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Iranian Alert -- January 11, 2004 -- IRAN LIVE THREAD --Americans for Regime Change in Iran
The Iranian Student Movement Up To The Minute Reports ^ | 1.11.2004 | DoctorZin

Posted on 01/11/2004 12:07:57 AM PST by DoctorZIn

The US media almost entirely ignores news regarding the Islamic Republic of Iran. As Tony Snow of the Fox News Network has put it, “this is probably the most under-reported news story of the year.” But most American’s are unaware that the Islamic Republic of Iran is NOT supported by the masses of Iranians today. Modern Iranians are among the most pro-American in the Middle East.

There is a popular revolt against the Iranian regime brewing in Iran today. Starting June 10th of this year, Iranians have begun taking to the streets to express their desire for a regime change. Most want to replace the regime with a secular democracy. Many even want the US to over throw their government.

The regime is working hard to keep the news about the protest movement in Iran from being reported. Unfortunately, the regime has successfully prohibited western news reporters from covering the demonstrations. The voices of discontent within Iran are sometime murdered, more often imprisoned. Still the people continue to take to the streets to demonstrate against the regime.

In support of this revolt, Iranians in America have been broadcasting news stories by satellite into Iran. This 21st century news link has greatly encouraged these protests. The regime has been attempting to jam the signals, and locate the satellite dishes. Still the people violate the law and listen to these broadcasts. Iranians also use the Internet and the regime attempts to block their access to news against the regime. In spite of this, many Iranians inside of Iran read these posts daily to keep informed of the events in their own country.

This daily thread contains nearly all of the English news reports on Iran. It is thorough. If you follow this thread you will witness, I believe, the transformation of a nation. This daily thread provides a central place where those interested in the events in Iran can find the best news and commentary. The news stories and commentary will from time to time include material from the regime itself. But if you read the post you will discover for yourself, the real story of what is occurring in Iran and its effects on the war on terror.

I am not of Iranian heritage. I am an American committed to supporting the efforts of those in Iran seeking to replace their government with a secular democracy. I am in contact with leaders of the Iranian community here in the United States and in Iran itself.

If you read the daily posts you will gain a better understanding of the US war on terrorism, the Middle East and why we need to support a change of regime in Iran. Feel free to ask your questions and post news stories you discover in the weeks to come.

If all goes well Iran will be free soon and I am convinced become a major ally in the war on terrorism. The regime will fall. Iran will be free. It is just a matter of time.

DoctorZin


TOPICS: Extended News; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: iaea; iran; iranianalert; iranquake; protests; southasia; studentmovement; studentprotest
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To: F14 Pilot; DoctorZIn; Grampa Dave; Ragtime Cowgirl; SAMWolf
He vowed a "harsh reaction" if legal channels failed to change the council's decision.

Giving Khamenei the Complete Ceaucescu would not be too harsh.

Anything less would be a placebo.

And one last time: Ronald Reagan is a conservative; Khamenei is a fascist.

41 posted on 01/11/2004 4:26:48 PM PST by PhilDragoo (Hitlery: das Butch von Buchenvald)
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To: DoctorZIn; F14 Pilot; Grampa Dave
According to Mirdamadi, the bulk of disqualified MPs were found by the Guardians' Council to have been in violation of an article in the electoral law which stipulates candidates for public office must show their commitment to Islam and respect the revolutionary principle that gives Ayatollah Ali Khamenei his position of supreme leader of the Islamic republic.

In other words, only obedient stooges may "run for office".

In other words, "Islamic democracy" is an oxymoron, a crock, a lie and a fraud.

In other words, Boucher, you better mean it when you say you want more from Iran.

42 posted on 01/11/2004 4:50:51 PM PST by PhilDragoo (Hitlery: das Butch von Buchenvald)
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To: DoctorZIn
Iran is ruled by a fascist junta.
43 posted on 01/11/2004 4:52:34 PM PST by PhilDragoo (Hitlery: das Butch von Buchenvald)
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To: PhilDragoo
This action by the Guardian Council shows a lack patience.

It also shows a complete disregard for the international community. It has been the reformists seeking international support that has propped up their economy. Without the reformists to provide political cover the regime is headed toward international isolation and financial collapse.

The tipping point is getting closer.
44 posted on 01/11/2004 5:53:05 PM PST by DoctorZIn (Until they are free, we shall all be Iranians!)
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To: DoctorZIn
Iran Aid Supplies Being Stolen, Quake Victims Say

January 12, 2004
The Associated Press
Matthew Pennington

BAM, Iran -- Huddled in canvas tents pitched by roadsides, tens of thousands of people who survived the earthquake in southeastern Iran find themselves competing with neighbors for aid and wondering when reconstruction will begin in their devastated city.

