New
York hotel after meeting one last time with the informant to finalize
plans before leaving the country to obtain the weapons, according
to a criminal complaint unsealed last month in U.S. District Court
in Manhattan.
The case took investigators to South Africa, Armenia and Georgia.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
_________________________________________ ____________________
RFE/RL Iran Report
Vol. 8, No. 15, 11 April 2005
A Review of Developments in Iran Prepared by the Regional Specialists
of RFE/RL’s Newsline Team
************************************************************
HEADLINES:
* CORRUPTION A WORRY IN IRANIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
* OBSERVERS FEAR MILITARIZATION OF POLITICS
* PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE LOOKS SOUTH FOR SUPPORT
* LEGISLATURE LOOKS INTO FATAL SOCCER RIOT
* SCHOOL HOSTAGE INCIDENT DEFUSED
* IMAM KHOMEINI AIRPORT TO REOPEN THIS MONTH
* KHATAMI CHATS WITH ISRAELI COUNTERPART AT POPE’S FUNERAL
* SYRIA TO WITHDRAW FROM LEBANON BY END OF MONTH
* TALABANI ELECTION LEADS TO UNREST IN IRAN
* KYIV EYES IRAN’S GAS FOR USE AND TRANSSHIPMENT
************************************************************
DATES SET FOR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE REGISTRATION. Mujtaba Reshad,
head of the Presidential Election Headquarters, said on 3 April that
registration of prospective presidential candidates will begin on 10
May and continue for five days, “Iran Daily” reported on 4 April. The
Interior Ministry will forward this information to the Guardians
Council, which will screen the applications until 24 May. Individuals
whose candidacy is accepted can campaign from 27 May until 24 hours
before election day — 17 June.
By-elections for 10 seats in parliament will take place on 17
June as well. Prospective candidates can register for these seats
from 10-17 April. (Bill Samii)
CORRUPTION A WORRY IN IRANIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. Widespread
Iranian concern about financial and professional corruption is
reflected by the fact that most prospective candidates for the
upcoming presidential election have addressed this issue. Tehran
parliamentary representative Ahmad Tavakoli has said the unity of
Iran is threatened by corruption, nepotism, and favoritism,
“Siyasat-i Ruz” reported on 4 April, and that the next
president’s greatest duty is to address these issues.
Coordination Council of the Islamic Revolution Forces
candidate Ali Larijani likewise stressed corruption and economic
issues during campaign speeches over the Noruz holiday. And Tehran
Mayor Mahmud Ahmadi-Nejad said during a visit last month to Ahvaz
that the government should fight all forms of corruption, “Hemayat”
reported on 13 March.
Corruption is not merely a word for candidates to throw
around during their campaigns. Iran is rampantly corrupt, according
to Transparency International’s most recent report
(). That
survey placed Iran 87th out of 145 countries in terms of the degree
of corruption “as seen by business people and country analysts.” Iran
ranked 2.9 on a scale from 10 (highly clean) to zero (highly
corrupt).
The Payam Airport smuggling case raises questions regarding
the government’s seriousness about attacking corruption. Arrests
were made in October after authorities learned that Customs
Administration officials at Payam Airport, near Karaj, were allegedly
cooperating in the illegal shipment of goods from Dubai and other
international locations. Tehran parliamentarian Alireza Zakani,
however, said that, four months after the arrests, the main defendant
in the case remains at large, “Siyasat-i Ruz” reported on 27
February.
The cases of Shahram Jazayeri and Nasser Vaez-Tabasi also
raise questions about the government’s desire to deal seriously
with corruption. Jazayeri was convicted in 2002 in a major corruption
case involving 50 defendants, many of them sons of prominent clerics
known colloquially as “aqazadeh.” In September 2004, his 27-year
prison sentence was partially overturned, and he is occasionally
released from prison on leave. Vaez-Tabasi, the son of Imam Reza
Shrine Foundation (Astan-i Qods-i Razavi) head Ayatollah Abbas
Vaez-Tabasi, was released immediately after his July 2001 arrest for
allegedly illegally selling shares in a state-owned enterprise. He
and his co-defendants were acquitted in March 2003 on the grounds
that they were ignorant of the law.
These and other prominent corruption cases grab headlines for
a while and then fade away. Kermanshah parliamentary representative
Abdul Reza Mesri, according to “Hambastegi” on 20 December 2004,
asked on 19 December: “While reports on economic corruption are
regularly published in the country, why is nothing heard about the
punishment of corrupt persons?”
One reason for the lack of follow-up on these cases is that
the press is heavily politicized. Conservative newspapers such as
“Kayhan,” “Resalat,” and “Jomhuri-yi Islami” are quick to accuse
reformist political figures of wrongdoing. Often they do this by
citing anonymous sources, and in other cases they quote people
selectively and out of context. Pro-reform newspapers, motivated by
professional ethics or a sense of self-preservation, are more
cautious about printing corruption accusations, as the press court is
more likely to punish them.
Another reason relates to a general lack of accountability in
Iran. After the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the state took control of
the economy and para-statal organizations (bonyad) were created to
promote social welfare and restore economic justice. Yet these
foundations, as well as some other state institutions, do not answer
to the government or to shareholders, and parliamentary
investigations into their activities have been less than effective.
The findings of a parliamentary investigation into the Oppressed and
Disabled Foundation (Bonyad-i Mostazafan va Janbazan) in the 1990s
were never released to the public. A May 2003 parliamentary report on
Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) ended without result,
although it found major infractions, such as concealing revenues and
failure to pay duties and taxes. The head of IRIB at the time, the
same Ali Larijani who is now running for president, denied all the
allegations and nothing came of the case.
Weaknesses in the law are another reason for extensive
corruption. There are many loopholes that corrupt individuals can
exploit. The involvement of state officials in business affairs,
furthermore, is not forbidden.
This last area is one that could be in for a change.
Hojatoleslam Abdolreza Izadpanah, spokesman for the Headquarters for
Fighting Economic Corruption, said in mid-March that efforts to
reform laws on trade, taxation, foreign investment, and money
laundering reflect an effort to attack corruption, “Mardom Salari”
reported on 17 March. A proposed bill on privatization, he said,
would prohibit the involvement of public-sector employees —
including those from the executive, legislative, and judicial
branches, the Guardians Council, the Expediency Council, the military
and provincial organizations — in government transactions.
Iranians are likely to welcome serious efforts to end
corruption, but the government has failed to produce any so far.
Public pressure on elected officials, especially during the months
before the presidential election, could change this situation. (Bill
Samii)
OBSERVERS FEAR MILITARIZATION OF POLITICS. The possibility that an
individual connected with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC)
could be elected as Iran’s next president is causing some
consternation in Iranian political circles.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accepted 43-year-old
police chief Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf’s resignation on 5 April, the
Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) reported. Before succeeding
Brigadier General Hedayat Lotfian as police chief in June 2000,
Qalibaf was commander of the IRGC Air Force. Another prospective
candidate with a serious background in the IRGC is Mohsen Rezai, who
commanded the corps for 16 years.
