Category: News

Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic
Aug 20 2004
Putin Urges Georgia, South Ossetia To Negotiate
20 August 2004 — Russian President Vladimir Putin today urged
Georgia and its separatist region of South Ossetia to renounce
violence and settle their standoff through talks.
Addressing reporters after meeting Armenian President Robert
Kocharian in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Putin said only
negotiations will allow the sides to find a solution to their
sovereignty dispute.
“There can be only one way out: to sit down to the negotiation table;
secondly, to be able to reach agreements; and thirdly, to have enough
political will to implement those agreements,” Putin said.
Putin also said he hoped both parties will have enough “political
will” to implement decisions reached by the joint commission in
charge of monitoring the 1992 Georgian-South Ossetian peace
agreement.
Earlier today, Russia’s Foreign Ministry welcomed Georgia’s decision
to pull back its troops from South Ossetia after this week’s
violence.
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili ordered the pullout yesterday
after its forces took possession of strategic outposts near the
regional capital Tskhinvali.
Russia had earlier criticized Saakashvili for sending troops into
South Ossetia despite earlier pledges to peacefully reassert his
authority over the region.

ArmenPress
Aug 20 2004
ARMEINAN AND RUSSIAN PRESIDENTS MET IN SOCHI
YEREVAN, AUGUST 20, ARMENPRESS: Armenian and Russian presidents
Robert Kocharian and Vladimir Putin met today at the residential
house of president Putin in Sochi.
Expressing his gratitude for accepting the invitation, V. Putin
mentioned that some of the issues have been ripe for discussion.
Though well developed relations are reported in political and other
fields, there are some issues which raise concerns, particularly he
mentioned the trade turnover between the two countries for the first
quarter of the year. V. Putin noted that both sides are aware of the
reasons of such decline and voiced his hope that during the meeting
possible solution will be discussed.
Expressing thanks for the invitation, president Robert Kocharian
noted that decline in trade turnover is conditioned with the
liberalization of diamond market and modernization in Armenal, a
Russian foil subsidiary. According to Armenian president, it is
expected that industrial output will double in Armenal after
modernization. In terms of cooperation in other fields, it is
inclined more to growth.
V. Putin mentioned that Russian sides has fully satisfied the
Armenian applications to study at Russian military higher education
establishment and the number of students may total 150. R. Kocharian
asked to be strict with Armenian students and treat them as Russian
cadets rather than foreigners. V. Putin fully agreed with R.
Kocharian mentioning that there are some technical matters which will
soon be resolved and expressed readiness to satisfy any application
for study in Russian higher educational establishments.

ArmenPress
Aug 20 2004
SMUGGLING OF CATTLE STAVED OFF ON ARMENIAN-TURKISH BORDER
GIUMRI, AUGUST 20, ARMENPRESS: On August 19, border guards staved
off attempted violation of Armenian-Turkish border and smuggling of
cattle to Turkey on Verin Shen border line in Shirak region. Three
citizens of Armenian origin have been detained trying to smuggle
about thirty cattle to Turkey. The border headquarters in Giumri
handed over the violators to Armenian interior affairs regional
department. A criminal case is initiated into the case.
Illegal smuggling of cattle from Armenia to Turkey have increased
due to rise of meat prices in the neighboring country. The latest
case was reported in July in Zarishat border zone. Investigation is
under way into the case. During the seven months of the running year,
54 cases of border violations have been reported with total goods of
350,000 Russian rubbles confiscated, including cattle mainly.
According to border guard headquarters, mostly Armenian, Turk and
Kurd criminal groups are engaged in smuggling on the border lines.

ArmenPress
Aug 20 2004
VANADZOR NATIVE PERFORMS FOR RETURNED PEACE CORPS ARMENIA VOLUNTEERS
IN US
WASHINGTON, D.C., AUGUST 20, ARMENPRESS: Armenian
singer/songwriter Gor Mkhitarian made his national capitol region
musical debut on Sunday, July 18 before an enthusiastic crowd of
returned Peace Corps Armenia volunteers and Armenian Diaspora at
Zig’s bar in Alexandria, VA.