Amid complaints of inadequate or poorly distributed aid, aftershocks continue to frighten residents, including one Sunday that cracked masonry in the city of 80,000 people.

The Dec. 26 earthquake leveled much of Bam, killing about 35,000 people in the city and surrounding region. Aid has poured in from the Iranian government, the United Nations, and individual countries, including the United States, which dispatched a field hospital.

But Iran's government on Sunday once again rebuffed Washington's offer of a high-profile aid team led by Sen. Elizabeth Dole, a North Carolina Republican and former Red Cross official, saying the time "is not ripe" for such an exchange.

Meanwhile, people in Bam express frustration with aid distribution.

Many complain that people from neighboring towns and villages have barreled in and taken away tents, blankets and supplies meant for quake victims in what is one of the country's poorest regions.

"We don't get proper food here," said Gholamali Fahraji, who camps with some 30 families on the Imam Khameini traffic circle. "We heard there were sleeping bags, but we've seen none. There's no transportation, and I'm afraid people will steal my things from the ruins of my home."

Others say the temporary shelters do not provide adequate protection from the biting nighttime cold and not enough space.

Akbar Tarin shares a 6-by-13-foot tent with his wife and five children.

"I will go to a camp if they set one up," said Tarin, 54, a retired teacher. "It won't be easy to rebuild this house at my age, and with my income."

The United Nations said it plans to launch an appeal this week to fund the next three months of relief and also plans to erect semipermanent homes for some 50,000 people.

One such camp already in place - with about 150 spacious tents - lies empty as authorities register citizens, distribute ration cards and assess cases.

http://www.dailystar.com/dailystar/news/4639.php
45 posted on 01/11/2004 6:16:59 PM PST by DoctorZIn (Until they are free, we shall all be Iranians!)
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To: DoctorZIn
The tipping point is getting closer.

And with the Guardian Council's tin ear for public relations, it is hastening its demise.

46 posted on 01/11/2004 7:19:41 PM PST by PhilDragoo (Hitlery: das Butch von Buchenvald)
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To: DoctorZIn
'Miracle' Iran quake survivor dies

AP[ SUNDAY, JANUARY 11, 2004 07:46:12 PM ]

TEHRAN : A 57-year-old man pulled out alive from the rubble of his home 13 days after a massive quake destroyed the southeastern Iranian city of Bam , has died, the official news agency IRNA said Sunday.

The agency said Jalil Shahinaki, who slipped into a deep coma after being pulled from the rubble on Wednesday, by an Iranian search and rescue team, died overnight in a field hospital in the razed city.

A member of the team at the Ukrainian field hospital, where the man was being treated, Dr Mehdi Shadnoush, cited heart failure. He also said that respiratory and pulmonary problems could have been the cause of death.

Shahinaki had survived a 13-day ordeal under the rubble, apparently thanks to the fact that he was under a piece of furniture, which formed an air pocket allowing him to breathe.

Few survivors were unearthed from the debris, given that houses in the city were mostly built with mud-brick, which disintegrated in the quake, leaving little room for air. The ancient city of Bam was razed by an earthquake that measured over six degrees on the Richter scale on December 26. More than 30,000 were killed, the same number injured and tens of thousands left homeless.

Meanwhile, seismologists said the city was struck by another serious aftershock, measuring 3.8 on the Richter scale, early Sunday. The tremor was reported to have hit at 8:39 am (0509 GMT), Tehran University 's Geophysics Institute was quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA.

With nearly all survivors living in tents, there were no immediate reports of any casualties.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/416825.cms
47 posted on 01/11/2004 7:39:44 PM PST by DoctorZIn (Until they are free, we shall all be Iranians!)
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To: DoctorZIn
The tipping point is getting closer.

Good!

48 posted on 01/11/2004 7:49:52 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (Davis is now out of Arnoold's Office , Bout Time!!!!)
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To: DoctorZIn
KHATAMI NOT SATISFIED AT CG REJECTING REFORMIST CANDIDATES

TEHRAN, 11 Jan. (IPS)

President Mohammad Khatami of Iran, angry at the great number of reformist candidates, including many present influential MMs (Members of the Majles) rejected by the Council of Guardians to stand in the coming legislative elections, pledged Sunday to tap "legal channels" to oppose the move.
"I do not agree with this way of disqualifications and I will use legal channels to deal with this issue, which I hope will bear fruit", the powerless Khatami told reporters after a cabinet session.

Chairman of the Majles’ National Security and Foreign Affairs Commission Mohsen Mirdamadi was even blunter, comparing the disqualifications as a "political coup".