Qalibaf’s plan to be a candidate in the presidential
election indicates the militarization of the political process,
several articles in the 4 April issue of “Eqbal” newspaper suggest.
“Eqbal” and “Farhang-i Ashti” reported on 4 April that younger
conservatives associated with the Islamic Revolution Devotees’
Society (Jamiyat-i Isargaran-i Inqilab-i Islami) and the Islamic Iran
Developers Council (Etelaf-i Abadgaran-i Iran-i Islami) support
Qalibaf.
Interestingly, there are allegations that another former IRGC
official and current presidential candidate, Larijani, is supported
by the military. The Baztab website reported on 17 March that a
clerical official in the IRGC has a high position in the Coordination
Council of the Islamic Revolution Forces, the mainstream conservative
body that backs Larijani.
The Developers themselves have not been very forthcoming on
their choice. A recent Developers press conference turned out to be
something of a bust, “Etemad” and “Eqbal” newspapers reported on 5
April. The many reporters at this event expected to learn something
about the conservative organization’s preferences in the upcoming
presidential election, but Developers’ spokesman Mehdi Chamran,
who is a member of the Tehran municipal council, was not very
specific. Previously, Larijani appeared to be their favorite, but
Chamran said a choice has not been made yet and added, “We support
all those who adhere to fundamentalist thinking.” He continued: “If
they [the candidates] select a particular candidate among themselves,
we will support their choice. We do not wish to act as a council that
selects the candidate. We want the people to make the final choice.”
He said the Developers were created at a stage when the
fundamentalists were “in a state of despair and uncertainty.” Chamran
described his organization as “an ideology and an intellectual
movement.”
Reformist politician Mustafa Tajzadeh wrote in “Eqbal” on 4
April that if Larijani or Tehran Mayor Mahmud Ahmadinejad wins the
election, a militarized administration will emerge and it will try to
reassert the revolutionary and religious values that existed in the
early years of the revolution. Tajzadeh compared this to prewar
Germany and the Nazi Party’s actions.
Reformist presidential candidate Hojatoleslam Mehdi Karrubi
said in a late March meeting with officials from his election
headquarters that in recent years he has warned of the military’s
involvement in political affairs, the daily “Etemad” reported on 3
April. “[I] have repeatedly condemned it and have openly criticized
them,” he said. Karrubi said it is a mistake to ignore the actions of
the IRGC, the Basij, the Guardians Council, the judiciary, the
Special Court for the Clergy, and agencies affiliated with the
supreme leader. Karrubi said his attitude toward these institutions
includes “strong reactions” when he was not in office and a
“respectful but firm stance” when he was speaker of parliament. “I am
confident that if people elect me I will solve many of the existing
problems by making use of the same methods,” he said.
Qalibaf is an interesting candidate for president. “Farhang-i
Ashti” reported on 4 April that under his command the previously
unpopular police force earned a much better reputation. He created
the 110 rapid-reaction system (see “RFE/RL Iran Report,” 8 April
2002, and ), which made the force operate more
efficiently, and he also eliminated the influence of political
factions in the police.
Yet Qalibaf’s respect for civilian leadership of the
government is limited, He is one of the 24 IRGC commanders who in
July 1999 sent a letter to President Mohammad Khatami warning that if
he did not act to quell student unrest, they would not stand by idly
and would take matters into their own hands (see “RFE/RL Iran
Report,” 26 July 1999).
Qalibaf is not the only person the young conservatives are
considering as a presidential candidate. Tehran Mayor Mahmud
Ahmadi-Nejad, Tehran parliamentary representative Ahmad Tavakoli,
former Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati, and Expediency Council
Secretary Mohsen Rezai have their backers. If the young conservatives
do not select Qalibaf, “Farhang-i Ashti” reported then he could be
tapped as a conservative victor’s interior minister. (Bill Samii)
QALIBAF RESIGNATION COULD AFFECT WAR ON DRUGS. The daily “Siyasat-i
Ruz” reported on 5 April that police chief Qalibaf, who has resigned,
will be succeeded by his deputy, General Ali Abdullahi. The daily
questioned Abdullahi’s ability to meet the position’s
responsibilities for counternarcotics efforts and intercepting
smugglers. “Siyasat-i Ruz” urged Qalibaf not to leave the police
force and to continue to serve the country. (Bill Samii)
CONSERVATIVE CANDIDATE DISCUSSES ECONOMIC POLICIES. The conservative
Coordination Council’s likely candidate for the 17 June
presidential election, Larijani, described the economic policies of
his prospective government during a 31 March press conference in
Mazandaran Province, Fars News Agency reported. He said he would
encourage privatization by issuing shares in state-owned enterprises,
and he would reduce economic activities that take place through
officials’ connections. Larijani said the government must be
streamlined so it can satisfy the needs of public-sector workers and
still fulfill its role. Larijani said his government’s economic
policies would be based on Islam and public participation. (Bill
Samii)
CONSERVATIVES SET TO ANNOUNCE THEIR CANDIDATE. Mohammad Reza Bahonar,
a leading member of the Coordination Council, said that the main
conservative group will announce its candidate on 21 April, “Mardom
Salari” reported on 3 April. “The final decision has already been
announced inside the organization and the name of our final candidate
has been submitted to the Coordination Council of the provinces.” He
added, “Although we have chosen our candidate, the opinion polls will
continue until the final days.”
Kashmar representative Ahmad Bloukian said the Coordination
Council has informed its provincial offices that Larijani is its
candidate and has begun activities on his behalf, “Mardom Salari”
reported.
Guilds and Bazaar Association Secretary-General Ahmad
Karimi-Isfahani said on 3 April that Larijani is the leading
candidate in the conservatives’ opinion polls, ISNA reported, but
there will be more polls.
Conservative legislator Mohsen Kuhkan was quoted by “Mardom
Salari” on 3 April as saying that there probably will be three
different conservative groupings — Larijani’s supporters, the
Islamic Iran Developers Council (Etelaf-i Abadgaran-i Iran-i Islami),
and the coalition of “fundamentalist” candidates (Mahmud
Ahmadi-Nejad, Mohammad Qalibaf, Mohsen Rezai, Ahmad Tavakoli, and Ali
Akbar Velayati). (Bill Samii)
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE LOOKS SOUTH FOR SUPPORT. The South United
organization will back the candidacy of Expediency Council Secretary
Mohsen Rezai, “Farhang-i Ashti” reported on 7 April, citing an
unnamed parliamentarian. According to the newspaper, there are 11
million potential voters in the southern provinces, and the
organization is being created to secure their support for Rezai.