Mkhitarian, nominated for 5 music industry awards in 2002, played
a casual set of acoustical numbers from his second album, “Godfather
Tom” which features an eclectic mix of modern folk music that makes
use of banjos, harmonicas, guitar, flutes and the African Djembe.
Mkhitarian has enjoyed enthusiastic support from a Peace Corps
Armenia fan base as a result of the friendships he made with many
volunteers who served in Armenia’s northern regions.
“I think most of us are excited that Gor is able to play in the
U.S. We love his music and attend his concerts because of the
personal connection we had with him in Armenia” said Matt Fabian, who
lived in Alaverdi from 1999-2001 and attended Sunday’s show. Gor’s
song, “Story” is particularly popular among volunteers. Says Fabian,
“it has a great melody-the lyrics are happy, familiar and easy to
dance to Armenian-style.”
Gor began forging ties with volunteers as the lead singer of Lav
Eli, one of his early bands. Two of the band members featured on
“Godfather Tom,” Aaron Stayman and Jason Demirjian, both volunteered
with Peace Corps in Armenia and helped Gor launch his first album
“Yeraz” in 2001.
Gor is working on a third album. Both “Yeraz” and “Godfather Tom”
are available through CD Baby at

The Economist
August 21, 2004
U.S. Edition
A matter of Russian honour; Russia
Four unresolved conflicts in the ex-Soviet republics are a festering
sore
Vladimir Putin should solve rather than stoke regional conflicts
AFTER a humiliating decline as a world power, Russia is working hard
to regain respect and authority. That is a fair, even praiseworthy
aim. But to achieve it, Russia must respect other countries too,
including places once ruled from Moscow. It will prosper more with
friendly, confident countries around it – not weak, frustrated ones.
Russia understands that, but often seems incapable of showing it.
By offering unconditional support to rebel regimes in the Georgian
provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Russia dishonours itself and
destabilises its neighbourhood (see page 35). Since South Ossetia
broke away from Georgia 12 years ago, it has degenerated into a
smugglers’ paradise. Russian soldiers prop up a sleazy regime that
peddles vodka and arms. Moves by Georgia to cut this illegal trade
have led to a violent summer. Heavier fighting, and open Russian
intervention, are a risk.
The crisis needs delicate handling, but the fundamentals are simple.
South Ossetia is not a viable state. It lives on crime. Its
government needs to be closed down as part of a generous settlement
which Georgia now offers. Abkhazia, Georgia’s other breakaway
province, is a tougher problem, and its local government even less
legitimate – in that it speaks for even fewer of the region’s lawful
residents – than South Ossetia’s.
Of the two places, Abkhazia has more claim to separateness – and it was
the scene, in 1992-93, of a war where both sides fought dirty. Any
settlement must include some deal for Georgians who fled Abkhazia;
but only a limited right of return may be possible – and not straight
away. On the positive side, Georgia wants to talk, and will offer
Abkhazia any arrangement short of independence. But by underwriting
the separatists, Russia is holding up such a solution.
Faced with this, America and Europe should give more help to
Georgia’s Mikhail Saakashvili, whose openness to ethnic co-existence
and western values make him the region’s most promising leader for
decades; the governments of the West should steady his hand while
affirming his choices.
They should also look beyond Georgia, to other “frozen conflicts” in
the region. One is in Moldova, where another rebel statelet,
Transdniestria, lives on smuggling and Russian guns. Then there is a
far bigger stand-off: over Nagorno-Karabakh and its environs, where a
decade ago Armenians broke free from Azerbaijan and expelled local
Azeris. That logjam has other causes besides Russian meddling – but it
would be easier to shift if Russia worked constructively with the
West.
All these conflicts destabilise countries on the new borders of NATO
and the European Union. The four Russian-backed statelets at the
heart of these disputes have something in common: they have no legal
existence, and can easily serve as a free-for-all for illegal
activity of every kind.
That should be a worry for Russia too. If it sponsors adventurism and
racketeering in Georgia and Moldova, that is partly because its
policy there has been captured by crooks. The West should take its
worries to the top, putting it to Vladimir Putin in plain language.