"This is a civilian coup d’Etat", he said, quoted by the official Iranian news agency IRNA, adding, "They have barred certain individuals in every electoral constituency in order to clear the way for their favourite candidates.
"By doing so, they have practically specified the make-up of the seventh parliament from now and this is not an election, but a selection", he added, confirming indirectly many Iranian analyst’s forecast that the conservatives would leave no stone unturned in order to re-gain the control of the Majles, an important step prior of the start of talks with Washington aimed at resuming diplomatic relations.
Among the rejected are many incumbent MMs, including the President’s younger brother, Dr. Mohammad Reza Khatami, the first deputy Speaker and leader of the Islamic Iran Participation Front, the country’s largest political organisation, Mr. Behzad Nabavi, the second deputy-Speaker, Mohsen Armin or Ali Akbar Kho’eini, close to the students.

Other well-known reformist MMs being disqualified by the leader-controlled Guardians are the briefly jailed Hoseyn Loqmanian, Naser Shirzad, Mrs. Elaheh Koola’i, Mrs. Fatemeh Haqiqatjoo, Mrs. Shahrbanoo Amanipoor, etc. most of them on charges of activities against the regime, insulting highest-ranking officials or not believing in the fundaments of the Islamic Revolution, the Constitution or Islam.

According to Mr. Mirdamadi, one of the leading rejected deputies, the supervisory board had barred the first and second deputy-Speakers on the grounds that they were disloyal to Islam and the Islamic Republic as well as the supreme leader.
Belief in and commitment to Islam and the Islamic Republic of Iran, allegiance to the Constitution and Velayat-e Faqih (Islamic Jurisprudence, as represented by the present leader, Ayatollah Ali Khameneh’i), having good physical health, holding at least an
Associate of Arts/Science degree or its equivalent, lack of criminal records and being between ages of 30 and 75 are among pre-requisites for the nominees.

Actually, the majority of candidates running for the next Majles elections have been invalidated because of non allegiance to either the very fundaments of the present theocratic Constitution, Islam or the Islamic revolution, according to a statement released Friday by the Council of the Guardians.

"This issue must be examined and if (it) turns out to be illegitimate, it must be confronted", President Khatami added, as 70 deputies temporarily walked out of the parliament session earlier in the day and held a sit-in to protest against the disqualifications, with one key MM threatening to divulge the names of those who pull the strings in banning the aspirants.
"I think what has happened contradicts the view of the Supreme Leader. We must always be worried about the public dissatisfaction and God willing, the Guardian Council will make amends", he further said, without spelling what he could do if the Guardians insist on the rejections.
However, President Khatami’s "advise" to the disqualified hopefuls as well as to all political groups to stay calm and move in the framework of the law and avoid doing anything which may lead to tensions" prompted Iranian analysts to disagree with some commentators seeing a looming "confrontation at the top".

"As his usual, Khatami would find his way to satisfy the ruling conservatives, meaning that he would abstain from open confrontation with the leader, for the simple reason that the CG, which has the right to approve or reject the credential of all candidates to all elections in the Islamic Republic, is directly controlled by Mr. Khameneh’i", explained one observer.

"Majles shows sensitivity toward the country’s fate and this is natural, but I advise (the MMs) to remain calm and God willing, we will manage to resolve the problem through peaceful means", he said, adding "Any action which may create tensions must be avoided and instead ways which help the protests bear fruit must be explored".
Hojjatoleslam Mehdi Karroobi, the "chameleon" Speaker of the Majles said he and the President have made consultations with Ayatollah Khameneh’i, the Secretary of the CG, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati and some other officials over the case.

"We will continue our efforts", he said, without saying if the consultations have produced any result satisfying the reformists, but urging on the rejected candidates to lodge complaints within the legal period announced by the officials.

"The time of rejecting the eligibility of candidates without providing any plausible reason is past, no one can anymore accept such practices", he told the leader-controlled CG.

"Rejection of famous figures makes no sense. If the reason for their disqualification has been proved, they (the board) must present evidence and reasons", President Khatami said.

His official Spokesman, Mr. Abdollah Ramezanzadeh was even more open, not ruling an open clash between the CG and the government.

"Decision by the Council of the Guardians should not be political or inconsistent with the law. Rejection of eligibility of the incumbent MPs is unacceptable, without documentary evidence, politically motivated and impractical", he said on Sunday, speaking in a round-table debate on "The Government and Election", held at IRNA.
"The Council of the Guardians should substantiate the reasons for rejecting the candidates and prove that its action is in accordance with the law. Then the Interior Ministry and the government will respect their decision", he said, adding that the government will strictly enforce the law and will not bow to illegal decisions".