Presidential candidates increasingly are trying to gain the support
of provincial voters. (Bill Samii)
FILM MAKER WANTS TO BE IRAN’S PRESIDENT. Karim Atashi, who
manages the Honar-i Haftom movie studio and who has made some 50
films, said on 3 April that he intends to run in the 17 June
presidential election, Mehr News Agency reported on 4 April. (Bill
Samii)
LEGISLATURE TO LOOK INTO FATAL SOCCER RIOT. Speaker of parliament
Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel said on 4 April that the legislature’s
Culture Committee should investigate the fatal events following a
Tehran soccer match two weeks earlier, the Islamic Republic News
Agency (IRNA) reported. About seven people were trampled to death and
some 40 others were injured after a World Cup qualifying match
between Iran and Japan at Azadi Stadium on 25 March (“RFE/RL Iran
Report,” 30 March 2005). Talesh parliamentary representative Bahman
Mohammadyari said during the 4 April session that security officers
prevented spectators from leaving the stadium and used water cannons
against them, IRNA reported.
Radio Farda reported on 4 April that a commission has been
selected to investigate these events, but it has not issued a report
yet. It is not clear who ordered the closure of exit doors to Iranian
fans, whereas the doors for Japanese fans remained open. The brother
of one of the injured spectators said fans began leaving around the
80th minute of the match, Radio Farda reported, but the doors
remained closed. But an official from the Physical Training
Organization insisted that all the doors were open.
Daily newspapers in Tehran reported on 6 April that the
security forces were responsible for the post-match deaths, Radio
Farda reported. Citing judiciary spokesman Jamal Karimi-Rad, the
newspapers reported that there were 120,000 spectators in the
stadium, whereas it only has room for 100,000 people. Moreover, a
helicopter was used to channel spectators into an exit hall that was
60 meters long but only 7 meters wide. (Bill Samii)
SCHOOL HOSTAGE INCIDENT DEFUSED. A 25-year-old man armed with an
AK-47 rifle held students at the Razi boys’ school in northern
Tehran hostage for several hours on 7 April, Radio Farda reported. He
gave up after speaking with his mother and police officers. The
hostage taker was wearing military fatigues, and one of the young
hostages told Radio Farda that the name on the uniform was Mahmud
Rahimi. The man complained of mistreatment by his superiors,
according to a hostage. Dr. Hamedian, the school’s principal,
said the hostage taker complained that financial and personal
difficulties led to his actions. Several students told Radio Farda
that the hostage taker was very sympathetic and gentle, and they
indicated that they felt sorry for him. One student said all but two
of the teachers fled, and the two who remained spoke with the hostage
taker and calmed him down. (Bill Samii)
JOURNALISTS’ GUILD CHIEF’S FOREIGN TRAVEL BARRED.
Journalists’ Guild head Rajabali Mazrui was prevented from
leaving the country to attend a conference in Denmark, ISNA reported
on 6 April, citing guild Secretary Masud Hushmand. No reason for the
ban was provided, Hushmand added, and he opined that this will prompt
an adverse reaction from the international press community. Hushmand
demanded an explanation from the relevant authorities.
The managing director of “Sharq” newspaper, Mehdi Rahmanian,
appeared at the prosecutor’s office on 6 April to face 32
complaints, the Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) reported. He faces
accusations of trying to agitate the public by publishing lies.
The Ministry of Islamic Culture and Guidance closed the
monthly “Karnameh” on 7 April for publishing allegedly “immoral” news
and poems, Reporters Without Borders reported, and it closed the
pro-reform intellectual magazine “Jameh-yi No” on 8 March. (Bill
Samii)
IMAM KHOMEINI AIRPORT TO REOPEN THIS MONTH. Deputy Roads and
Transport Minister and Civil Aviation Organization Chief Nurollah
Rezai-Niaraki told Iranian state radio on 5 April that the Imam
Khomeini International Airport will reopen on 30 April. All flights
to and from the United Arab Emirates will begin using the airport on
that date, and other international carriers will be invited to use
the airport after that date. Domestic flights will continue to use
Mehrabad Airport.
Islamic Revolution Guards Corps personnel closed the Imam
Khomeini airport on its first day of operation in the spring of 2004
on the grounds that the role of a Turkish firm — TAV — in operating
the facility posed a security risk (see “RFE/RL Iran Report,” 19
April and 17 May 2004). The legislature interpellated Roads and
Transport Minister Ahmad Khoram after the airport’s closure
concerning the giving of the contract to the Turkish company.
Current Roads and Transport Minister Mohammad Rahmati said on
5 April that the cabinet has not decided what to do about the TAV
contract, iranmania.com reported, citing ISNA. After the airport
reopens, he said, Iran Air and another firm with majority Iranian
shareholders will operate it. (Bill Samii)
WORKERS HAVING PROBLEMS. Police were called in to disperse employees
of the Alborz carpet company, located in Sari, Mazandaran Province,
who were demonstrating on 6 April against the factory’s recent
closure, ILNA reported.
Bus drivers in Semnan Province went on strike on 6 April and
gathered at bus terminals and the provincial transport department,
ILNA reported. They were protesting one company’s decision to use
chartered buses to take riders outside city limits, although the news
dispatch did not explain why this is controversial.
Labor House Secretary Alireza Mahjub on 3 April denounced a
recent meeting of the Supreme Council for Labor, ILNA reported. The
meeting was held to discuss changing the minimum wage, he said, but
the government and employers’ representatives did not stand by
their obligations. Mahjub said that in the last few years workers
have not received their wages or their bonuses, and that this appears
to be a customary practice. Mahjub said the labor minister ignored a
requirement that the minimum wage must exceed the poverty line by 1
million rials (about $122), and he also ignored adjustments for
inflation. As a result, Mahjub said, the minimum wage for office
workers should be 2 million rials and 1.22 million rials for
laborers. Mahjub argued that laborers should receive at least 2
million rials.
Some Iranians, meanwhile, lack employment altogether. On 4
April, “Iran Daily” reported that many female residents of the
earthquake-stricken city of Bam need jobs. About 4,000 women are the
sole breadwinners in their households, and charity from the Imam
Khomeini Relief Committee and the State Welfare Organization does not
meet their needs. (Bill Samii)
WAR GAMES BEGIN IN NORTHERN PERSIAN GULF. The Morvarid war games in
the northern Persian Gulf have commenced, state television reported
on 6 April. Submarines, missile boats, and troop carriers, as well as
aircraft, are participating in the two-day exercises.
Major General Mohammad Salimi, commander of the regular armed
forces, visited the Second Naval Base in Bushehr on 7 April and said
the navy’s presence in the south shows the military’s
vigilance, Fars News Agency reported. Salimi also visited the 6th
Shahid Yasini air base, visited an S-200 missile site, a Hawk
medium-range missile site, and air defense installations. (Bill
Samii)
NUCLEAR PROGRAM THE FOCUS OF KHATAMI’S EUROPEAN TRIP. Iranian
President Khatami visited Europe in the first week of April, and
during the trip the predominant issue was the status of Iran’s
nuclear program.
Khatami met with Austria’s President Heinz Fischer and
Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel during a 4 April visit to Vienna, IRNA
reported, while Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi met with his
counterpart, Ursula Plassnik. The two sides discussed bilateral ties,
commercial issues, and events in the Middle East.
The nuclear issue appeared to be a major topic as well.