Will the president continue backing separatist regimes that live on
smuggling? Is a miserable bit of local power worth the harm done to
Russia’s name as a responsible state? Of course it is not. But only
when Mr Putin takes a stand will the behaviour of more lowly Russians
change. And he will do so only if other countries persuade him that
his reputation, and that of Russia, are at stake.

DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
August 20, 2004, Friday
US MILITARY BASES WILL APPEAR IN AZERBAIJAN
SOURCE: Nezavisimaya Gazeta, August 18, 2004, p. 4
by Rauf Mirkadyrov, Igor Plugatarev
Baku is making preparations for the US troops that will turn up in
Azerbaijan this autumn within the framework of re-deployment of
American troops abroad currently under way.
According to what information this newspaper has compiled, Azerbaijan
and the United States came to an agreement on deployment of an
American mobile contingent in this country during the recent visit of
US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Before that, US AF General
Charles Ward, US Second-in-Command in Europe, spared neither time nor
effort to condition official Baku into acceptance of American
military presence. Ward made two visits to Azerbaijan in 2004. He
made another statement on American military presence in countries of
the southern part of the Caucasus the other day. Addressing a special
meeting at the US Senate in Washington, Ward said, “Georgia,
Azerbaijan, and Armenia are recognized now as the new geopolitical
edge due to the Caspian oil, threats of terrorism, illegal arms
deals, and traffic.” The matter concerns “strategic military
partnership” with countries of the region even though “the United
States does not intend to establish a permanent base there.” Ward
said that American servicemen in Azerbaijan will patrol the Baku –
Tbilisi – Dzheikhan pipeline and ensure its security. Proving himself
a smooth talker, Ward promptly avoided a collision with the law on
national security recently adopted in Azerbaijan which bans
establishment of foreign military bases on the territory of the
country. State officials and the military in Baku and Washington take
care not to call the US troops about to appear in Azerbaijan a
military base. The latter are called “provisionally deployed mobile
forces”. In the meantime, some Azerbaijani officials and politicians
do on denying the fact that some US troops are getting ready to move
into Azerbaijan. Deputy Chairman of the Parliament Ziyafet Askerov
told INTERFAX – Azerbaijan yesterday that his country does not plan
to have any foreign troops on its territory. Foreign Minister Elmar
Mamedjarov categorically denounced the very idea of establishment of
US military bases in Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijani military expert Dzhasur Mamedov says that American
specialists have already examined airfields located in Kyurdamir and
in the settlements of Nasosny and Gala. “More than that, the military
base in Kyurdamir is fully ready for the Americans now. The runways
there were repaired recently. The cantonment was modernized and
upgraded to meet NATO standards,” said Mamedov. “The Kyurdamir base
is conveniently situated. It is right in the center of the country.
>From there, it is possible to instantly respond to what happens along
the Baku – Dzheikhan pipeline and even control the territory of
Iran.”
Mamedov says that some of these airfields (Kyurdamir and Nasosny) can
even receive heavy transports of Ruslan type. TRML-3D mobile radars
with the range of 200 km are to be installed in Sanchagal near Baku
where the Baku – Dzheikhan pipeline terminal is located.
Last week, Rumsfeld visited Azerbaijan and Ukraine. Russian military
experts await the reports on deployment of a mobile American
contingent in Ukraine as well. General Vladimir Dvorkin of the
Institute of Global Economics and International Relations is
convinced that “it is to early yet to draw conclusions because there
is no saying at this point what troops of what strength and arms will
be deployed in Azerbaijan and Ukraine.” “In any case, I do not think
that the matter concerns any major American plans with regard to
these countries,” said Dvorkin. “First, deployment of large garrisons
there is not expedient from the military point of view. Second, there
is the European Arms Limitation Treaty. On the other hand, it goes
without saying that Baku and Kiev would not mind appearance of US
troops on the territories from the political point of view. Foreign
military bases mean additional jobs for the locals and a steady
income.”

Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
August 20, 2004, Friday
BAKU NEEDS HELP FROM MOSCOW
SOURCE: Vremya Novostei, August 18, 2004, p. 5
by Shakhin Abbasov
VISIT OF THE FOREIGN MINISTER OF AZERBAIJAN TO MOSCOW CENTERED AROUND
RUSSIA’S PARTICIPATION IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT
Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Eldar Mamedjarov came to Moscow with a
three-day official visit, yesterday. This is Mamedjarov’s first visit
to Russia in the capacity of the foreign minister. The visitor and
his Russian opposite number Sergei Lavrov will discuss the war on
terrorism and problems of the legal status of the Caspian Sea.
Mamedjarov said before leaving for Moscow that “the central issue on
the agenda concerns Russia’s role as a mediator and chairman of the
OSCE Minsk Group in settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.”
“This is a matter of importance for us,” Mamedjarov said.
The talks in Moscow are taking place against the background of active
Russian-Azerbaijan contacts. Five prominent Russian politicians
visited Baku in the last three months – ex-premiers Yevgeny Primakov,
Sergei Stepashin, and Viktor Chernomyrdin, CIS Executive Secretary
Vladimir Rushailo, and Mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzhkov.
Some discords have been already settled. The accord signed in 2002
divided the Caspian Sea into national sectors of Russia, Azerbaijan,
and Kazakhstan. Azerbaijan joined construction of a railroad from
Russia to Iran and to the Persian Gulf via Azerbaijan.
In 2002, Azerbaijan made an important step in Moscow’s direction when
it leased Russia the Gabala radar installation. Azerbaijani parties
of the opposition and organizations of environmentalists still
maintain that the radar is harmful to the population of nearby areas.
The day before yesterday, PR Department of the Russian Space Force
found itself compelled to announce that the effect the radar has on
the population and environment does not exceed the established norms.
In fact, demands to sanitary norms in the USSR were stiffer than
anywhere else in the world. In any case, the final conclusion will be
drawn by specialists.
Political scientist Rasim Musarbekov maintains that “the
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict is like a time bomb” that jeopardizes
the otherwise good relations between Baku and Moscow. Mamedjarov’s
visit to Moscow is taking place against the background of
deterioration of the situation in Georgia. In Azerbaijan itself, not
one public statement of President Ilham Aliyev in the last twelve
years failed to boil down to the threats to resume hostilities and to
criticism of the OSCE Minsk Group. When a military exercise was run
in Nagorno-Karabakh in early August (participation of the Armenian
army in it was not even denied), Mamedjarov even went so far as to
question expediency of continuation of negotiations within the
framework of the OSCE Minsk Group.
Some specialists do not rule out the possibility that official Baku
may take radical steps to restore territorial integrity of the
country, simultaneously with analogous actions on the part of Tbilisi
against runaway autonomies. “Mamedjarov on his visit to Moscow will
try to gauge the readiness of the Kremlin to put Yerevan under
pressure so as to make it more docile in the talks,” Musarbekov
explained. The United States is another key member of the OSCE Minsk
Group, but the forthcoming presidential election in this country have
persuaded the US Administration not to grate the powerful Armenian
diaspora without a compelling reason.
On August 20, President of Russia Vladimir Putin is scheduled to meet
with his Armenian counterpart Robert Kocharjan in Sochi. It is clear
that the course and the tone of conversation will take into account
the outcome of Lavrov’s negotiations with Mamedjarov that will have
ended by then.
Unless Baku secured Moscow support, Azerbaijan may begin buying arms.
Sources in the Defense Ministry of Azerbaijan say that Baku is
already negotiating the matter with Pakistan and Ukraine. “These arms
deals will radically change the military parity between Azerbaijan
and Armenia,” Musarbekov said.

Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
August 20, 2004, Friday
VLADIMIR FEDOROV REPLACED THE HEAD OF THE BORDER GUARDS OF THE URALS
MILITARY DISTRICT MIKHAIL OGANESYAN
The Major-General Vladimir Fedorov was appointed the head of the
regional border administration of FSB of the Urals Federal district.
