Iranian Alert -- January 13, 2004 -- IRAN LIVE THREAD --Americans for Regime Change in Iran

The Iranian Student Movement Up To The Minute Reports ^ | 1.13.2004 | DoctorZin

[DoctorZIn]

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[DoctorZIn]

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”

[DoctorZIn]

Iran Govt May Quit Over Election Row, Official Says

Tue January 13, 2004 03:16 AM ET
By Paul Hughes
TEHRAN (Reuters) -

A senior Iranian official has warned President Mohammad Khatami's government may resign if it cannot persuade hard-liners to overturn a decision to bar hundreds of liberal candidates from a national election, the official IRNA news agency reported Tuesday.

One liberal newspaper reported that Khatami himself may step down if the decision, which barred around 80 of parliament's sitting 290 MPs from running in the election, forces the February 20 parliamentary vote to be called off.

However, a government source denied the newspaper report that Khatami could resign.

"If the government becomes impotent in securing the legitimate freedoms of the nation, it loses its legitimacy, and then, whether it dissolves itself or not, it is automatically dissolved," IRNA quoted Vice President Mohammad Satarifar as saying.

Satarifar, who heads the state Management and Planning Office, said Khatami's government had been in a state of shock since the unelected hardline Guardian Council announced on Sunday it had vetoed about half of aspiring candidates for election.

But he said the government "still hopes it can eliminate the difficulties and safeguard national interests properly."

The liberal Etemad newspaper reported Tuesday that President Khatami was ready to quit over the political standoff.

The paper reported that Khatami sent a message to reformist MPs staging a sit-in protest in parliament, which was read out by liberal MP Jalil Sazgarnejad.

"I will wait for one week so that things go back to normal. Otherwise, if elections cannot be held, I will step down from my position," Etemad reported the message from Khatami said.

Officials at Khatami's office had no immediate comment on the report.

State governors have also threatened to quit if the Guardian Council does not back down.

The political crisis is seen as a key test of Khatami's resolve. The Guardian Council's decision highlighted his government's relative impotence compared with the power enjoyed by unelected conservatives who also control the judiciary, armed forces and state media.
Khatami, who since winning power in a 1997 election has run into objections to his reforms at almost every turn from hard-liners, has called the Guardian Council's decision "senseless."

But he has stressed that the issue should be resolved peacefully, through negotiations and legal processes.

Reformist MP Abolfazl Shakouri called on the president to take a tougher stand.

"President Khatami, I'm calling on you to defend the constitution and people's freedom," he said at the start of a parliamentary session Tuesday, broadcast live on state radio.

"You cannot defend people's rights with ambiguous statements," he added.

Reformist MPs attending the regular legislative session on Tuesday morning -- two days after they walked out of parliament's chamber in disgust at the Guardian Council's move -- said they would resume their sit-in protest later in the day. (Additional reporting by Parinoosh Arami, Amir Paivar)

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=4115857

[freedom44]

[freedom44]

Iran's pre-1979 flag is used by virtually anyone against the current Islamic Republic. The current flag is the first thing to be changed with 'regime change'.

[freedom44]

Iranian conservatives reject 3,605 candidates

Tuesday, January 13, 2004 - ©2003 IranMania.com

TEHRAN, Jan 12 (AFP) - A conservative-controlled Iranian political watchdog has rejected 44.2 percent of candidates hoping to contest next month's parliamentary election, the interior ministry said Monday.

According to the reformist-run ministry, charged with organising the February 20 poll, the electoral vetting arm of the Guardians Council disqualified 3,605 out of the 8,157 people who registered to stand as MPs.

In a statement, the ministry said 434 of them had already been rejected by its own screening system.

But among those rejected by the Council were 84 MPs who are currently in the parliament, or Majlis. It said most were blacklisted for non-respect of Islam and the position of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as supreme leader.

Reformists have accused the Guardians Council of systematically barring reformists from standing, in what one senior MP has branded a "coup d'etat".

Late on Sunday, the interior ministry said the massive disqualifications were "illegal" and warned that they would not be enforced, therefore throwing the whole electoral process into chaos.

http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default.asp?NewsCode=21583&NewsKind=Current%20Affairs

[freedom44]

Iran govt should quit unless crisis solved: V.P.