Khatami said at a joint press conference with Fischer, “Nobody in the
world wants to have weapons of mass destruction, and Iran does not
want to have such weapons, but we need to use nuclear power for
electrification, and therefore we ask the whole world and the
European Union to help us keep those power plants,” Reuters reported.
At the meeting with Schuessel, he said Iran is trying to resolve
concern over Iranian nuclear activities through cooperation with the
EU and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Kharrazi told
Plassnik, “We are having very good cooperation with the [IAEA],” IRNA
reported.
Khatami flew to Paris from Vienna on 4 April and met with
French President Jacques Chirac the next day, Radio Farda reported.
The main topic of the meeting was the nuclear impasse. Khatami told
reporters afterwards that Iran and the European Union have made
progress in their discussions on this subject, saying, “I think we
have taken steps forward.” He also said that the ultimate agreement
between Iran and the EU must recognize what Iran sees as its right to
develop nuclear power. Tehran insists on mastery of the complete
nuclear fuel cycle, whereas Europe and the U.S. want Iran to forego
the enrichment of uranium. Khatami said he hopes serious progress
will be made at a 29 April meeting of officials from Iran, France,
Germany, and the United Kingdom.
Also in Paris on 5 April, Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi and
his counterpart, Michel Barnier, discussed the nuclear issue, AFP
reported.
Before his meeting with Chirac, Khatami attended a meeting at
UNESCO headquarters in Paris on 5 April, international news agencies
reported. Khatami gave the opening speech at the International
Conference on the Dialogue among Civilizations, Cultures and Peoples,
according to the UNESCO website
(;URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_
SECTION1.html).
The terrorist attacks of September 2001, Khatami said, proved
that “dialogue among civilizations had become a political and
economic emergency.” Khatami said “dialogue” implies an active
process of communication. “Dialogue is at once beautiful, moral, and
a guarantor of truth,” Khatami said. He added: “As a Moslem, I have a
firm conviction that the beauty of religion stems from justice… any
understanding of religion that, in one way or another, justifies
injustice stands against the true sense of religion.” He condemned
violence. Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika spoke after
Khatami, and said that, “dialogue among civilizations is one of the
motors of progress.” He said terrorism is not part of Islam.
Khatami flew on to Rome to attend the funeral of Pope John
Paul II. Khatami met with Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi on 7
April, Iranian state radio reported. Khatami reportedly emphasized
that his country’s cooperation with the IAEA demonstrates that
Iran is not violating its international commitments. (Bill Samii)
IRAN AND ALGERIA SIGN AGREEMENT. Minister of Defense and Armed Forces
Logistics Ali Shamkhani and Algerian Interior Minister Yazid Zerhoumi
signed a memorandum of understanding on bilateral cooperation on 4
April, IRNA reported. Shamkhani arrived in Algeria on 2 April for a
three-day visit. Shamkhani met with President Bouteflika, Prime
Minister Ahmed Ouyahia, and parliamentary speaker Abdelkader
Bensalah. (Bill Samii)
KHATAMI CHATS WITH ISRAELI COUNTERPART AT POPE’S FUNERAL.
President Khatami and Israeli President Moshe Katsav shook hands and
chatted at the 8 April funeral of Pope John Paul II, international
news agencies reported. Khatami and Katsav, who was born in Iran,
spoke in Persian about their mutual hometown, Yazd. Hagit Cohen, a
spokesperson for Katsav, described this as a “historic moment and
unique opportunity,” reported “The Jerusalem Post.” The next day,
Khatami denied this. “These allegations are false…I have not had
any meeting with a personality from the Zionist regime,” he said
according to the BBC.
Khatami expressed his condolences on the pope’s death in
a 3 April message, IRNA reported. Khatami met the Holy Father in
March 1999 in a symbolically important meeting of the heads of the
Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Roman Catholic Church
(see “RFE/RL Iran Report,” 15 March 1999).
Ayatollah Hussein Ali Montazeri-Najafabadi also expressed
condolences over the pope’s death and encouraged members of all
faiths to work for peace and justice, “Etemad” reported on 5 April.
Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani expressed his
condolences during his 8 April sermon in Tehran, IRNA reported. He
urged the Christian community to follow the teachings of Jesus more
closely. He added, “The approaches pursued by the world Christians
today differ drastically from the authentic teachings of Christ,
since the followers of Jesus — peace be upon him (PBUH) — cannot
remain Christians and at the same time remain silent and indifferent
toward the crimes committed by the United States and the other
superpowers around the globe.” Hashemi-Rafsanjani continued, “The
world’s Christians should shout in protest against the United
States and tell the White House leaders that their conduct has
defamed Christ (PBUH).”
Iranian state radio also commented on the pope’s funeral
on 8 April. “The massive turnout at the Pope’s funeral clearly
reflects the world community’s strong opposition to war-mongering
America and its unilateralist approach on the international scene,”
according to the commentary. “Without a doubt, this message will not
be lost on the American President George Bush, who is attending the
Pope’s funeral.” (Bill Samii)
SYRIA TO WITHDRAW FROM LEBANON BY END OF MONTH. UN envoy Terje
Roed-Larsen said, after meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
and Foreign Minister Faruq al-Shara, that Damascus has pledged that
the last of its troops will leave Lebanese territory by 30 April,
Radio Farda reported on 3 April. The Syrian pullout from Lebanon will
slightly reduce Iran’s ability to influence events there,
although its close relationship with Hizballah means that it is not
completely left out.
The Syrian pullout is called for in UN Resolution 1559, a
measure that prompted Iranian condemnation last autumn (see “RFE/RL
Iran Report,” 11 October 2004). In the wake of the 14 February
assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and the
resulting international pressure on Syria, furthermore, Tehran
offered advice on dealing with possible economic sanctions and
expressed unity with Syria (see “RFE/RL Iran Report,” 21 February
2005).
Foreign Minister Kharrazi met al-Shara and al-Assad in
Damascus on 2 April to discuss Lebanese affairs, Iranian state radio,
IRNA, and SANA reported. Kharrazi noted that Tehran-Damascus
relations are expanding, and he and his counterpart condemned U.S.
support for Israel. Iran and Syria have had some of their “most
fruitful cooperation” in Lebanon, an Iranian state radio analyst
calling himself “Mr. Kazemzadeh” said on 2 April. This should
continue because “one of the main objectives of the foreign players
in the political crisis in Lebanon…is to change the traditional
political and military balance in their own favor.”
Kharrazi confirmed in the 7 April issue of France’s “Le
Monde” and London’s “Al-Hayat” daily that Syrian forces are
withdrawing from Lebanon, and he insisted that Syria is serious about
the withdrawal. He agreed that France and Iran can influence events
there, and he indicated that this is a natural role for Iran.
However, he was adamant that external interference in Lebanese
affairs must be avoided and outsiders should not try to fill the
vacuum left by Syria.
The disarmament of Hizballah, as called for in Security
Council Resolution 1559, is a form of external interference, Kharrazi
said. It is too soon for Hizballah to disarm, he said, because of the
continuing threat from Israel.
