Al-Jazeera, Qatar
Sept 20 2004

Saudi-American woman seeks political office
By Linda Isam Haddad in Los Angeles

An Arab-American woman has set her sights on political office in the
United States, hoping to impart social change and create a positive
impact on women’s rights in the Arab world.

About 50 years ago, a young girl shocked her conservative Saudi
neighbourhood when she showed two boys how to ride a bike. They
stared at her with a confused daze as she rode the bike down the
street.

Today, that little girl is all grown up and has shocked her
neighbourhood – and the rest of her country – as she attempts to
become the first Saudi-American woman to win political office in the
US.

“My look on life has always shocked people in my country,” says
Ferial Masry, who is running for the 37th district of the California
Assembly, an assembly seat which represents Ventura County and parts
of Los Angeles County.

“All my life, I was interested in social change,” Masry, also a
teacher of American History and government at Cleveland High School
in Los Angeles, tells Aljazeera.net. “I always had it in me to do
something that may be different that can affect my community.”

Against the odds

Masry filed her candidacy registration papers late, and ended up
running as a write-in candidate in March 2004 for the Democratic
primary election and was able to get enough votes making it to the
general election where her name will appear on the ballot this
November.

“I barely had enough money to run a campaign,” she says, citing her
opponent Audra Strickland, conservative Republican candidate and wife
of the incumbent Assembly person Tony Strickland, who has spent
nearly half a million dollars with two months left in the campaign.

Masry (C), an active Democrat,
was very visible at the convention

Masry says if she wins her grassroots campaign will certainly be a
case study for the entire nation.

The US constitution is just a tiny little document with so much
power, she says. Masry believes with such powers citizens should feel
responsible to become more involved in the political process, whether
one votes or runs for office.

Win or lose, Masry says her running for a political seat will not
only bring awareness to important issues in her community, but it
will also have an impact on women in Saudi Arabia and the rest of the
Arab world.

Growing up

When she was only nine, her mother sent her and her sisters to be
educated at the American Boarding School for Girls in Cairo, Egypt.

Up to that point, the only schooling Masry had had was at the local
Kutab in Makka, a place where children were taught how to read and
learn the Quran.

Masry’s favourite subject in school was history. “The more we know it
and study history, the more we can learn from it to be better people
and [a] better society,” Masry tells Aljazeera.net. “History brings
us close to our roots.”

After earning a bachelor of arts degree in journalism at Cairo
University and living in England and Nigeria, Masry moved with her
husband Waleed to Southern California, a place she first fell in love
with while vacationing.

Waleed, born in Nigeria to a Lebanese father and Armenian mother, did
not like the idea of moving to America, “but he also didn’t mind it”,
Masry says. “I decided on it because I knew it was the place to
pursue the future.”

She counts on her family for
support and encouragement

In 1979, they did just that, opening a small photograph-processing
business, and becoming US citizens three years later.

During that time, Masry pursued and earned a master’s degree in
school administration at California Lutheran University.

Today, Waleed works as a civilian electrical engineer in the US army.

On the issues

“She’s a smart woman because she brings the best of both worlds,”
says Zella Brown, 80, of Thousand Oaks, a city in the district Masry
is running in.

“Her background is tremendous and I enjoy learning more and more
about her.”

Brown has been a Democrat since she first registered to vote, and
believes Masry brings forward not only Democratic principals to the
table, but as well ideas and values most politicians do not have that
may help her campaign.

One of Masry’s biggest concerns, especially as a teacher in the Los
Angeles Public Unified School District, is how public education is
being handled.

She ran on a shoestring budget in
the primary election

One of California’s biggest crises is that its educational system is
lagging behind other states’ public school systems. It is a struggle
trying to balance a budget deficit without hurting the public school
system.

“The beauty of [America’s] system is that you can be educated until
the day you die,” Masry says. “But the unfortunate thing is the
politicians have a hold of our education, and the first thing I would
try to do is to take education out of the hands of the politicians.”

Masry stands firm on the issue of not hurting public schools’ budgets
when trying to balance the states’ budget.

“As a high school teacher, I stand for a good public education, which
should be a normal thing and not a privilege,” Masry says.

Defeating stereotypes

America’s relationship with Saudi Arabia is considered a
controversial one among some Americans, especially since it was
revealed that 15 of the 19 hijackers in the September 11 attacks were
Saudi-born.

With America’s ever-growing efforts to combat “terrorism”,
stereotypes of Arabs have also been growing in the minds of some
Americans.

“There is a stereotype [about Arabs], but it all depends on how you
receive it,” Masry says. “Stereotypes about Arabs and anyone else
disgust me, yes, but I do not and will not allow it to hurt me. We
[Arabs] are a people with a proud heritage.

The Saudi-born Masry wants Arab
women to believe in themselves

“Stereotypes may even come from your own community,” says Omar Masry,
the candidate’s oldest of three children.

Unfortunately, Omar says, some Arabs automatically assume that
because his mother is Saudi Arabian, she is rich, and so they will
not donate money to her campaign.

Omar is very hopeful his mother will win, despite the fact the
district she is running in is predominantly Republican. “[My mother]
is able to bridge differences,” Omar says. “She is not your average
white bread Ryan Seacrest look-a-like wannabe politician who cannot
relate to average Americans.”

Creating social change

Masry has certainly attracted much attention since her determination
to run for the assembly started this year.

“People like me because I am funny and not threatening, but at the
same time I’m very serious when it comes to seeing things change for
[the] good,” she says.

“Unfortunately, women in [the Arab] culture feel oppressed and blame
the culture,” she says. “Part of the problem is not our culture, but
the woman herself.”

She hopes women in the Arab world will stand up and believe in
themselves and go against any force that oppresses them.

“Unless you take yourself seriously, know you can have an effect on
your community and respect yourself and believe in yourself first, no
one else will believe in you,” she says.

RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
_________________________________________ ____________________
RFE/RL Iran Report
Vol. 7, No. 32, 20 September 2004

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

************************************************************
HEADLINES:
* THEOLOGICAL COMMUNITY CONTENDS WITH CHANGING WORLD
* RELIGIOUS MINORITIES FACE PERSECUTION…
* …AS DO SUFI MUSLIMS
* PARTIES HINT AT PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES
* IRAN VIEWS HERAT PROVINCE DEVELOPMENTS POSITIVELY
* KHATAMI HOPES TAJIK VISIT WILL LEAD TO BETTER TIES
* IRANIAN MILITARY SITE INTERESTS IAEA
* IAEA CRITICAL OF IRANIAN NUCLEAR COOPERATION
* IS WEAPONIZATION NEAR?
************************************************************