Tuesday, January 13, 2004 - ©2003 IranMania.com

TEHRAN, Jan 12 (AFP) - One of Iran's vice-presidents, Mohammad Satarifar, said Monday the entire government should stand down if it proves unable to reverse a move by powerful conservatives to disqualify large numbers of reformists from contesting next month's parliamentary elections.

"If the government considers it cannot meet its obligation to protect the rights of citizens and organise free elections, staying in office is not an option," Satarifar was quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA.

"The government is not obliged to organise elections in which the results are known in advance," he added, admitting that the reformist government of President Mohammad Khatami was in "shock" over the massive barring of reformists from contesting the February 20 elections.

On Sunday, the conservative-held Guardians Council, a 12-member political oversight body that vets all legislation and also screens candidates for public office, sparked a major political crisis when it moved to bar thousands of prospective Majlis candidates.

Those barred included 84 sitting reformist MPs and other moderate candidates.

According to a source close to President Khatami, more than ten cabinet members have already prepared their letters of resignation, while all of Iran's 27 provincial governors also threatened to quit unless the crisis is resolved within a week.

http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default.asp?NewsCode=21586&NewsKind=Current%20Affairs

Note: it all looks like a setup game to me
+

[DoctorZIn]

EU urges fair Iran vote

MPs continue sit-in at legislature for second straight day

Ayatollah to step in if reformists, conservatives at impasse

1.13.2004
TEHRAN

The European Union yesterday called for fair elections in Iran and criticized the disqualification of hundreds of liberal candidates.

Planned Feb. 20 parliamentary elections were thrown into crisis after Iran's hard-line Guardian Council disqualified hundreds, including more than 80 sitting legislators allied with the reformist president.

"The electoral process is very important for democracy and will be very important to us," EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said on a visit to the capital Tehran. "We want very much (for) the electoral process to be clear and transparent.''

Washington also opposed any interference in the vote.

"We call upon the Iranian government to disavow attempts by the Guardian Council to shape the outcome," U.S. State Department spokesperson Adam Ereli said.

Conservatives "are paving the way for enemies who want to show the Islamic Republic is a despotic state," Iranian President Mohammad Khatami's pro-reform League of Combatant Clerics said in a state news agency report.

Khatami has pledged to fight the disqualifications and reformist MPs staged a sit-in on carpets at the legislature for a second day yesterday.

Reformist leaders could boycott the election or cancel it.

The Guardian Council of 12 conservatives, picked by Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, disqualified about 900 of 1,700 people wanting to contest seats in Tehran alone.

Those disqualified can appeal.

Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters, said he would intervene if the conservatives and reformists reach an impasse.

The ayatollah also told Iran's provincial governors, all of whom have threatened to resign if the disqualifications are not reversed: "Everyone should abide by the law. If ... it becomes sensitive and requires a decision, I will intervene."

Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said: "The top leaders are thinking of a solution so that, God willing, the rights of nobody will be ignored and a crisis does not develop."

Disqualified MPs include the president's younger brother, Mohammad Reza Khatami, who leads Islamic Iran Participation Front, the largest reformist party.

The disqualifications were reported Sunday by the official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) and by Khatami allies, but it was unclear when the council made the decision.

Some 8,200 prospective candidates registered last month to run for 290 legislative seats. Their qualifications must be approved by local trustees, then the Guardian Council. On Sunday, IRNA said the council vetoed 2,033 but Reuters said yesterday only half the 8,200 were approved to stand for office.

It's possible for the interior ministry, controlled by reformists, to ignore the vetoes and put disqualified names on the ballots.

The Guardian Council disqualified any deemed to oppose the absolute rule of Khamenei.

ASSOCIATED PRESS, REUTERS

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1073949010617&call_pageid=968332188854&col=968350060724

[AdmSmith]

It's possible for the interior ministry, controlled by reformists, to ignore the vetoes and put disqualified names on the ballots.