Enthusiasm about the Syrian withdrawal may be premature. The
Lebanese opposition, as well as U.S., European, and UN officials,
asserts that covert Syrian assets in Lebanon are working to ensure
that Syrian domination will continue after the withdrawal, “The
Washington Post” reported on 31 March. (Bill Samii)
TALABANI ELECTION LEADS TO UNREST IN IRAN. President Khatami
congratulated Patriotic Union of Kurdistan leader Jalal Talabani on 7
April on his election as Iraq’s president, IRNA reported. Khatami
said this development shows that Iraqis are determined to run their
country without outside interference, and he added that Iran is ready
to cooperate with and assist Iraq. (On Talabani’s election and on
the new prime minister, Ibrahim al-Ja’fari of the al-Da’wah
al-Islamiyah party, see “RFE/RL Iraq Report,” 8 April 2005.)
In Iran, joyful young Kurds in Mahabad and Piranshahr
celebrated in the streets on 6 June by igniting fireworks and
displaying Kurdish flags, Baztab website reported. Fifteen police
officers were injured in resulting clashes, and 40 demonstrators were
arrested. The Student Movement for Coordination Committee for
Democracy in Iran reported that demonstrations and clashes also
occurred in Baneh, Marivan, Saqez, and Sanandaj. Security forces
allegedly used rubber bullets and tear gas against the demonstrators,
who were shouting anti-regime slogans. (Bill Samii)
IRAN, IRAQ SIGN CONSULAR AGREEMENT ON PILGRIMS, BUSINESS PEOPLE.
Iranian Foreign Minister Kharrazi met with Iraqi Deputy Foreign
Minister Sa’d al-Hayani in Tehran on 7 April, IRNA reported. The
two signed consular documents on the exchange of pilgrims and on
facilities for businessmen and industrialists. They also discussed
the future signing of agreements on cultural and religious
cooperation.
KYIV EYES IRAN’S GAS FOR USE AND TRANSSHIPMENT. In early
February, Interfax announced that Ukrainian President Viktor
Yushchenko will make an official visit to Iran in the “first half of
the year.” The topics to be discussed during the visit were listed as
bilateral relations and joint projects in the energy sector.
The announcement of Yushchenko’s trip to Iran, coming so
soon after his inauguration, served to underscore the importance that
Kyiv attaches to finding alternative energy supplies while seeking to
wean itself away from its dependence on Russian oil and gas.
Tehran has been on the Ukrainian energy compass for the past
few years as a potential supplier of oil and gas. Kyiv also sees Iran
as a country where Ukrainian companies can provide considerable
expertise in energy related construction projects, and as a market
for oil drilling equipment and large diameter pipes.
Iran, according to the International Energy Administration of
the United States () has
proven reserves of 28 trillion cubic meters of natural gas. That is
18 percent of the world’s proven gas reserves and second only to
Russia. Around 62 percent of Iranian natural-gas reserves have not
been developed.
Ukraine also sees itself as a possible transit route for
Iranian gas destined for European Union markets — primarily in
Central Europe and Germany. As such, Ukraine could earn considerable
money on transit fees, that could in turn be used to purchase Iranian
gas for the Ukrainian domestic market.
During Yushchenko’s visit to Germany in March, Deutsche
Bank agreed to provide Naftohaz, the Ukrainian oil and gas monopoly,
with a credit line of $2 billion. The Ukrainian side will decide how
this money is to be spent. Some analysts in Kyiv believe that it
might be allocated to renovating the aging Soyuz pipeline and
preparing it for the task of delivering Iranian gas to Germany.
THE TURKMEN CONNECTION Interest in Iranian gas was renewed in Kyiv
after Viktor Yushchenko was elected president and Turkmenistan
unexpectedly raised the price it charges Ukraine for natural gas in
January by 32 percent, that is, to $58 per 1,000 cubic meters.
Another factor contributing to interest in the Iranian route
is that the contract for Turkmen gas to Ukraine ends in December
2006. After this date, Ukraine will be forced to buy Turkmen gas from
Gazeksport, a subsidiary of Russia’s Gazprom.
On 28 March, RIA press agency reported that a Ukrainian
delegation led by Fuels and Energy Minister Ivan Plachkov and the
head of Naftohaz were given assurances by Gazprom head Aleksei
Miller, who stated: “We support the Ukrainian side’s proposal to
move to monetary payments for the transit of gas through Ukrainian
territory and to raise the tariff rates to the European level.”
Miller added: “Gazprom, for its part, can fully meet Ukraine’s
requirements in Russian natural gas at European-level market prices.”
The Ukrainian side is approaching this promise with caution,
given Gazprom’s history of manipulating the gas market in order
to promote the Kremlin’s political agenda. There is also
considerable doubt that Gazprom is capable of meeting long-term
commitments for gas deliveries to the West.
On 6 March, IRNA reported that the Ukrainian deputy minister
of oil and energy held talks in Tehran with Iran’s Deputy Foreign
Minister for International Affairs Hadi Nejad Husseinian during the
third meeting of the two countries’ energy commissions. At this
meeting, the Ukrainian side proposed buying 15 billion cubic meters
(bcm) of gas from Iran, to be delivered via a proposed pipeline whose
route has still not been agreed upon.
The currently proposed routes for this pipeline are:
— Iran to Armenia and then on to the Georgian port of Supsa,
and from there along the bottom of the Black Sea to Feodosia in the
Crimea. Once in Ukraine, the gas can enter into the Ukrainian “Soyuz”
trunk pipeline for delivery to the EU. According to a recent estimate
done by a Ukrainian energy think tank, the cost of this 550 kilometer
route would be some $5 billion and it would be able to transport some
60 bcm per year.
— Alternately, the pipeline can run from Iran to Armenia
then to Georgia, on to Russia and end up in Ukraine. No cost estimate
has been announced for this route.
The IRNA report mentioned that Ukraine and Iran are to hold
an expert meeting in Tehran in May to discuss the financial aspects
and construction and implementation of the project as well as the
amount of gas to be exported. “Tehran and Kyiv will then make the
final decision,” IRNA reported.
TWO POWERFUL OPPONENTS Opposition to a Ukrainian gas deal with Iran
is likely to come from two countries — Russia and the United States.
On March 19, Interfax reported that deputy CEO of Gazprom
Aleksandr Ryazanov stated that he does not consider the transit of
Iranian gas through Armenia to Ukraine and onward to Europe to be
viable.
“I can’t even image how this could be done at all,”
Ryazanov said, adding that the Iran-Armenia-Georgia-Russia-Ukraine
and Iran-Armenia- Georgia-Ukraine transit routes mentioned in the
press are unrealistic and economically unsound.
Ryazanov did not specify why the routes are unrealistic. The
Ukrainian side is likely to view his objections as being more
political then economic.
The way the United States views the pipeline proposals are
still unknown.
But in the case of a proposed gas pipeline from Iran to
supply Pakistan and India, the United States took a rather dim view.
“Washington warned Pakistan not to go ahead with its
Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project, saying that this project
will strengthen Iran and thus negatively affects the United States
economically,” Al-Jazeera reported on 19 March.