"The government sees itself not obliged to put into practice any illegal decision no matter which organ had taken it. No one should insist on illegal methods", he said.
"We are witnessing the most wide scale rejection in the history of the Iranian parliament. The reason for the rejections as well as any thing behind the scene is crystal clear to us", the younger Khatami told reporters, threatening to reveal the names of those behind the rejections "if parliament efforts to rescind the disqualifications prove futile", according to IRNA.

"The sit-in today is the beginning of a movement which will have more ramifications and if the legitimate demands of the MPs are not addressed, it will become more widespread and take up other dimensions", he observed, adding that they will start with protests to begin with and continue "according to our programs", which he did not reveal, but warned about an en bloc resignation.

Ramezanzadeh also criticized the Radio and Television that is controlled by the conservatives and depending directly to the leader, for "ignoring impartiality and pursuing political considerations in its broadcasts", acknowledging openly that the Organisation has never been under the control of the government. The Executive Boards announced last week that the competency of 92.88 percent of the nominees for the upcoming Majles elections throughout the country had been approved, pending the views of the Supervisory Boards.
Registration of nominees for the upcoming Majlis elections began throughout the country on 13 December and ran for one week.

ENDS IRAN ELECTIONS 11104

http://www.iran-press-service.com/articles_2004/Jan_04/iran_elecgtions_11104.htm
49 posted on 01/11/2004 8:42:47 PM PST by DoctorZIn (Until they are free, we shall all be Iranians!)
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To: DoctorZIn
"I do not agree with this way of disqualifications and I will use legal channels to deal with this issue, which I hope will bear fruit", the powerless Khatami told reporters after a cabinet session. "

LOL...the writer for IPS got THAT right. He's a mealy-mouthed wimp.

His brother, on the other hand,"younger Khatami... threatening to reveal the names of those behind the rejections "if parliament efforts to rescind the disqualifications prove futile", according to IRNA."

Now, He's got guts!

50 posted on 01/11/2004 9:05:03 PM PST by nuconvert ("This wasn't just plain terrible, this was fancy terrible. This was terrible with raisins in it. ")
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To: DoctorZIn
All Iranian Governors Threaten To Quit

Persian Journal ^ | 1/11/04 | Persian Journal
Posted on 01/11/2004 7:32:56 PM PST by freedom44

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1056044/posts
51 posted on 01/11/2004 9:12:59 PM PST by DoctorZIn (Until they are free, we shall all be Iranians!)
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To: DoctorZIn; McGavin999; nuconvert; RaceBannon; freedom44; AdmSmith; Eala
Iran's overmighty mullahs

12/01/2004
Telegraph - Uk

Iran's hardline clerical leadership has debarred some 80 reformist members of the Majlis, or consultative assembly, from seeking re-election next month. This "coup", as the opposition sees it, is likely to arouse real anger, banishing the apathy that has marked the political scene since Iran was swept by a wave of strikes and demonstrations last year. The credibility of the parliamentary elections will be seriously compromised, which may persuade the opposition that they now have no choice but to take their protests on to the streets.

The Islamic Republic is a state with a split personality: a unique combination of democracy and theocracy. Superficially, Iran is one of the few functioning democracies in the Middle East. However, under the revolutionary system instituted by Ayatollah Khomeini, and known as velâyat-e faqih , both parliament and government are subordinate to parallel bodies controlled by the clergy, which exercises power in rather the same indirect way that the Communist Party did in the Soviet Union. Though the President, Mohammed Khatami, was directly elected, gaining more than three quarters of the popular vote, ultimate power resides not with him, but with the supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, who succeeded Khomeini in 1989. Clerics keep a tight grip on the Majlis, whose membership and legislation are subject to the approval of a clerical Guardian Council. It is this council - the powers of which the reformists have tried and failed to abolish - which has now deselected a large proportion of them.

It seems that the clergy hope to capitalise on disillusionment with the failures of the reformists. If so, they may have miscalculated. Most Iranians are critical of Khatami; but for Khamenei they have contempt. This attempt to rig elections might just be the last straw. External pressure has already forced the hardliners to come clean on nuclear weapons. With American forces just over the border in Iraq and Afghanistan, regime change in Iran is no longer inconceivable. While open support for the opposition would now be counter-productive, if the Iranian people were to rise against their overmighty mullahs, the West would surely show solidarity with them.

http://www.opinion.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2004/01/12/dl1202.xml&sSheet=/opinion/2004/01/12/ixopinion.html
52 posted on 01/11/2004 9:48:08 PM PST by F14 Pilot (Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists.)
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To: DoctorZIn
This thread is now closed.

Join Us At Today's Iranian Alert Thread – The Most Underreported Story Of The Year!

"If you want on or off this Iran ping list, Freepmail DoctorZin”

53 posted on 01/12/2004 12:02:50 AM PST by DoctorZIn (Until they are free, we shall all be Iranians!)
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