This is the best strategy for the showdown that will come. Then the interior ministry should publish the actual result. The Gaurdian Council will then say that the election of NN, NN ... NN as MP's are invalid. The president and the government will stick to the result of the election and urge the people to defend their rights. The police and army will arrest the Arab thugs http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1051693/posts?page=18#18

[F14 Pilot]

Iran: Lawmakers Spend Night In Parliament In Protest

Radio Free Europe
Jan 13th, 2004

Tehran, 13 January 2004 (RFE/RL) -- Iranian reformist lawmakers spent a second night in parliament in a protest over the disqualification of some 3,000 liberal candidates for next month's elections to the Majlis, or parliament. Yesterday, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (pictured) said he would intervene in the dispute if reformists and conservatives cannot resolve the crisis.

Pro-reform lawmakers have threatened to boycott the 20 February elections unless the disqualifications handed down by the conservative, unelected Guardian Council, the Islamic Republic's leading political oversight body, are reversed.

The European Union's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, said on a visit to Tehran that the elections would not be credible unless the candidate bans were set aside. Solana said the EU wants Iran's electoral process to be clear and transparent.

U.S. State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said the Bush administration opposes any interference in the electoral process and called on the Iranian government to reject attempts by the Guardian Council to shape the outcome of the polls.

http://www.rferl.org/nca/features/2004/01/13012004093540.asp

[F14 Pilot]

Moderate Parliament Members of Islamic Republic are protesting against the ban of more than 80% of the upcoming election candidates.((ISNA News Agency))

[nuconvert]

"newspaper reported that Khatami himself may step down..."

Aagin?

[nuconvert]

"Guardians Council disqualified 3,605 out of the 8,157 people who registered to stand as MPs."

Only 4,262 to go?

[F14 Pilot]

A very informative post -- Please let others know! -Pilot

Q&A: Iran election crisis

BBC News
Monday, 12 January

What lies behind this decision?

This move is generally seen as part of the power struggle in Iran between the conservatives who want to maintain a strict Islamic approach and reformers who want greater liberalisation.

Reformers control the parliament, the Majlis, but under Iran's constitution, a series of appointed supervisory bodies have the ultimate say and these are in the hands of the conservatives.

Iran is about to mark the 25th anniversary of the Islamic revolution which threw out the Shah. It may be that the conservatives felt that this was a good moment to try to prevent further domination of the parliament by reformers after the elections.
BBC regional analyst Sadeq Saba suggests that the conservatives were emboldened to disqualify so many because they reckoned that the man in the street would not risk his life by supporting the reformists.

Who has been disqualified?

The exact number is not known but one estimate from members of parliament is that of the 8,000 candidates overall, only half have been approved. The banned list includes more than 80 sitting members of the Majlis, all of them reformers.

One of them is Mohammed Reza Khatami, head of the Islamic Iran Participation Front, the main reform party. He is also brother of the Iranian President.

Members who recently wrote to the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urging him to allow greater freedom are on the list.

Two women activists, Fatima Haqiqatjou and Elaheh Koulaee were also disqualified.

What is the Guardian Council?

The Guardian Council is a supervisory body which has the power to vet candidates for parliament, the presidency and the Assembly of Experts (which chooses the Supreme Leader) and to reject legislation not considered to conform to Islamic principles.

It has 12 members. Six are clerics chosen by the Supreme Leader and six are Islamic lawyers appointed by Parliament.

The Council is led by the conservative Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati. He recently called for Iran to leave the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. He also accused the United States of trying to make political capital out of the Bam earthquake but said that Iran had given the Americans "a slap in the face."

What has the been the reaction of the reformers?

One of them, Mohsen Mirdamadi, himself one of those disqualified, called the Guardian Council's decision a "bloodless coup." Mr Mirdamadi is the head of parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee.

Vice-President Mohammed Ali Abtahi said: "The situation is
like a football match in which the referee sends off one team and invites the other side to score."

The reformers see the move as an attempt by hardliners to block the path of liberalisation. The parliament is currently controlled by the reform minded parties but their attempts to pass laws have been frustrated by the Guardian Council.

One battle has been over the age of marriage which the parliament wants to raise from 9 to 13 for girls and from 14 to 15 for boys. The Council says that the lower ages should stay, as marriage is a good way of countering "immorality" among teenagers.