It is likely that the Iranian-Ukraine pipeline project was
discussed in Washington during Yushchenko’s first official visit
as president to the United States, from 4 – 7 April).
U.S. concerns will most likely be centered on the potential
problems that could arise if the EU should become overly dependent on
Iranian gas, instead of being overly dependent on Russian gas.
As an alternative route, the United States has been backing
the idea of an energy corridor for moving Caspian-basin energy to the
West. That corridor would include a gas pipeline that would bypass
Russia and its pipeline system. The downside of this project is the
role that Turkmenistan would play in it and the reliability of its
often erratic leader Saparmurat Niyazov.
While the United States does not want to “strengthen Iran,”
it has also been urging Ukraine to diversify its gas supplies. Given
Ukraine’s limited options for such diversification — the
Norwegian gas fields are rapidly being depleted and Ukraine’s
demand for gas is not decreasing — the Iranian pipeline might be one
of the few possible options open to Kyiv. (Roman Kupchinsky).
*********************************************************
Copyright (c) 2005. 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:
Back issues are online at

The Turkish Blue Book
By Zeynep Ercan
The New Anatolian / Ankara
2005-04-09 18:52:15
Armenians have a “Blue Book” said to compile the evidence supporting
the so-called Armenian genocide committed by the Turks. Why can’t
the Turks have a book telling the Turkish version of events, which
reveals the truth about the Armenians and that shows how the real
massacre was done against the Turks, not the Armenians?
The “Turkish Blue Book” or, “The False Claims of the So-called
Armenian Genocide and Armenian Violence and Massacre of the Turks,”
written by Ismet Binark, was published a few weeks ago as the 16th
periodical publication of the Ankara Chamber of Commerce (ATO).
The book is 342 pages, printed on a blue-colored quality paper in
reference to the Armenian “Blue Book,” which has been harboring the
so-called Armenian genocide claims for nearly a century.
Binark is an award-winning archivist. In his book, he falsifies the
genocide claims with an extensive range of proofs including photos
and official documents.
The book is introduced by ATO Chairman Sinan Aygun, who writes,
“From the first day of its existence, Turkey has been the target
of efforts to destroy and shatter it.” In Binark’s preface to his
work he explains his principal motive for writing the book: “It’s
unacceptable and incomprehensible that some of our supposed friends
and allies expend so much effort in forcing Turkey to acknowledge
our responsibility for the so-called genocide thesis, which is not
supported by any documents.”
The book reveals the facts that there were surely Armenians who died
in southern Anatolia region in 1915, but that they died because of
the events of World War I and emigration.
Summarizing his book, Binark explains that the real massacre was
in fact committed by Armenians against innocent Turkish villagers.
Binark has this to say about the perverse distortion of the facts
regarding these events and their significance in the present time:
“The so-called Armenian genocide is sometimes brought to the table,
in both domestic or foreign politics, by so-called allies or enemies
of Turkey. There is no doubt the issue will always be part of Turkey’s
political context and an issue in Turkey’s international relations.”
He also expressed his personal viewpoint as to why someone should
learn about these events: “To be ignorant of the issue and to not
reply to these false claims is not an acceptable position given the
weight of history. It should be noted that by neglecting the massacres
of the Turks throughout history, the world ignores the common values
of humanity and kills the idea of universal justice.”
The Turkish Blue Book is a piece of art disguised in appearance as
an historical document, which should be read by everyone.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

New ‘achievements’ of Georgians in Armenian Studies
Yerkir/arm
01 April 05
In mid March, speaking to a Georgian newspaper, Georgian presidential
advisor on ethnic issues Georgi Gachechiladze, had expressed his
views on the Armenian Genocide, Javakhk and the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation (ARF).
Following a statement by the ARF press service, ARF representatives’
meeting with the Georgian ambassador to Armenia, the Georgian
president’s press service and the Georgian ambassador officially
announced that the advisor’s views were his own and the Georgian
government did not share them.
So, the incident could be considered settled but Gachechiladze
and another presidential advisor, Igor Kvaseleva, continued making
similar statements in the Georgian press. The core of their statements,
echoed by other authors, charge Armenians of Javakhk with being used
by Russians against Georgia.
[The article in full is available in Armenian.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Antiwar.com, CA
March 29 2005
An Improbable War and Turkey’s New Opportunities

by Christopher Deliso
balkanalysis.com

“We want dialogue with the U.S., not war,” says Turkish author Burak
Turna. “We have written this book to prevent a war.”
The book of which Turna speaks, Metal Firtina (“Metal Storm” in
Turkish) has become a runaway bestseller in Turkey over the past
couple months. A thriller in the style of Tom Clancy, the novel (by
Turkish authors Turna and Orkun Uçar) has been attacked for its
alleged anti-American elements and conspiracy theorizing. The plot
describes how a flare-up between Turkish and American troops in
northern Iraq leads to an out-and-out war, resulting in the American
bombing of Istanbul and Ankara and a Turkish detonation of a nuclear
bomb in Washington in response.
Is such a war possible? And is there any precedent for U.S.-Turkish
hostilities? Very few would wager money on the former scenario. It is
far more likely that any future disaster in Istanbul, at least, would
be caused by an earthquake or accident in the congested Bosporus. But
Burak Turna does believe there is an example of the latter. “We
foresaw that American policy is turning against Turkey, which would
lead to a clash between sides,” he told me recently. “Such an event
occurred after we started to write the book – in Sulaymaniyah
[northern Iraq], where U.S. soldiers captured 11 Turkish soldiers. If
we had resisted, a war would have broken out.”
The event of which Turna speaks caused indignation across Turkey. On
July 4, 2003, around 100 U.S. soldiers “stormed the barracks,”
arresting 11 Turkish soldiers who were allegedly planning to
assassinate the Kurdish governor of Kirkuk. Turks were outraged not
only by this aggression from a longtime ally, but also because the
Americans had actually handcuffed the soldiers and put bags over
their heads “as if they were al-Qaeda terrorists.” This incident had
been preceded by a similar (but hushed-up) one on April 22, which saw
the U.S. arrest Turkish soldiers in civilian clothes who were
escorting an arms shipment into northern Iraq. Such ugly events go a
long way toward explaining why such distrust has arisen.
Could tranquil, age-old Istanbul come under American bombardment?
Fiction and Fact
According to the VOA, Metal Storm has “an outrageous plot that
somehow strikes a responsive chord [among Turks]” and reveals “a
startling shift of opinion.” Yet there is a lot of presupposition
latent behind words like “outrageous,” “somehow,” and “startling.”
It’s strange that the U.S. government’s media wing can express
surprise here, since after all the same article mentions that the
Turkish people have been adamantly opposed to the Iraq war since the
beginning – some on grounds of religion, others out of stability
fears, others out of mistrust of American designs on the region.