The appropriate decree was signed by President Vladimir Putin. The
former head of the Urals border guards Mikhail Oganesyan left for
Armenia. Journalists do not know the reasons for this yet. “He left
for the other country and does not work in the FSB now” – announced
the press service of the administration. The new head of the border
administration Vladimir Fedorov started his service in 1969 as a
soldier. He commanded border troops in the Caucasus, in the Pacific
Ocean and in Siberia. (…)
Source: UralPolit.Ru, August 18, 2004

In the Shadow of Moscow
Armenia Rebuilt by its Diaspora
Le Monde diplomatique
January 2004
By Vicken Cheterian
If you had been in Yerevan, the Armenian capital, last summer, you
wouldn’t have been able to visit any museums, since they were shut for
restoration; city streets and pavements were closed while being
rebuilt. Thanks to a generous donation from the US-Armenian
billionaire, Kirk Kerkorian, the city has been given a new look. Since
2001 Ker kor ian, owner of MGM studios in Hollywood and hotels in Las
Vegas, has allocated $170m for roads and housing in this vulnerable
earthquake region. Money has been lent to small businesses and to
provide employment for 20,000 people. The sum is a third of the annual
national budget.
Gerard Cafesjian, another US-Armenian, is spending $25m to renovate
the Cascade, a complex of stairways and workshops linking central
Yerevan with the Monument district, where he plans to build a modern
art museum (1). The diaspora is starting to return to Armenia, and its
activities make a difference. The population of Armenia is 3.8 million
but there are twice that many in the diaspora, with major
concentrations in Russia, the US, Georgia, France, Iran and
Lebanon. After the earthquake of 1988, which killed more than 25,000
and destroyed a third of the industrial potential, the diaspora sent
immediate massive aid. In the past two years investments have replaced
aid, supporting economic activities from software companies to hi-tech
medicine.
Politically, relations between Armenia and its diaspora are
complex. Traditional political parties from the diaspora have
influence in the country, for example the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation (Tashnaktsoutyun) and the Liberal Democratic party
(Ramgavars), which have branches and media. But there are major
divergences and misunderstandings.
In 1988, at the beginning of the popular movement in Armenia, the
diaspora parties called for calm, in tacit support for the Soviet
authorities. With their traditional fear of their Turkish neighbour,
the Armenian parties thought that the weakening of the Soviet
(Russian) power in Armenia would expose the country to a Turkish
threat.
After the Soviet collapse, Armenians from Marseille, Cairo or Boston
came to Armenia and suffered from culture shock. They wanted to invest
but did not understand the subtleties of Soviet bureaucracy, the new
rules of a wild market economy, or the corruption or rela tivity of
the laws. Many lost their investments within months. The
disappointment was so great that some started talking of taking refuge
elsewhere. To make matters worse, the first president, Levon
Ter-Petrossian, did not appreciate the presence of organised diaspora
organisations in Armenia. In December 1994 a number of Tashnak
activists were arrested, their media closed and party activities
abolished. With Robert Kocharian’s accession in 1999, relations
improved: the activists were released and the Tashnaktsoutyun became a
junior partner in the government. It now has three ministers.
To change things, the Armenian state organised two major conferences
in 1999 and 2002, inviting the diaspora to invest. The current foreign
minister, Vartan Oskanian, born in Syria and US-educated, played a key
role in both (2). A number of organisations actively lobby for the
Armenian cause, increasing the importance of this tiny nation
internationally. The Armenian Assembly of America and the Armenian
National Committee of America, two powerful lobby groups in
Washington, are struggling for the recognition of the genocide of 1915
and for a favourable US policy towards Armenia.
Recently Aram Abrahamian, an Armenian-Russian oligarch, launched the
World Organisation of Armenians with the direct blessing of President
Vladimir Putin of Russia. In Yerevan they fear this is another
manoeuvre by the Kremlin to increase its influence, not just on
Armenia, but on worldwide Armenian communities. Other analysts think
that, in this period of Duma elections, Putin is interested in winning
the favours of 2.5 million Russian citizens of Armenian origin (3).
The enormous effort by the diaspora to support Armenia has taken funds
away from its community organisation just as its identity was starting
to change under pressure from new migration trends and in a decade of
globalisation. This has weakened traditional Armenian community
structures, such as the parties, church and schools (4). Though the
overall influence of the diaspora is increasing in Armenia, its impact
on political, social and economic decision-making remains limited.
Vicken Cheterian is a journalist in Yerevan.