What about the position of President Khatami?

He is a reformer, too, and he has criticised the Council's decision. However he has called for calm and wants the issue resolved through negotiations.

He has said that the disqualified candidates should appeal against the decision.

It is also possible that he will consult the Council of Expediency, a body set up in 1988 to mediate in disputes between Parliament and the Council of Guardians. It, too, is seen as a mainly conservative body.

How might this affect Iran's external relations?

The battle for control of Iran has important international implications. Recently, Iran accepted the demands of the UN nuclear agency the International Atomic Energy Agency for stricter inspection of its nuclear energy programme. The United States is also hinting at dialogue with Iran, something the EU has already begun.

If hardliners regain control of the whole of Iran's complex government structure, such openings to the outside world may cease or slow down.

And Iran's attitude towards developments in Iraq could be affected.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3389017.stm

[Happy2BMe]

"Pro-reform lawmakers have threatened to boycott the 20 February elections unless the disqualifications handed down by the conservative, unelected Guardian Council, the Islamic Republic's leading political oversight body, are reversed."

This gives "conservatives" a bad name.

[F14 Pilot]

Iran's students warned not to protest

By Anton La Guardia in London
January 14, 2004
Sydney Morning Herald, Australia

As reformists called on students to mobilise for protests over Iran's electoral crisis, the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned them to "be careful not to foment tension".

By refusing to intervene on Monday, Ayatollah Khamenei has in effect backed the hardline clerics who banned hundreds of reformists from standing in next month's parliamentary elections.

As the European Union warned Iran that relations would be undermined by a rigged election, the ayatollah left open the possibility of intervening later.

The EU's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, who was visiting the Iranian capital in an apparent attempt to improve relations, said the row was an "internal matter" for Iran, but warned that relations could deteriorate.

A British official said: "It's a matter for the Iranians, but given our interest in Iran, we will be watching developments closely."

At the weekend the Guardian Council, the clerical body that oversees the political system, banned more than 80 sitting MPs from seeking re-election, and hundreds of reform candidates from standing. Eliminated candidates have a right to appeal, but little change is expected.

As MPs continued a protest sit-in at the parliament building, several cabinet ministers and all 27 provincial governors threatened to resign.

President Mohammad Khatami denounced the ban as "senseless", but urged reformists to stay calm as senior figures tried to resolve the crisis. A statement issued by his party, the League of Combatant Clerics, accused hardliners of "paving the way for enemies who want to show the Islamic republic is a despotic state".

Those excluded from the election include his younger brother, Mohammad Reza Khatami, who leads the Islamic Iran Participation Front, the largest reform party.

In an appeal against the ban, he wrote: "I do not believe in a vision of the Islamic republic that does not take into account the wishes of the people. I am accused of not respecting Islam. This is a very serious accusation, and if whoever accused me of this cannot prove it he should pay in this life and the next. I am a war invalid, and I am accused of not being loyal to the Islamic republic."

At an emergency conference held in his party's office in Tehran, MPs took turns to express their anger. Mohammad Rezaei, a veteran of the Iran-Iraq war, denounced the hardline clerics, recalling their readiness to send young boys to walk across minefields during the conflict.

"I was a general and was given 15 young boys who I was told wanted to die for their country," he said. The clerics "didn't care then and they don't care now about the public".

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/01/13/1073877833612.html

[F14 Pilot]

Yes, They are not real conservatives. They are some hard-liner elements of the Mullahs' regime. They are just a few bad mullahs.

[nuconvert]

Iran's Political System

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/middle_east/03/iran_power/html/default.stm

[AdmSmith]

This gives "conservatives" a bad name.

what is in a name: In Europe a liberal is a rightwing person subscribing to classical liberalism. The classical definition of a conservative is someone who wants to conserve the present status. That is why the word neocon is used.

I regard myself as a "democratic imperialist" i.e. someone that want to spread and defend Western democracy.

[Happy2BMe]

"I regard myself as a "democratic imperialist" i.e. someone that want to spread and defend Western democracy."

Do you want sugar and cream with that?