But Metal Storm can hardly be blamed for creating “anti-Americanism”
among the Turks. Rather, the fact that the book is so popular should
be seen as more of a rare barometer of not only public opinion but
also imagination. After all, if people didn’t love high-firepower,
cloak-and-dagger geopolitical thrillers, how could authors from Ian
Fleming to John Le Carré to Tom Clancy have made industries out of
their works? No one thinks twice when the enemies in such a book (the
Western “good guys” are always a given) happen to be dastardly
Soviets or North Koreans, Arabs or Cubans or whoever. And, if the
reader also finds works in which their nation is an actor more
relevant, why shouldn’t the Turkish imagination be struck by a book
which features their own country? And is it not rather chauvinistic,
anyway, to assume that we in the West can enjoy a work of fiction for
what it is, whereas other lesser peoples run the risk of taking it
for gospel truth? A Turkish commentator (who also did not discern
much anti-Americanism in the book’s popularity) pointed out that “any
human wanting to escape from the issues of every day life can easily
do so by reading [Metal Storm]. Within that same logic the humans
that read the Da Vinci Code were not against the Catholic Church but
they read it because it had an intriguing theme.”
Most recent Western articles about Metal Storm have centered simply
on the fact that it has sold over 150,000 copies – but not bothered
to get the feedback of anyone who actually read it. This leads to
sweeping generalizations and deceptive juxtapositions. For example,
much has been made of a recent BBC poll that “indicates Turkey is now
the most anti-American nation on earth,” with 82 percent allegedly
hating America. But this is laughable. There are plenty of other
nations more “anti-American” than Turkey. And if one looks at the
original article, it seems the only specific question that the BBC
asked was whether or not the reelection of George W. Bush had made
the world a more dangerous place. A full 21 out of the 24 countries
surveyed agreed with this statement; only a few percentage points
after Turkey were citizens from a couple other key (and non-Muslim)
U.S. allies, Argentina and Brazil. Of course, none of these facts
have stopped neocon mouthpieces like FrontPageMag from tarring Turkey
as “a new al-Qaeda state.” Very helpful.
Indeed, my frequent trips to the country over the past six years have
shown me that in the vast majority of cases, any American, so long as
they act sensibly and respectfully, will be treated well by most
Turks. And a recent AP report conceded as much: “while criticism of
Bush and U.S. policy has skyrocketed, there is little hostility
toward Americans on the streets.”
Isolating the Real Enemy
For the authors of Metal Storm, in fact, part of the task was to
point out the real enemy from the American side. “Our book reveals,”
says Turna, “that Turkey should not be anti-American, but [rather]
harshly criticize Bush and his neocon politics.”
That said, it is truly remarkable (but not very surprising) that the
ever aware U.S. government is trying to bury the problem, while also
attacking the phenomenon of Metal Storm. Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice, meeting recently with Turkish leaders, “raised
concerns about the negative image of the United States in Turkey.”
According to Burak Turna, “U.S. officials made comments on the book
to [the Turkish] media … some U.S. diplomats are very angry with us.”
And an unnamed U.S. diplomat in Turkey cited by the CSM in
mid-February stated in exasperation that “we’re really pulling our
hair out trying to figure how to deal with this.”
Really, it’s not so difficult, as William S. Lind subsequently
pointed out. Rice and the diplomats should have considered which
Americans and which policies in particular are responsible for
Turkish unease. But the neocons have never been very interested in
introspection.
That’s the unbelievable scenario described in Metal Storm
The Neocons Step Up Anti-Turkish Aggression
At the same time, the neocon-driven Bush administration is also
pushing the Turkish government to grant it unpopular military
concessions – something that can only increase Turkish hostility
toward the U.S. But what else could be expected of them? Now the
neocons are clamping down and tightening the screws. A recent AEI
event called “Can the U.S.-Turkish Relationship be Repaired?” was
attended by in-house notables such as Richard Perle and Robert
Pollock, “who wrote the Wall Street Journal op-ed painting Turkey as
rapidly turning into a hotbed of vicious anti-American attitudes,” as
well as Middle East Forum editor (and former Office of Special Plans
disinformation specialist) Michael Rubin, “who recently questioned
[the ruling Turkish party] AKP’s links to Islamic capital.” A partial
report of the proceedings shows that these overblown demagogues were
quite vicious themselves in attacking the Turks from all sides –
something which would have been inconceivable until the Iraq war.
Why all the intimidation? The AEI event seems to have been backup for
the Bush administration’s “proposal to use the southern air base of
Incirlik as a cargo hub for U.S. forces operating in the region.”
Now, the U.S. has been using Incirlik, near the southern city of
Adana, for a long time already, but the current proposal would see it
become a vital center for the U.S. war effort in Iraq – something the
Turks vetoed in a March 1, 2003 parliamentary vote that was
incidentally a rare victory for democracy. But the decision also
caused immense displeasure among the neocons, who had counted on
Turkey to be faithful as ever and expedite the war.
Any decision to increase American use of the air base will be an
unpopular one in Turkey, but probably not a devastating one for
relations. However, there is now a real risk that the administration
might go all the way in alienating the Turks, whether or not an
“agreement” is reached. Turkey’s NTV television is cited as reporting
“[T]he government might officially reply to Washington over the
Incirlik proposal in the coming weeks, before the 90th anniversary of
an alleged Armenian genocide at the hands of the late Ottoman Empire
arrives on April 24.
“A powerful Armenian lobby in the U.S. Congress is expected to push
for a resolution recognizing the alleged genocide as part of an
anniversary campaign. U.S. administrations have opposed such attempts
in Congress in the past but observers say this year the George W.
Bush administration may not be as willing to prevent such a move as
it was in the past, given the growing mistrust of the Turkish
government.”
The Turks Ask: What Is the U.S. Really Up To?
While I guess we can learn something from “focus groups” held in
American-style bagel factories and the Istanbul Ritz-Carlton, it’s
not the way I chose to do it on this month’s visit to Istanbul. I was
not particularly interested in dismissing the Turks as adherents of
“mad conspiracy theories” or in making haughty and sweeping
news-speak statements like “the real battle for Turkey is the battle
for Turkish hearts and minds.” Rather than interview Turkey’s
“pro-Western” elite, the kind of people whose voices are already
heard in the media anyway, I sought out young Turks and Kurds who are
far from influential but who have plenty of education and experience
working with and for Westerners. People some of whom come from the
“fundamentalist” places that the elite look down upon with fear and
disdain, but who also understand well the differing mindsets of
everyone from America to Germany to Japan.
According to them, the growing wariness of America owes specifically
to Turkish observance of the American war machine in action. “People
in Turkey are starting to talk about things in a new way,” says
Enver, a 24-year-old Turkish tour operator from the Aegean coastal
city of Izmir. “If they [the U.S.] attacked Afghanistan, and then
Iraq, and now are talking about Syria or Iran, who will be next?”
Kamer, a 32-year-old hotel manager and Kurdish Turk from the
southeastern town of Mardin, nods in agreement. “Now, everything is
changing. Even the people who used to say ‘yeah, America!’ no longer
trust them. There is a feeling that the Americans screwed up big time
in Iraq – so, many people are laughing at them, but they are also a
little afraid of what they will do next.”