NOTES
(1) See
(2) The Armenian foreign ministry and its policy were influenced by
the diaspora. The first foreign minister was US-Armenian Raffi
Hovannesian, son of the famous historian Richard Hovannesian. After
his resignation in 1992, foreign policy was mainly the domain of the
presidential adviser, political scientist Gerard Libaridian, born in
Lebanon and later a US resident.
(3) See Sophie Lambroschini, “Russia: Putin Plays To Armenian
Diaspora, But For What Purpose?” RFE/RL, Prague, 13 October 2003.
(4) There are 390 Armenian schools outside Armenia, according to
ArmenPress, Yerevan, 20 November 2003.

The View from Tehran Avenue
THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC 25 YEARS ON
Le Monde diplomatique
February 2004
By Wendy Kristianasen
Iranians might be going to the polls to cast their votes in
parliamentary elections on February 20. But how many of Tehran’s young
voters will take part? The feeling in the city is one of alienation.
Disenchantment with the political system is complete.
Noushin is 22 and a journalist with a cool culture e-magazine, Tehran
Avenue; she was 16 when Mohammad Khatami became president on 22 May
1997, swept into office by 20m of the 30m votes cast by an electorate
of 33m. His dovvom-e khordad reform movement was premised on civil
society, rule of law and freedom of expression. During his campaign he
had spoken of the particular need to meet the aspirations of youth and
women. The reformists’ victory was repeated in the municipal and
parliamentary elections of 1999 and 2000, and in Khatami’s re-election
in June 2001with more than 77% of the votes.
But for Tehran’s youth nothing really changed. Noushin says: “This
regime has been able to play on people’s vulnerabilities like
religion, fear of God, superstition. In my parents’ day some people
liked the idea of going back to tradition, but most felt they’d got
more than they’d bargained for. Growing up, we saw our parents’
reactions to all this and became even more confused than they were
about what’s right and wrong. People began to reject politics as a big
lie.
“And what was new in 1997 got boring because nothing changed. I grew
up with some interest in politics. But everyone younger than me is
completely uninterested and blames the Islamic Republic. We’ve all
become diplomats: you play by the rules to get things done.”
Before the 1990s only a tiny minority, those who were able to study
abroad, had any contact with the West. Then came satellite dishes and
the internet. The West gushed in, filling the young with new
impressions. Noushin says: “America is a symbol of freedom. Everyone
wants to go and live there, or just to go there and have fun. It’s a
mixture of people from different backgrounds and its ruling system
isn’t imposed on you. And people are more accepting there than they
are in Europe, where we feel like strangers.” The Iranian regime’s
views on the United States have made it even more an object of desire.
What about daily life? On the street the coffee shop is the most
important venue where boys and girls can meet openly outside the home,
in groups or couples. “That’s only in Tehran,” says Behrang
gloomily. He failed to get into Tehran University and is pursuing his
veterinary studies in Tabriz (1). Tehran’s revolutionary
law-enforcers, such as the basiji, have lightened up over the past two
years. Boys who want to be cool wear their hair long; girls push the
Islamic dress code to the limit: a scarf, a tunic (manteau) over
trousers. The approach is everything – chadors may be black, but black
is also the preferred colour for girls who like to wear their tunics
short and tight. Near the centre of town, in Motahari Avenue, I
spotted one in highestt of high heeled bright orange shoes, orange
handbag, minimal orange scarf and the tightest, shortest manteau,
barely covering her bottom. With bright orange lips to match. A
defiant statement of self.
Four boys were playing guitars in Laleh park that sunny winter
Friday. Close by, a girl was gliding, exquisitely, on roller blades:
Karina, 22, Armenian, had studied accountancy at a technical college
and now had an office job. She wore a short, tight manteau and a
brilliant blue scarf, so skimpy that her bright red curls tumbled from
under it nearly to her waist. What about the basiji? “It’s OK in the
park; there’s just the park police. Outside the park Muslim girls get
away with much skimpier clothes than we do. Life’s boring here:
nothing to do, nowhere to go. I don’t like the cinema: it’s full of
films about real life, and I have enough of that already.”
Nearby young people sat in groups round tables, the girls together,
facing the boys. Elsewhere boys and girls were quietly holding hands
on park benches. The real fun in Tehran is at the disco parties in
homes, in non-traditional households sometimes with alcohol.
Noushin’s eyes light up as she describes these: “They’re unique:
they’re made up of strong social groups of people you really care
about; there’s an intimacy about them.” And they are safe, protected
from outside intrusion.
Maryam, 14, still a schoolgirl, loves coffee shops, pizzerias, burger
bars and disco parties. She and her friends have a vocabulary of their
own (2): cool is plus, trendy is titanic, classy is ba-class,
14-year-old girls are fenchul (finches), the police are cactus,
intelligence agents kaftar (pigeons) and so on. She especially loves
Arian, the first Iranian pop group and a commercial success story –
they have sold more than half a million copies of their two albums, on
CD and video. This sunny Persian pop music has a big novelty – girl
singers: three of them, in cream hijabs, breaking all the old rules of
segregation and opening a new space for the dreams of Iranian girls.
This commercial music is looked down upon by the supercool folk who
run TehranAvenue, who organise underground music competitions and
bring together experimental bands – pop, rock, fusion – that have
seldom performed in public. The organisers of these events know that
the authorities keep them closely in their sights but since they are
far from mainstream, they are not too worried: the more alternative
the group and the smaller the audience, the less they need
worry. TehranAvenue’s website (in Persian, and in English for the
benefit of expat second gener ation Iranians) (3) has good graphics
and often irreverent reviews of what’s on in Tehran: movies, plays,
exhibitions, events. It also carries articles: one featured a team of
Tehran women footballers, who wear black hijabs over a red strip; and
another an article on sexual needs and Aids, plus an interview with
the owner of a shop that had the novel idea of selling condoms, legal
and available, through its website.
Along with alcohol and drugs – hashish, marijuana, ecstasy, anything
you want – there is sex. Noushin divides up Tehran’s youth into
generations: “The older ones – 23 up to 30-somethings – seem to value
the sanctity of sex as something you do for love, long-term,
serious. People under 23 live for the moment and hold nothing sacred,
not even sex. It’s just an event, something tem porary. And because
all these kids have grown up together, virginity isn’t so important
any more.”
But for the mid-20s-up age group, once they form serious
relationships, there are social problems. Shirin, 24, a successful
photographer, explains: “You can go to the cinema and the coffee shop,
but you can’t go away on a trip with your boyfriend or take him home
to your parents. So you have to get married.” Iran has an easy system
of temporary marriage, but this is frowned on. So she and her
boyfriend married, though they can’t afford a home, because “marriage
is the licence to live in this country. Our identity still revolves
around the family: it’s not just our parents, it’s our extended
families.”
Shahrzad, 25, is from Shiraz but she works in Tehran in
advertising. She has a different problem. She is one of the few
unmarried girls to live on her own and have her own flat. “It’s
tough,” she says. “My neighbours are always on the look-out for my
comings and goings; they’re like self-appointed relations.”
All this is confirmed by Dr Mohammad Sanati, a professor of psychiatry
at Tehran University who runs 25 therapy groups of 12-15 people each,
many of them young. He explains that less than half now care about
politics, while only a fraction are very angry. One of the angry
brigade, Yassin, was a member of the student union at university until
he got expelled. He says: “Politics isn’t seen as serious any more as
it was when Khatami came to power: only 10% of students count
themselves as radical these days.”
Dr Sanati believes that many of today’s young are still religious. All
the young agree that religion exists in every family, to different
degrees, mainly as tradition. But in the same way that the young have
rejected their parents’ values system, many of those that opt for
religion do so on their own entirely new terms. A young man might make
a pilgrimage to Mashad wearing a gold chain around his neck, defying
the rule that men only wear silver. There is interest in learning from
other cultures and setting a private spiritual agenda – when and how
to pray or fast.
Though Tehran’s young have abandoned trad itional values and Islamic
politics, they may perhaps have retained God.
NOTES
(1) In 2003 the percentage of girls entering into university in Iran
reached more than 62%.
(2) Published in a paperback dictionary by Nashre Markaz, Tehran,
2003.
(3)
Original text in English