IRAN’S THEOLOGICAL COMMUNITY CONTENDS WITH CHANGING WORLD. The
1979 Islamic revolution struck Iran’s religious community as the
dawn of a new and promising era for the country and its faithful. A
quarter of a century later things don’t look so rosy for the
clerics — many Iranians view them with disdain, and Al-Najaf, the
center of Shi’a learning in Iraq, seems set to eclipse the
Iranian theocratic center of Qom.
The major Shi’a cities in Iran are Qom and Mashhad. There
are almost 60 seminaries in Qom, the most prominent of which are
Fayzieh, Dar ul-Shafa, Hojjatieh, Sayteh, and Golpayegani. Qom also
has 10 libraries, and several Islamic periodicals are published
there. Mashhad is the site of the tomb of Imam Reza and 20
seminaries, including Khairat Khan, Mirza Jafar, and Navvah. There
are also seminaries in Isfahan (ex: Chahar Bagh, Mullah Abdullah),
Shiraz, Tabriz, Tehran, and Yazd.
Fifteen years ago, Nikola B. Schahgaldian wrote in “The
Clerical Establishment in Iran,” (RAND Publication Series prepared
for the Office of the U.S. Undersecretary of Defense for Policy,
[June 1989]), that the estimated number of Iranian clergymen ranged
from 90,000 (media observers), to 200,000 (Iranian clerics
themselves), to 300,000 (European sources). Another 50,000-60,000
Iranians had some religious training. There were about 40,000
theology students at Iranian seminaries. Finally, there were some
60,000 people with no formal training or qualifications who acted as
urban preachers, rural-prayer leaders, and procession organizers.
In early September 2004, a prominent theologian told a
reporter that Iran remains very attractive to religious scholars.
Hojatoleslam Husseini-Bushehri, who is either director of the Qom
Theological Seminaries (Howzeh-yi Elmieh-yi Qom) or the Qom
Theological Lecturers Association (Jameh-yi Mudarresin-i Howzeh-yi
Elmieh-yi Qom), announced that there are hundreds of scholars from
around the world studying at religious institutions in Isfahan,
Mashhad, Qom, Tehran, and other cities, “Resalat” reported on 5
September. In Qom alone, Husseini-Bushehri said, there are 50,000
students from 70 countries. There are 300 religious research centers
in Qom, he added, and 3,000 seminaries in the entire country.
Other major Shi’a centers are in the Iraqi cities of
Al-Najaf and Karbala, and the Baghdad neighborhood of Khazimiyah.
“Najaf has been the revered center of Shiite Islam for 1,000 years;
it is the most respected shrine,” Iranian scholar Abdolkarim Soroush
said in an interview (“Rise of Iraqi Shiites Threatens Iranian
Theocrats,” “New Perspectives Quarterly” vol. 21, no. 2 March 2004).
The seminary in Qom, Soroush added, “is barely 100 years old.” With
the demise of Saddam Hussein’s regime, therefore, Al-Najaf is
likely to become a center of apolitical and quietist Shi’a Islam.
Lebanon’s importance as a site of Shi’a learning is
growing, particularly in terms of teaching Lebanese ulama (see Rula
Jurdi Abisaab, “The Lebanese Hawza of al-Rasul al-Akram: Toward a
Redefinition of the Shi’ite ‘Alim,” in “Distant Relations:
Iran and Lebanon in the Last 500 Years,” Houchang Chehabi and Hassan
Mniemnieh, eds., [London: IB Tauris, 2004]).
The number of religious students and seminary instructors in
Iran appears to remain high even if the exuberance of the early
revolutionary years has worn off. There is a practical explanation:
clerics have a “head start” in seeking government jobs, and their
children get into the best schools (Christopher de Bellaigue, “Who
Rules Iran?” “The New York Review of Books,” vol. 49, no. 11, 27 June
2002). Moreover, students who study under popular clerics receive a
stipend, which is important given the difficulty of finding real
jobs. A visitor to Qom told the “RFE/RL Iran Report” that one
encounters individuals who have spent many years in the seminary
without completing their studies.
Some seminarians’ lack of purpose or identity or sense of
rootlessness is furthered by the disdain many people have for the
lower echelons of the clerical classes. In fact, such disdain is not
a new phenomenon. During the 1960s and 1970s the “clergy were often
described in unflattering terms as venal, greedy, and hypocritical,”
whereas leading clerics “were generally described as pious and
learned” (Eric Hooglund, “Social Origins of the Revolutionary
Clergy,” “The Iranian Revolution and The Islamic Republic,” Nikki R.
Keddie & Eric Hooglund, eds., Syracuse: Syracuse University Press,
1986, p. 80).
The 1979 revolution not only affected the nature of the
Iranian government but it changed the relationship between religion
and politics. The traditional criteria for judging a clergyman’s
stature (such as theological learning, writing, jurisprudence,
knowledge of canon law, and the opinion of other top clerics) became
less relevant, and political factors now play a greater role.
Three incidents illustrate this point. The 1989 succession to
the supreme leadership by Ali Khamenei and his hasty promotion to the
rank of ayatollah was one such case. Khamenei was only a hojatoleslam
but had served as president; the constitution was amended so the
supreme leader no longer had to be a source of emulation (see article
109). With the deaths of Grand Ayatollah Abolqasem Khoi (1992), Grand
Ayatollah Mohammad Reza Golpayegani (1993), and Grand Ayatollah Ali
Araki (died 1994), there was an attempt to promote Khamenei to the
rank of source of emulation. Khamenei himself withdrew from
consideration. (See “RFE/RL Iran Report,” 23 November 1998.)
The third incident illustrating the impact of politics on the
religious system relates to the 1997 presidential campaign. Thirty
members of the Qom Theological Lecturers Association were invited to
a meeting at which they were advised to declare their support for the
leading conservative candidate. Several clerics avoided the meeting,
but 14 of those in attendance informed the press that the seminary
backed the conservative candidate. The clerics who did not attend the
meeting subsequently expressed their dissent: “Those who pretend that
none of the 30 members was against [conservative candidate Ali Akbar]
Nateq-Nuri forget that Ayatollahs Mohammad Fazel [-Lankarani], Nasser
Makarem [-Shirazi], [Ebrahim] Amini [-Najafabadi], [Ali Akbar] Masudi
[-Khomeini], myself [Karimi] and a few others are also members of
that association.” (Azadeh Kian-Thiebaut, “Time for reform of the
Islamic revolution,” “Le Monde Diplomatique,” January 1998.)
Some clerics’ rejection of political involvement or a
theocratic state was not completely unexpected. In the mid-1980s
scholars were writing that some of the leading clergymen prefer “the
looser visayat-i fuqaha, which they interpret as general supervision
by the clergy over affairs…. At the most, these clerics are willing
to concede the principle of vilayat-i faqih in times of exceptional
turmoil but contend that it lapses when a government is installed, a
parliament is elected and a new state order comes into being.”
(Sharough Akhavi, “The Revolutionary Clergy,” “The Iranian Revolution
and The Islamic Republic,” Nikki R. Keddie & Eric Hooglund, eds.,
[Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1986], p. 61.)
By the mid-1990s, withdrawal was, in some cases, becoming
opposition to the Khomeini interpretation of the Islamic state in
which clerics hold executive power. “Already, the higher-ranking
ulama, under the banner of the institution of marja’iyat, are
moving to their traditional role of opposing the state with seemingly
traditional reasoning, i.e. the illegitimacy of the state in the
absence of the Lord of the Age.” (Maziar Behrooz, “The Islamic State
and the Crisis of Marja’iyat in Iran,” Comparative Studies of
South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, Vol. XVI, No. 2 [1996].)
The leading clerics’ unhappiness with the country’s
politics is illustrated by the point that eight of the top 12
ayatollahs reportedly refused to vote in the February 2004
parliamentary elections (Grand Ayatollah Yusef Sanei, cited by the
“Chicago Tribune,” 2 May 2004).
Nevertheless, there still are many clerics in Iranian
governmental institutions. In this case, it is the middle-ranking
clerics who dominate and they are not likely to want the system to
change because of its benefits to them.
“First, those mollas [sic] who have gained political power
can be expected to be reluctant to return to the mosques to become
once again simply preachers. Second, the fact that so many
politically active mollas [sic] come from lower-class backgrounds,
and also that so many of the tullab [religious students] have similar
origins, means that their support of the concept of clerical
political activism is tantamount to having an assured means of upward
mobility. Third, clerical control of the government has meant
clerical control of government revenues, and thus financial
independence form the traditional support of private, lay persons.”
(Eric Hooglund, “Social Origins of the Revolutionary Clergy,” “The
Iranian Revolution and The Islamic Republic,” Nikki R. Keddie & Eric
Hooglund, eds., [Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1986], p. 82.)
Developments in Iraq, combined with the 25 years of
mismanagement by the Iranian theocracy, indicate that the Shi’a
community will undergo major changes in the coming decade. The
Iranian theocracy is faced with two choices: complying with public
sentiments and basing its legitimacy more on popular support than on
religion, or continuing to impose itself on the Iranian people. (Bill
Samii)

RELIGIOUS MINORITIES FACE PERSECUTION… The U.S. State Department
renamed Iran as a Country of Particular Concern in its sixth Annual
Report on International Religious Freedom, which was released on 15
September (). Other
countries of concern are Burma, China, Eritrea, North Korea, Saudi
Arabia, Sudan, and Vietnam.
Iran’s religious minorities — Baha’is, Christians,
Jews, and Sunni Muslims — report “imprisonment, harassment,
intimidation, and discrimination based on their religious beliefs,”
and all the minorities suffer some “officially sanctioned
discrimination.” Jews feel threatened because of the government’s
anti-Israel policies and Baha’i sites have been destroyed (see
“RFE/RL Iran Report,” 13 September 2004).
According to the State Department report, evangelical
Christians are not allowed to proselytize. Security personnel monitor
churches and demands worshippers’ identity papers.
Indeed, approximately 80 evangelical Christians were arrested
on 9 September when police raided the Assemblies of God annual
conference in Karaj, BosNewsLife reported, citing Compass news
agency. Radio Farda reported on 12 September that most of those
arrested were released, and that many who spoke to the station had
requested anonymity for fear of retribution.
Michael Kolahdozan is one of two Catholics in Shiraz, “The
Daily Star” reported on 17 September, and he finds it difficult to
practice his religion. “I go to an Anglican church here as there is
no Catholic service. There is in Isfahan and Tehran, but they are
Armenian Catholic churches, and I don’t speak Armenian,” he
explained. Kolahdozan added that he sometimes goes to a synagogue.
His parents live in Australia and his sister lives in England, and
Kolahdozan finds it difficult to find a compatible partner. “I cannot
find a wife and do not want a Muslim girl. The only woman I could
marry would be in Tehran, but they are mainly foreigners. I want
somebody who can speak my language,” he said. (Bill Samii)

…AS DO SUFI MUSLIMS. The State Department’s Annual Report on
International Religious Freedom, which was released on 15 September
(), refers to
“government repression of Sufi religious practices, including the
constant harassment and intimidation of prominent Sufi leaders by the
intelligence and security services.” The size of the Sufi population
is unknown.
There are four major Shi’a Sufi orders in Iran, according
to Moojan Momen’s “An Introduction to Shi’i Islam” (New
Haven, 1985). The Nimatullahi order is the largest and is divided
into five branches. The Kawthar Ali Shahi branch is centered in
Hamedan, Maragheh, and Tehran. The Shamsieh or Shamsul Urafa branch
has a “khanagah” (meeting place) in Tehran. The Dhur-Riyasatayn
branch expanded in the 1980s, with branches being built throughout
Iran and even in the United States and England. The Gunabadi branch
is headquartered in Bidukht. The Safi Ali Shahi branch has at least
10 khanagahs throughout Iran.
The Dhahabi order is based in Shiraz, where, as of 1985, it
maintained a khanagah. It also has meeting places in Tehran and
Tabriz. The Nurbakhshi order was influential in the Safavid era
(1501-1722), and it was important in the spread of the Shi’a
faith in India. Having been suppressed near the end of the Safavid
era, it never re-established itself in Iran, although a few
practitioners remain. The Khaksar order appears to have little real
organization, many members claim to be sheikhs, and among its members
are many wandering dervishes. This order has several different
branches and meeting places in different cities. (Bill Samii)

KHAMENEI WARNS THAT ISLAMIC WORLD IN DANGER. Supreme Leader Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei said at the 16 September closing ceremony of a Koran
recitation contest in Tehran that there is a war against the Islamic
community, state radio reported. “This war has economic, political,
cultural, military and security aspects,” Khamenei continued, “And
today, it has the greatest propaganda tools at its disposal.” Events
in Palestine, Iraq, or Afghanistan are not part of a war against
individual countries but are part of a bigger war against the
existence of Islam in the region. Khamenei said the Islamic
community’s survival is ensured by “a new Islamic spirit,
movement, and awakening,” and he warned, “they want to destroy this.”
Khamenei said the Islamic community can survive “through the Koran.
The Koran taught us everything. We should learn and understand the
Koran.”
Khamenei struck a similar chord in a 13 September speech to
state officials — on the occasion of Mab’ath, the anniversary of
Mohammad’s appointment as prophet. He said that there is a war
against the Islamic world because of its resources, state radio
reported. The global arrogance proclaims democracy and freedom, he
said, but it is trying to destroy the Islamic nation. In case there
were any questions about who he was discussing, Khamenei spelled it
out: “The arrogant power of America, this absolute manifestation of
depravity, is spreading wickedness from all its fingers in the
Islamic region today.” “The Islamic world should unanimously stand
against America’s arrogant aggression anywhere and in whatever
form. They should know that apart from resistance, there is no way to
repel the wicked nature of the evil that has manifested in the
arrogant America,” Khamenei advised. He continued: “No leniency,
flexibility, or retreat will reduce the unquenchable thirst of the
arrogant. They will not accept anything less than absolute domination
over the Islamic world, especially the Middle East region.” (Bill
Samii)

PARTIES HINT AT PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. Though Iran’s next
presidential election is still nine months away, there is a great
deal of speculation about the likely candidates.
“I would rather someone else enter the presidential race, but
if the society as well as prominent pundits conclude that I can
fulfill this task better, I will announce my readiness,” Expediency
Council Chairman Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani told
reporters in Mashhad on 16 September, IRNA reported. Rafsanjani added
that there is plenty of time for other candidates to come forward.
The reformist Islamic Labor Party’s Abbas Ahmadi told
Fars News Agency on 10 September that Hashemi-Rafsanjani has met with
leaders of his organization and announced that he would run as a
candidate under certain conditions. Rafsanjani said his decision
would depend on the country’s political climate, and he would do
it for the sake of the revolution and the system.
Former Prime Minister Mir Hussein Musavi is the
reformists’ favorite, but he is being coy about his intentions
(see “RFE/RL Iran Report,” 6 September 2004). Given the difficulties
President Hojatoleslam Mohammad Khatami has had in accomplishing
anything substantive since being elected in May 1997, Musavi’s
hesitation is understandable.
“Election of an informed, experienced, faithful, and capable
manager will expedite [Iran’s] development,” Majid Ansari of the
pro-reform Militant Clerics Association (Majma-yi Ruhaniyun-i
Mubarez) said in the 23 August “Aftab-i Yazd.” He added that a strong
democracy with public support through elections will neutralize
foreign threats. Musavi, therefore, is the only candidate for the 2nd
of Khordad Front, Ansari said, adding, “We are still talking to
Musavi.”
Another prominent member of the Militant Clerics Association,
Hojatoleslam Ali-Akbar Mohtashami-Pur, also weighed in on
Musavi’s behalf, “Aftab-i Yazd” reported on 11 September.
Mohtashami-Pur described Musavi’s “main qualifications” as “his
trustworthiness, truthfulness, and honesty.” He added that Musavi
managed the country during the 1980-1988 war with Iraq and said that
the country’s infrastructure is under attack. “We need
individuals such as Engineer Musavi, whose main concern day and night
is the people.”
Ansari said on 12 September that efforts to persuade Musavi
to run as a presidential candidate are continuing, IRNA reported.
Addressing the annual meeting of the Office for Strengthening Unity
student organization, Ansari added, “The president is representing
the republican aspect of the system and the presidential election
will represent the religious democracy in Iran.”
An anonymous “informed source” said in the 8 September
“Resalat” that Musavi definitely will not be a candidate. Quoting an
anonymous “prominent theoretician of the 2nd of Khordad Front,” the
source said: “the 2nd of Khordad Front groups are now going to select
another person as their candidate in the presidential elections. This
is because Mir Hussein Musavi has announced explicitly and clearly
that he is definitely not going to stand as a candidate.” Musavi
reportedly gave many reasons for not running, but the source refused
to share them.
Hamid Reza Taraqi, a member of the conservative Islamic
Coalition Party’s central council, said its strategy is to
encourage high public participation in the election by supporting the
candidate most likely to unite the voters and gather the highest
number of votes, ISNA reported on 7 September. Taraqi said Ali Akbar
Velayati — former foreign minister and current adviser to the
supreme leader — might be a candidate but the Islamic Coalition
Party has not started considering candidates. Taraqi concluded that
the party has not made a decision on Velayati or anybody else.
Another Islamic Coalition Party member, Hassan Ghafurifard,
said in the 4 September “Sharq” that Velayati has decided to run for
president. “As far as I know, he has decided to stand for the
elections and he has even made the arrangements for his campaigning.”
Urumiyeh parliamentary representative Abed Fatahi has
mentioned Expediency Council secretary and former Islamic Revolution
Guards Corps commander Mohsen Rezai as a possible candidate for
president, the reformist “Aftab-i Yazd” reported on 9 September.
“Channels and sources close to Mohsen Rezai are propounding the
likelihood of his presence in the presidential election, which in
some respects is a source of delight.” Among Rezai’s advantages
over other possible candidates, Fatahi mentioned “his youth and the
fact that he was a fighter and an expert in economic, political, and
military affairs.” (Bill Samii)

ARREST OF IRANIAN JOURNALISTS ANGERS RSF. Radio Farda reported on 9
September that Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has expressed outrage
over the recent arrest of three journalists — Hanif Mazrui, Babak
Ghafuri-Azar, and Shahram Rafizadeh — and called on the Iranian
government to release them promptly
(
4-8ff04fd38b71.html; see also
62).
The arrests are part of a recent crackdown on pro-reform
Internet sites, and according to Radio Farda, many Iranian weblogs
have expressed concern about this issue. Radio Farda’s
correspondent noted that the government blocked access to three
websites — baamdad.com, emrooz.ws, and rouydad.info — in late
August.
The sites later reappeared, albeit with different addresses
and formats, the BBC reported
(). The
government also closed three Internet cafes in Bushehr, RSF reported
(). Moreover, Hamid
Motaghi, the head of the Naqshineh website ()
in Qom, which has been blocked since March, was summoned to court on
21 August and freed after posting bail of 100 million rials
($11,437).
RSF on 14 September called for the immediate release of
Mazrui, Ghafuri-Azar, and Rafizadeh and referred to their “unfair
detention,” according to the RSF website
(). The journalists
are connected with the rouydad.com website, which is run from the
Netherlands by exiled journalist Sina Motallebi. RSF expressed
concern that they have been transferred to a “special wing” of Evin
prison that is reputedly a place of torture and to which only
intelligence service interrogators commanded by Judge Said Mortazavi
have access.
RSF also noted that Said Motallebi, the father of Sina
Motallebi, has been arrested in an effort to gag his son, and it
added, “We call on the Iranian judicial authorities to halt this vile
blackmail.” Said Motallebi was arrested on 8 September, and the
authorities reportedly threatened to make him “another Purzand” — a
reference to the 75-year old Siamak Purzand, who has been imprisoned
since 30 March 2003. (Bill Samii)

IRAN VIEWS HERAT PROVINCE DEVELOPMENTS POSITIVELY. Iranian Ambassador
to Kabul Mohammad Reza Bahrami told reporters on 13 September that it
is natural for his government to be concerned about the situation
along Iran’s eastern border, Iranian state radio reported on 14
September. Bahrami said that former Herat Province Governor Ismail
Khan had important roles in the struggles against the Soviet invaders
and then the Taliban, but now there is an Afghan central government
that is responsible for the entire country. Bahrami added that Iran
supports the Afghan government’s promotion of domestic security.
Iran has traditionally had a close relationship with Ismail
Khan, who spent time in Iran after fleeing a Taliban jail. A U.S.
intelligence officer once described him as an Iranian intelligence
asset, and after 2001 he traveled to Iran several times and
reportedly was the beneficiary of Iranian arms and money (see “RFE/RL
Iran Report,” 17 December 2001; 28 January, 11 February 2002; 10
March, 15 December 2003; and 6 September 2004).
Tehran is, however, familiar with Ismail Khan’s
replacement. New Herat Province Governor Seyyed Mohammad Khairkhwah
served as an ambassador to Iran until March 2002.
Khairkhwah met with the Iranian consul in Herat, Ali
Najafimanesh, on 15 September, Herat TV reported. Khairkhwah
described the government’s objectives and stressed the importance
of bilateral ties, while Najafimanesh discussed Iranian
reconstruction projects in the province and hoped that stability
would be established soon. Also in attendance were security commander
Brigadier General Ziaudin Mahmudi, the National Security
Department’s General Mayel, and Mohammadullah Afzali, the head of
the Foreign Ministry’s office in Herat. (Bill Samii)

IRAN AND AFGHANISTAN SIGN POLICE COOPERATION AGREEMENT. Afghan
Interior Minister Ali Ahmad Jalali and Iranian Ambassador to Kabul
Mohammad Reza Bahrami signed an agreement on cooperation in police
affairs on 13 September, Afghan Radio Kelid reported on 14 September.
Under the agreement, Iran will build and equip 25 border posts, train
180 Afghan police officers in Iran, and donate 125 motorcycles to the
Afghan police. (Bill Samii)

IRAN-AFGHANISTAN WATER DISCUSSIONS TAKE PLACE IN TEHRAN. Iranian and
Afghan officials met in Tehran on 8 September in what IRNA described
as their first joint meeting within the framework of the 1973 Helmand
(Hirmand) River treaty. The river flows from Afghanistan to Lake
Hamun, and its waters are then used in Iran’s Sistan va
Baluchistan Province. Availability of water has been hampered in
recent decades by Soviet tactics during the war in Afghanistan,
drought, and poor relations between the former Taliban regime and the
Iranian government. The situation has improved since 2002, but
Iranians still complain of water shortages (see “RFE/RL Iran Report,”
29 May 2000; 10 and 23 September, 4, 11, and 25 November, 9 December
2002; 6 January and 20 October 2003, and 6 September 2004). Deputy
Energy Minister Reza Ardakanaian told IRNA that they are preparing
the grounds for implementing the treaty. He said that under normal
circumstances, Iran’s annual share is 820 million cubic meters.
Ardakanian added that decisions made at the meeting will go into
effect on 22 September, when the “water year” begins. (Bill Samii)

IRANIANS, TAJIKS INK PRELIMINARY AGREEMENTS. President Hojatoleslam
Mohammad Khatami and a delegation of Iranian officials arrived in
Dushanbe on 11 September on the third leg of a trip that had already
taken them to Yerevan and Minsk, international news agencies
reported. The Iranians and their Tajik hosts met with President
Khatami and his Tajik counterpart, Imamali Rahmonov, and signed seven
memorandums of understanding, including one on “bilateral cooperation
based on mutual respect and protection of both countries’
interests.” Other agreements addressed the operation of the
hydroelectric power plant at Sangtudeh, “herbal quarantine,” and the
establishment of an Iranian trade center. Yet another agreement
allowed for land in Tehran for the construction of a Tajik Embassy.
Khatami and Rahmonov flew to the Sangtudeh construction site in
southern Tajikistan on 13 September, the Avesta website reported.
According to the agreements, Iran will invest $250 million in the
project and will own 51 percent of it. (Bill Samii)

KHATAMI HOPES TAJIK VISIT WILL LEAD TO BETTER TIES. Iran was the
first country to recognize Tajikistan’s independence in the early
1990s, RFE/RL’s Antoine Blua reports. Since then, expectations
were that the two countries — which share a common language — would
develop close ties. That hasn’t happened. Iranian President
Mohammad Khatami visited Tajikistan from 11-14 September to try to
change the situation.
Khatami’s three-day trip started 11 September and
featured talks with Tajik President Imamali Rakhmonov. The two
considered a broad range of issues related to bilateral cooperation
in the fields of economy, trade, and industry. Khatami said on 12
September that Iran would do what it could to help the Tajik economy
to develop. “And be sure that our policy and our strategy is to
cooperate with Tajikistan in vast areas. We consider Tajikistan’s
[development] as [part of our own] development,” Khatami said. He
added that Iran will invest more than $700 million in the Tajik
economy in the coming five years.
Davood Hermidas Bavand, who teaches international law in
Tehran, says Khatami’s trip is part of Iran’s effort to
develop closer economic relations with Central Asia: “Iran’s
[original] expectation to develop an extremely close relationship
with Tajikistan gradually caved into insignificance — once Iran and
Turkey engaged in a kind of rivalry. [Neither country] has been able
to fulfill the expectations of Central Asia in economic terms. In
light of past experience we learned to engage in commercial and
economic terms where there is a need for the people of Tajikistan and
Central Asia as well as for Iran.”
Khatami said Iran will allocate money to finish work on
Tajikistan’s Sangtudeh hydroelectric plant on the Vakhsh River.
President Rakhmonov said the Iranian side will assume 51 percent of
the total construction cost, estimated at about $500 million.
“Fifty-one percent of the Sangtudeh hydroelectric plant is the
Islamic Republic of Iran’s. Forty-nine percent is Tajik and other
countries, including Russia. To complete the construction of this
power station in four years, Iran has promised $250 million and the
Russian Federation $100 million,” he said.
A planned highway linking landlocked Tajikistan and Iran via
northern Afghanistan was also high on the agenda of the talks.
Iran’s ambassador to Tajikistan, Nasser Sarmadi Parsa,
earlier expressed dissatisfaction about the current level of
bilateral trade, which totaled $100 million last year. He stressed
that a highway linking Tajikistan and Iran would greatly promote
economic cooperation. He noted the 110-kilometer road from Iran to
Herat has already been built.
Iran is hoping a series of road projects in Central Asia will
spur economic development.
Mohammad-Reza Djalili, a professor at the Graduate Institute
of International Studies in Geneva, points out a road link to Central
Asia would serve Iran’s strategic purposes. “Iran also has a
strategic interest. The reconstruction of communication
infrastructure — roads, bridges, etc. — in Tajikistan and linking
them to the Iranian border through Afghanistan, would create a
tremendous inter-Asiatic communication route. Land transportation
could then be done from China to Europe through Tajikistan,
Afghanistan, and Iran,” he said. (Antoine Blua of RFE/RL’s News
and Current Affairs department, Farangiz Najibullah of RFE/RL’s
Tajik Service)

IRANIAN PRESIDENT ASSESSES THREE NATION TOUR POSITIVELY. Hojatoleslam
Mohammad Khatami told reporters at Mehrabad Airport on 14 September
that his trip to Armenia, Belarus, and Tajikistan went well, IRNA
reported the next day. He referred to the signing of agreements in
all three countries but allowed that bilateral trade with Tajikistan
could be better. Khatami said, “Iran’s trade exchanges with
Tajikistan have been increased during recent years by three times but
there still exist some potentials for further promotion of ties.” The
Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) summit took place in Dushanbe
on 14 September, and Khatami cited approval of Iranian proposals on
reforming the organization’s decision-making process and on
establishing a free trade zone (FTZ). Khatami said the FTZ would be
set up by 2015. The Iranian president said he met with counterparts
from Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, as well as prime
ministers from Pakistan and Turkey. (Bill Samii)

IRANIAN MILITARY SITE INTERESTS IAEA. The International Atomic Energy
Agency’s (IAEA) board of governors began discussions on the
Iranian nuclear program on 13 September in Vienna, and unidentified
diplomats said on 10 September that the IAEA has asked to inspect the
military site at Parchin, located about 30 kilometers southwest of
Tehran, AFP reported. Among the activities that reportedly take place
there is research on chemical explosives by the Defense Industries
Organization. Parchin is not mentioned in an IAEA report currently
under consideration in Vienna.
Hussein Musavian, spokesman for the Iranian delegation at the
Board of Governors meeting, rejected on 13 September news reports
that the IAEA has asked to visit the Parchin military site, IRNA
reported.
David Albright of the Institute for Science and International
Security on 15 September released satellite imagery of the site and
told Reuters that UN inspectors should determine what is going on
there (for the ISIS imagery and analysis, see
). According
to the analysis, the site is “a logical candidate for a nuclear
weapons-related site, particularly one involved in researching and
developing high explosive components for an implosion-type nuclear
weapon.”
Musavian on 16 September again dismissed the allegations,
Reuters reported. “This is a new lie, like the last 13 lies based on
news reports that have been proved to be lies,” he said.
An anonymous “senior U.S. official” told Reuters on 17
September that satellite imagery of the Parchin military site
“clearly shows the intention to develop weapons.” Another senior U.S.
official was less sanguine, and according to an anonymous “Western
diplomat” cited by Reuters, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency is
unsure about the Parchin site’s possible nuclear function.
Anonymous diplomats said in the 17 September “Washington
Post” that the UN has been negotiating with Iran since June for
access to not just one but four military sites that have possible
dual-use equipment. This is considered a sensitive issue because it
affects the security of Iranian conventional military programs,
according to “The Washington Post.” The IAEA has been gathering
information on the Parchin site for almost two years.
IAEA Director-General Mohammad el-Baradei’s comments at a
17 September news conference in Vienna were more diplomatic. “We are
aware of this new site that has been referred to,” he said according
to Radio Farda. “We do not have any indication that this site has any
nuclear-related activities. However, we will continue to investigate
this and other sites, we’ll continue to have a dialogue with
Iran.” (Bill Samii)

IAEA CRITICAL OF IRANIAN NUCLEAR COOPERATION. The relatively tough
wording of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) 18 September
resolution on Iran has prompted an angry reaction from Tehran. Press
reports that preceded the resolution’s publication indicated that
Iranian behavior is frustrating some members of the international
community.
IAEA Director-General el-Baradei discussed implementation of
the Non-Proliferation Treaty Safeguards Agreement in Iran on 13
September, the opening day of the Board of Governors meeting,
according to the agency’s website
(
n). He said understanding of the Iranian nuclear program is
increasing, Iran has fulfilled all requests for access, and it has
responded to IAEA information requests, “although in certain
instances the process needs to be accelerated.”
El-Baradei said there are two issues that need to be
resolved. The first is the source of and reason for uranium
contamination found at certain locations and on some domestically
produced equipment. Investigations of Iranian statements regarding
the absence of P2 centrifuge-related activities between 1995 and 2002
are necessary, he added. El-Baradei expressed concern about
Tehran’s reversal of its decision to suspend some
enrichment-related activities, and he urged Iran “to continue to
accelerate its cooperation, pursuing a policy of maximum transparency
and confidence building, so that we can bring the remaining
outstanding issues to resolution within the next few months and
provide assurance to the international community.”
France, Germany, and Great Britain warned Iran on 13
September that its reversal of its pledge to suspend uranium
enrichment is undermining their confidence, international news
agencies reported. Foreign Minister Jack Straw warned, “What Iran has
to understand is that it cannot turn the issue of confidence on and
off like a tap,” the “Financial Times” reported on 14 September.
German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said, “There is the risk of
Tehran making a miscalculation. I hope that it sees and understands
that. If not, we could be in a serious situation,” Reuters reported
on 14 September. French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier said that
negotiations with the Iranians remain difficult almost a year after
their promise to suspend enrichment activities, Radio France
International reported on 13 September.
Hussein Musavian, spokesman for the Iranian delegation at the
current IAEA Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, stressed on 13
September that the suspension of uranium enrichment would last “just
for a short, temporary period,” Reuters reported. Iran reportedly is
growing frustrated by continuing inspections of its nuclear
facilities.
In a critique of the situation in which Iran finds itself,
Tabriz parliamentary representative Akbar Alami told ISNA on 13
September that some Iranian officials were complacent and
inordinately optimistic about Europe. Rather than dealing with
European states, Alami said, the issue should have been handled
normally, through the legislature, the Foreign Ministry, the Iranian
Atomic Energy Organization, and the IAEA. The nuclear issue is
secondary to the Europeans’ and America’s real concern, Alami
said, which is the nature and power of a state that has interests
that conflict with their own. As long as this situation prevails, he
said, they will not allow Iran to become an independent nuclear
power.
Representatives to the IAEA board of governors met behind
closed doors on 15 September in order to discuss the wording of a
resolution on the Iranian nuclear program, csmonitor.com reported.
U.S. officials reportedly seek tough language and a 31 October
deadline to “remedy all failures identified to date” by the IAEA,
according to the website, and they also want the removal of any
references to a state’s right to peacefully pursue nuclear
energy.
Iranian official Hussein Musavian described the U.S. draft
resolution by saying, “The Americans have put forward a draft, which
is, relative to the one put forward by the Europeans, extraordinarily
harsher against Iran,” Iranian state television reported. The next
day he said that the draft resolution is unacceptable, Mehr News
Agency reported on 16 September. China rejects the resolution and
amendments proposed by Russia are not included, he said, adding that
Tehran seeks major changes to the draft resolution.
The resolution adopted by the board of governors on 18
September notes “with serious concern” that Iran has not suspended
“all” activities relating to the enrichment and reprocessing of
uranium, and it also expresses concern about Iran’s plan to
introduce 37 tons of yellowcake uranium at its conversion facility
(
). Yellowcake can be converted into uranium hexafluoride, which in
turn can be enriched in centrifuges. The resolution also “strongly
urges” Iran to comply with IAEA requests for information and access
to individuals and locations, citing a date of 25 November, which is
when the next board of governors meeting takes place. The resolution
“deeply regrets” Iran’s reversal of stated intentions of
suspending enrichment and reprocessing activities.
Hojatoleslam Hassan Rohani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme
National Security Council, said on 19 September that “Today, all
ambiguities of Iran’s nuclear case have been cleared for the
agency,” IRNA reported. He criticized the three European powers for
failing to comply with commitments to help the Iranian nuclear
program. “In regard to the suspension of uranium enrichment, the
resolution has asked us to suspend this process immediately,” he
added, according to Radio Farda. “For the time being, the Islamic
Republic of Iran has not decided to prolong the suspension.” (Bill
Samii)

IS WEAPONIZATION NEAR? International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
Director-General el-Baradei said on 14 September that there is no
firm evidence that Iran is trying to develop a nuclear weapons
capability, but it is not clear if its activities are entirely
peaceful, Reuters reported. “Have we seen any proof of a weapons
program? Have we seen undeclared [uranium] enrichment? Obviously
until today there is none of that,” el-Baradei said. “But are we in a
position to say that everything is peaceful? Obviously we are not at
this stage,” he added.
Iran is no “more than 12 to 48 months from acquiring a
nuclear bomb, lacks for nothing technologically or materially to
produce it, and seems dead set on securing an option to do so,”
according to a draft report from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Policy
Education Center (NPEC) released on 13 September
().
The study — which is partly funded by the Pentagon and includes
input from leading experts on Iran, the Middle East, and
proliferation issues — warns that after Iranian acquisition of a
nuclear -weapons option regional proliferation could increase, Iran
might manipulate oil prices upward, and Iran could increase its
support for terrorist organizations.
A day earlier, Israeli Defense Forces intelligence chief
Major General Aharon Farkash-Ze’evi said that at the current rate
Iran will be able to independently achieve nuclear-weapons capability
by the spring of 2005, “Haaretz” reported on 13 September. “”This
does not mean that it will have a bomb in 2005. It means that it will
have all the means at its disposal to build a bomb,” he added. (Bill
Samii)

CORRECTION. The 13 September “RFE/RL Iran Report” asserted that
Tehran military governor Teimour Bakhtiar wielded the first pickax to
strike the dome of the Baha’i center in Tehran in May 1955. New
York University’s professor Farhad Kazemi wrote in to say that
armed forces chief Nader Batmanghelidj struck the first blow while
Bakhtiar looked on, and afterwards military governorship personnel
completed the destruction. (Bill Samii)

*********************************************************
Copyright (c) 2004. 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 Simon, CA
Sept 20 2004

Gun Control: Have We Gone Too Far?
A fundamentally flawed piece of gun legislation just died. Here’s why
the rest should too.
By Matt Hutaff Sep 20, 2004

“Tyranny is always better organized than freedom.” – Charles Péguy

It took three shootings over the course of ten years to spur Diane
Feinstein, the Grand Dame of California politics, into spearheading
the 1994 Assault Weapons Act.

“It was the ultimate shock,” Feinstein said of the final spree that
claimed six lives in a San Francisco law office. “Someone comes in,
aggrieved, and goes right through the place.”

And you know what? Such a response makes sense. After all, when 34
people are killed in three totally unrelated situations years apart,
what other alternative is there than stripping away the rights of
law-abiding citizens?

·····

Gun control is the ultimate extension of the “government-as-parent”
scenario which posits that Americans are either too stupid or too
ignorant to take care of themselves. While I won’t argue that our
nation is plagued with an overabundance of idiocy, it is not the
responsibility of the government to baby-sit everyone and make sure
they don’t stick a fork in a light socket.

Such a mentality towards gun regulation only punishes the average
citizen by depriving themselves of the right to defend their person
and their property. Criminals aren’t likely to care about where they
find their firearms because, hey, they’re criminals. When they rob a
store the last thing they’re worried about is whether or not their
handgun is licensed.

Yet that reaction is what we’ve come to expect from our society. When
one lone nutjob storms into a school and kills five people, public
outcry doesn’t lay blame on the criminal who committed the crime, it
lands on the society that gave him free access to a semi-automatic
weapon and the legislators who, despite campaign promises to the
contrary, cannot see the future and foretell every human tragedy that
will ever occur in his or her jurisdiction.

Hey, there’s a chance an airliner could be hijacked – should we be
allowed to fly with that kind of danger hanging over us? Drink too
much water and you’ll die – why not regulate its consumption?

Because doing so would be as vain a pursuit as trying to make sure
that every person who is ever wounded or killed by a firearm deserved
it. Wise up – you can’t standardize life.

However, it appears common sense is kicking in on Capitol Hill, as
Feinstein’s bill shuffled off into the political sunset last Monday
afternoon. Having passed its ten-year anniversary, the bill required
renewal or expiration. It was quietly ignored.

And with good cause. Opponents of the bill will correctly highlight
its overall impotence at keeping weapons out of people’s hands.
Numerous loopholes allowed the guns to stay on the market with small
cosmetic changes or minor alterations in accessories. Many that
weren’t modifiable were often protected by grandfather clauses that
exempted pre-ban guns. Feinstein herself has admitted that “we could
have written a better bill.”

But while I herald the death of a law that, by the Department of
Justice’s admission, had no impact on crime reduction, there are
bigger issues at play. How can firearms be regulated in the first
place? Who benefits from such regulation?

The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution plainly states
that “a well-regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a
free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not
be infringed.” There’s no wiggle room on this. The Founders of our
nation wanted to make sure that, if we wanted to, we could arm and
defend ourselves. Strangely, the past fifty years have only amplified
the need for such protection.

Why? Some would argue that the notion of gun rights in this day and
age are antiquated, a relic of our rural past. Few Americans need to
hunt to survive, critics say. And it’s not like we’re expecting the
British or French to invade any time soon.

While these things are true, the Founding Fathers didn’t draft the
Bill of Rights to better prepare us from the hordes of berets and
fish n’ chips from rampaging unchecked throughout the land. The
personal freedoms guaranteed to every American by that living
document are there to protect you from the tyranny of our own
government.

Think about it for a moment. The First Amendment protects you from
being persecuted by the government for what you say and believe. The
Fourth Amendment defends your right to privacy, the Fifth guards you
from incriminating yourself in court and the Sixth guarantees you
won’t be subjected to a show trial if you’re ever prosecuted. These
ideas are so simple and obvious it seems silly to write them down,
but they are all rights that a crooked government would love to abuse
or discard if they weren’t.

In the past four years we’ve seen numerous attacks on many of the
liberties we find sacred. Censorship, the PATRIOT Act and secret
“Star Chamber” trials have eroded the fundamental freedoms I noted
above. Police forces and National Guard units are militarizing
against their own citizens. And lest you think this is a recent
phenomenon, federal Civil Disturbance plans like Operation Garden
Plot and Department of State Publication 7277 have been around for
decades, ready and waiting to strip you of your rights to defend
yourself before killing you for disagreeing with the government.

History has shown that gun control invariably ends in total gun
restriction and genocide. Don’t believe me? Ask German Jews or
Armenian Turks – two ethnic groups unable to save themselves from
violence. It’s estimated that 56 million unarmed victims fell in the
20th century alone. Crimes like these are precisely why the Second
Amendment was written. In the end, you may need to make sure you have
the same firepower the military has.

So I wholeheartedly support the ability for any citizen of this
country to purchase the exact same weaponry available to its own
army. If you’ve got the inclination and the wherewithal to buy a tank
or a rocket launcher, go for it. If our arms manufacturers can sell
automatic weapons to foreign countries that have no specific
allegiance to the United States, why can’t they sell them to
Americans who have a vested interest in securing themselves? Profit
is profit.

Am I advocating another Ruby Ridge or violent insurrection? Hardly. I
just think the playing field should be level and that people who want
access to these weapons shouldn’t be denied because some
irresponsible ass might do something deadly with it. The presumption
of innocence is one of the basic tenets of American society.

Does everyone need to arm up? That’s a personal decision. Should they
have the possibility?

You’re damn right.

Canon Fodder is a weekly analysis of politics and society.

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Sept 20 2004

New PACE rapporteur on Upper Garabagh takes office

David Atkinson, the newly appointed Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe (PACE) rapporteur on Upper Garabagh, is well aware
of Azerbaijan’s realities, Samad Seyidov, head of the Azerbaijani
delegation at PACE, told journalists.
Seyidov said that after his appointment as PACE rapporteur, Atkinson
made a speech in which he points out that Armenians living in Upper
Garabagh should be granted a status within the territorial integrity
of Azerbaijan.*

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Sept 20 2004

EC offers assistance in solving conflicts in Caucasus

The European Commission (EC) chairman Romano Prodi said in a meeting
with teachers and students of the Baku State University on Friday
that conflicts in the Caucasus are unacceptable.
Touching upon the Upper Garabagh conflict, Prodi stated that the
settlement of the conflict depends on the conflicting sides. The EC
chairman noted that he backed the peaceful settlement of the conflict
and that the conflicts that arose in the European Union member states
were solved within the framework of economic reforms.
Receiving Prodi the same day, Sheikh-ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazada
said that Armenians wanted to bring into the international
community’s notice such a fact that the conflict with Azerbaijan has
begun on a religious basis.
Denying this fact, Sheikh underlined that the fact that Azerbaijanis
are not willing to live with Armenians is Armenians’ latest
deception. `Today, 25,000 Armenians are living in Azerbaijan.
However, there is not a single Azerbaijani in Armenia,’ Pashazada
stressed.
Prodi said that his Baku visit aims to put forward new proposals on
cooperation. He underscored that not only economic and but also
political relations will be expanded.
`The European community is open to your community. Therefore, the
participation of religion in this dialogue is necessary,’ said Prodi,
stressing possibility for EC assistance in solving conflicts in the
region.*

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

UN HCR
Sept 21 2004

UNHCR News Stories
Morjane lauds scouts’ work for refugee cause

Assistant High Commissioner Kamel Morjane with the BBC’s Owen
Bennet-Jones, who moderated the World Scout Movement roundtable
discussion in Geneva. © UNHCR/S.Hopper

GENEVA, Sept 17 (UNHCR) – Assistant High Commissioner Kamel Morjane
has lauded the World Scout Movement for its work on behalf of young
refugees across the globe, borrowing the scouts’ motto to stress that
UNHCR will always “be prepared” for refugee emergencies.

Morjane was speaking at the “Partnerships for Global Impact: Scouting
in Action” roundtable discussion in Geneva on Friday. Organised by
the World Scout Foundation, the event sought to show more than 200
donors how scouts are working with international organisations on
issues facing young people today.

Also on the panel were His Majesty Carl XVI Gustaf, the King of
Sweden, who is the honorary president of the foundation; the heads of
various world scout movements; and representatives from partner
agencies like the International Telecommunications Union and the
World Bank.

“Over the years, scouts have done important and dedicated work for
refugees, both on the ground and through awareness-raising
activities,” said Morjane, noting that UNHCR and the World
Association of the Scout Movement signed a Memorandum of
Understanding in 1995.

With more than 28 million members in 215 countries and territories,
the World Scout Movement has implemented many projects to help
refugees in the field. Scouts have helped with vaccination and
environmental protection in Tanzania’s refugee camps, taught refugee
rights to children in Armenia, run workshops and recreational
activities to rehabilitate traumatised kids in Croatia, distributed
peace packs and sorted relief materials for Bosnian refugees in
Turkey, and organised activities to help young refugees integrate in
France and the Netherlands.

“UNHCR and the scouts are both committed to promoting peace and
self-reliance internationally, qualities that enable us to work
together for the good of refugees the world over,” said the Assistant
High Commissioner. “I urge today’s scouts to continue to channel
their energy, enthusiasm and commitment towards refugee causes.”

Besides projects that benefit refugees directly, UNHCR’s partnership
with the scouts has helped to raise awareness of refugee issues among
youth around the world. The refugee agency is a regular presence at
the Scout Jamboree held every four years, sensitising young people to
the challenges faced by refugees. The scouts, in turn, have supported
UNHCR through World Refugee Day activities in countries like Ghana,
Italy, Norway and Tunisia.

“Like the scouts, UNHCR believes in the motto, ‘Be prepared’,” said
Morjane. “We have to build our own capacities and partnerships so
that we can respond to the unforeseen. At UNHCR, we take this
seriously, and invest considerable resources to ensure that we are
always prepared to handle any possible refugee emergency.”

Asia Times, Hong Kong
Sept 21 2004

Bush, Marshal Foch and Iran
By Spengler

Washington’s strategic position in the Middle East is stronger than
it has ever been, contrary to superficial interpretation. With much
of central Iraq out of US control and a record level of close to 100
attacks a day against US forces, President George W Bush appears on
the defensive. The moment recalls French Marshal Ferdinand Foch’s
1914 dispatch from the Marne: “My center is giving way, my right is
in retreat; situation excellent. I shall attack.” To be specific, the
United States will in some form or other attack Iran while it
arranges the division of Iraq.

That Sunni diehards and Shi’ite adventurers would prevent the
pacification of Iraq never was in question (Will Iraq survive the
Iraqi resistance? , December 23, 2003). Leaks of a National
Intelligence Estimate warning last week of impending Iraqi civil war
suggest that Washington is thinking past the loser’s game of
occupation. The phony war between reluctant Iraqi recruits and rebels
will persist past November, but something deadly and different will
follow on Bush’s re-election. Russian paratroops will be busy in the
Caucasus after the Beslan atrocity, making a Russian presence in Iraq
unlikely, contrary to my earlier forecast. (That may have been the
intended outcome of the incident.) Nonetheless, Washington has a
winning card to play, and the decibel level of protests from Tehran
as well as from the US opposition suggests that it is well
anticipated.

If Washington chooses to dismember Iraq rather than pacify it, who
will win and who will lose? Washington always has had the option of
breaking up the Mesopotamian monstrosity drawn by British
cartographers in 1921. The only surprise is that it has taken US
intelligence so long to reach this conclusion. Whether America’s
policymakers are slow learners, or whether Bush chose to perpetuate
the farce of Iraqi nation-building until the November elections, we
may never know. An Iranian alliance with Iraq’s Shi’ites poses a
danger to this maneuver. But that danger, in turn, drives the US
toward action against Iran.

Ahmad Chalabi, the Shi’ite Iraqi leader closest to the Pentagon,
endorsed Kurdish independence in the following exchange with the
Middle East Quarterly (MEQ, summer 2004 issue):

MEQ: Some high-profile American analysts, such as Leslie Gelb, former
president of the Council on Foreign Relations, have called for Iraq
to be split up into three states. Are they right? Should Iraq be
broken up? Why shouldn’t the Kurds have independence?

Chalabi: All peoples have the right to self-determination and that
includes the Kurdish people. Why should they be any different? If the
exercise of that right leads them towards independence, then so be
it. We will negotiate with them. The days of using violence to build
this country are over.
Iraq’s Shi’ites, who comprise nearly two-thirds of the population,
have no reason to subsidize the Sunni minority with revenues from oil
wells located in their centers of ethnic preponderance. The simplest
way to deal with resistance in the Sunni triangle is to break off the
oil-rich Kurdish north and Shi’ite south, and let the Sunni center
eat sand.

Washington loses nothing by promoting an independent Kurdistan,
except for Turkey’s dwindling goodwill. It is not surprising that
Ankara warns darkly of Kurdish plots behind US operations in Iraq’s
northwest (Turkey snaps over US bombing of its brethren, K Gajendra
Singh, AToL September 18). At the Pentagon, patience grows thin for
the crypto-Islamist government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey is the
new sick man of Europe (In defense of Turkish cigarettes, August 24),
and Washington has less and less to gain from it.

For that matter, the Kurds are more than Washington’s pawns. Their
love (in Franz Rosenzweig’s luminous phrase) for their own nationhood
is sweet and pregnant with the presentiment of death; if the present
opportunity for independence passes them by, the glacial tide of
modernity will grind their language and culture underneath (You have
met the enemy and he is you , June 29). Binding them to Mesopotamia
may prove more trouble than it is worth. A kind of historic judgment
would afflict the Turks in the form of Kurdish independence, for
Turkey employed the Kurds to expel the Armenians in 1915, leaving
them in what used to be known as Western Armenia.

That leaves the specter of a greater Shi’ite entity as the main
dissuasion against an Iraqi breakup. News reports of US efforts to
destabilize the Iranian regime have been circulating for the better
part of the year, and some media (eg the New York Times on September
1) linked press leaks about Israeli spies in the Pentagon to internal
administration debates over possible action against that country.
Iranian officials have warned daily against US efforts to undermine
their regime, as have American opponents of the Bush administration,
for example the University of Michigan’s Middle East scholar Juan
Cole on August 29 in his “Informed Comment” weblog: “It is an echo of
the one-two punch secretly planned by the pro-Likud faction in the
Department of Defense. First, Iraq would be taken out by the United
States, and then Iran.”

All of this was so much ectoplasm until Saturday, when the US forced
through the International Atomic Energy Agency a resolution demanding
that Iran cease enriching uranium. Now the strategic logic is as
compelling as it was in 1914, when the German general staff insisted
that immediate war with Russia was preferable to waiting until the
eastern giant completed its railway network. Washington is assembling
its case for some form of intervention against Tehran, and turned an
important corner of diplomacy with the weekend’s warning.

For Iran, the emergence of a quasi-independent entity from among the
Iraqi Shi’ites presents as much danger as opportunity, that is, as
much of a channel of US influence into Iran as a source of Iranian
leverage in Iraq. Chalabi, accused of betraying US secrets to Iran,
personifies this duality.

Personalities are less important than the layout of the chessboard.
America’s next move will be to break out of the stalemate in Iraq by
widening the conflict.

ArmenPress
Sept 20 2004

DEFENSE MINISTER MEETS US AMBASSADOR

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 20, ARMENPRESS: Armenian defense minister Serzh
Sarkisian met today with the newly appointed US ambassador John
Evans. A defense ministry spokesman, Seyran Shahsuvarian, said the
Armenian minister congratulated the ambassador on taking a new tenure
and expressed hope that the US-Armenian relations will deepen further
and new achievements will be registered.
The ambassador was quoted as saying that the US wants the South
Caucasian countries to strengthen their stability, security,
establish peace and develop their democratic institutions. He said
also he was prepared to effectively cooperate with Armenian
authorities, including also the defense ministry.
The two men also referred to Armenian and Azeri presidents;
meeting in Astana during a CIS summit, saying such contacts have
positive impact on the process of the peaceful resolution of the
Nagorno Karabagh conflict. The Armenian minister commended also the
OSCE Minsk group for its efforts to help maintain peace in the last
ten years. The two sides also expressed their regret over NATO’s
decision to cancel its Best Cooperative Effort-2004 drills in
Azerbaijan. Sarkisian and Evans spoke also on the current pace of
Nagorno Karabagh conflict regulation and other regional
security-related issues.

ArmenPress
Sept 20 2004

PRIME MINISTER ANDRANIK MARGARIAN’S ADDRESS ON THE OCCASION OF
INDEPENDENCE DAY

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 20, ARMENPRESS: Armenian prime minister
Andranik Margarian addressed today a complimentary message to his
country fellows on the occasion of Independence Day, marked on
September 21. It runs as follows:
“Dear country fellows, I extend my congratulations to you on the
occasion of Armenia’s Independence Day. After making their choice
thirteen years ago our people set to the devoted work of building and
strengthening an independent and democratic state. The road to it was
not easy and at different periods we faced numerous difficulties,
which are not few now, but our unbending will and the ability to
unite our efforts at crucial times for solving out national problems,
and the desire to live freely in our homeland have helped us to
surmount them. The civilized nations are faced today by new
challenges in the restless world, which threaten to escalate further
the situation, to stir up new clashes among nations and states. By
showing our intolerance towards such phenomena and in close
cooperation with all interested nations we have to be at the same
time as prudent as possible to keep our newly independent state
immune from such dangers.
I am confident that by joining our efforts in Armenia, Nagorno
Karabagh and Diaspora we shall be able to withstand all ordeals and
challenges. By strengthening our state we pay respect to our
dedicated heroes, who sacrificed their lives to pave the way for our
independence.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ArmenPress
Sept 20 2004

MORE FUNDS TO BE RELEASED TO YEREVAN CLINICS AND HOSPITALS

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 20, ARMENPRESS: Yerevan-based hospitals and
clinics will see a major increase in government findings next year
and will receive a total of 31,7 billion drams, a significant rise
over this year funding that is 24.9 billion drams.
A senior member of the Yerevan municipality, supervising health
issues, told Armenpress some 12.5 billion drams of next year’s budget
will be set aside for primary health maintenance, again a significant
rise against this year’s 7.8 billon drams. He said the major focus
will continue to remain on maternity and child health, fighting
tuberculosis, diabetes and cardiac diseases.
He also said some 450 million of accrued wages to medical
personnel was paid and the outstanding debt was lowered to 25 million
drams.