Their view is shared by another Kurd originally from the Batman area,
Apo, who now works as a bartender in a pub popular with American,
Australian, and British tourists. “I’ve been in 23 countries, and met
people from many more,” he says. “The most common criticism of the
U.S. is not against the [American] people but against the war
policies of George Bush. I have friends and family in America, and I
would like to visit there someday. So we Turks are not against
America – but after seeing these wars against Muslim countries
continue to unfold, we have for the first time become a bit
mistrustful: what is Bush really up to? Is it all about Middle
Eastern oil and control of Central Asia, like the book [Metal Storm]
says? And what country will be next?”
A colleague of his, Fatih, adds that some Turks fear there is a
religious dimension to this as well. “We can see clearly who supports
Bush’s wars: Israel and the Christian fundamentalists in America.
These people are like crusaders. They want to make the whole world
like them. It is true, Turkey is a secular Muslim state, but it is a
Muslim state [nonetheless], and religious people here are afraid that
they would like to ‘convert’ us someday.”
The Self-Sufficiency Argument and the EU Backlash
It is interesting that many of these views are shared by the Turkish
“elite.” The Australian article, for example, cites young Turks who
point out America’s support for Israel as a prime factor behind
tensions in the region. And the author cites a young academic who
says, “[W]e’re worried about the way America is attacking countries
in the region and we might be on the list.”
On a second front, the complex issue of potential EU membership,
Turks are again leery. A young airline executive cited denounces the
EU countries as “liars and hypocrites” bent on denying Turkey EU
membership through subterfuge and deception. “Of course they are
racist and prejudiced against us. We don’t need Europe.”
I have noticed these attitude growing for the past couple years, as
Turkish-EU negotiations have intensified and Turkish exasperation
with the union has grown. As the European states wound Turkish pride
by threatening to keep them out, Turks are beginning to invoke the
argument for self-sufficiency and national pride. Turkey is a major
textiles and agricultural exporter; has developed industries in areas
such as chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and automobiles; and boasts a
growing tourism industry as well. As for mineral resources, the
country possesses the world’s largest boron reserves (64 percent), as
well as 40 percent of the world’s marble and large quantities of
other natural resources, including magnesites, coal, chromite, and
copper. Urban Turkey offers shopping malls, airports, hotels, and
convention centers as modern as anywhere in the world. Don’t these
things count for anything, Turks ask?
Says Enver, “Turkey has everything it needs to be one of the richest
countries in Europe. It doesn’t need the EU, though the politicians
keep saying that this is our only choice.”
Apo agrees. “Turkish people want to live well, but they have been
brainwashed by the media to believe that only the EU can help. Yet
now is coming a generation of young people, many from western Turkey,
who are not so sure. They have educated themselves about the issue.
They know what’s going on. They know what we can expect to gain from
the EU – but also what we can lose.”
A Future Superpower Role for Turkey?
Distaste with the EU’s prevarications and tricks, mistrust with
America’s incessant warmongering, and a new sense of self-confidence
could conceivably lead the Turks to seek a more active role in world
leadership. How might this play out? “My friend, there is too much
support for an all-Turkish alliance,” says Enver. He is referring to
a possible scenario long considered, which would see Turks create
some kind of union with their ethnic kin in Azerbaijan and the
Central Asian states. While such a possibility is popular, at least
among a certain percentage of the population, Kamer avers, “our
politicians are very pro-Europe, and want to keep the people down. So
they haven’t moved very strongly in this direction.”
It is in this context that Apo recounts the pan-Turkic dream of
Turgut Ozal. A towering figure in modern Turkish politics, Ozal
served as prime minister from 1983-1989, and thereafter became
president until his death in 1993 of a heart attack. Ozal was
enthusiastic about creating a Turkish sphere of influence, one that
would stretch “from the Adriatic to the Great Wall of China.”
With the fall of the Soviet Union, Turkey began energetically seeking
out new allies among its ethnic peers in Central Asia. In 2004,
former Indian Ambassador to Turkey and Azerbaijan K. Gajendra Singh
credited “the dynamic leadership” of Ozal for a plan that provided
training, loans, and investments into the billions of dollars for the
Central Asian republics after 1991. However, following Ozal’s death
in 1993, the pan-Turkic project was put on the back burner.
Subsequent governments showed less interest in ethnic projects than
in religious ones, and despite various resumptions of interest, a
pan-Turkic alliance never really got off the ground.
Until recently, the primary opposition to Turkish influence in
Central Asia has come from the Russians, who wished to retain their
influence over military and energy affairs. However, now that
increased American intransigence has driven the two ancient enemies
closer together than ever before, things are changing. And America’s
frenetic democracy-building adventures in Central Asia are also
proving a headache for the Turkish government, as it tries to decide
how to react to events such as the destructive coup in Kyrgyzstan,
which has revealed a vacuum of power that perhaps neither Russia nor
America can adequately fill. Is it possible that Turkey could
exercise some influence, here and in the other republics America is
seeking to revolutionize?
It is clear that adventures such as Kyrgyzstan reveal the U.S. to be
just as obsessed with limiting the influence of Russia and China as
it is with controlling energy sources and pipeline routes. However,
it has shown relatively little awareness of other unifying regional
factors, most importantly the shared Turkic background of the Central
Asian states, which, if augmented by Azerbaijan and Turkey, could
make up one of the largest and richest ethnic blocs in the world. Is
it just possible that continuing neocon intransigence could drive
Turkey to assert itself more forcefully, both as a leader of allies
and in its budding friendship with ancient antagonist Russia?
This is a very large and complex subject, one well beyond the scope
of the present article. But it is worth speculating for a moment over
what the “map” could look like if, after a few years, oafish neocon
belligerence backfires and Russia and China are joined by the Turkic
bloc in an alliance fundamentally hostile to American interests. To
some, it might sound as ridiculous as the plot of Metal Storm. But
then again, none of the U.S. government’s adventures in this part of
the world have materialized quite as the “experts” expected. No
doubt, the world has more surprises in store for them yet.
Inevitably… the Sequels
So what happens next? The road ahead is clear for the authors of
Metal Storm, at least. In true American style, they are franchising
their product. While 37-year-old co-author Orkun Uçar forges ahead on
Metal Storm 2, 30-year-old Turna is working on Metal Storm 3, as well
as another novel on a similar theme, World War 3. In the latter work,
he tells me, the scenario of a future pan-Turkic alliance figures
strongly in the plot. It sounds like it will be another rousing
bestseller.
What is most remarkable is the degree to which the authors’ viewpoint
coincides with that of the public at large. Turna echoes the
mentality of Turks I and others have spoken to recently when he
declares that
“Turkey can be and should be a superpower in the world. We have all
the resources and historical background for that. The EU would
benefit from us but there is little benefit we can take from them.
Turkey is a must for Europe’s future, if they want to stay as one,
but they are not a must for us.”
As every reader of futuristic, high-velocity fiction knows, only time
will tell.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress