Iranian Alert -- April 1, 2004 [EST]-- IRAN LIVE THREAD -- "Americans for Regime Change in Iran"

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.” 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. I began these daily threads June 10th 2003. On that date Iranians once again began taking to the streets to express their desire for a regime change. Today in Iran, most want to replace the regime with a secular democracy.

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.

Tyranny@25

April 01, 2004
National Review Online
Michael Rubin

Oppression reaches a milestone in Iran.

Twenty-five years ago today, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini stood triumphant in the holy city of Qom. For two days, millions of Iranians had flocked to the polls to vote in a referendum. The question was simple: "Do you want an Islamic Republic?" According to revolutionary authorities, 98.2 percent said yes.

Khomeini claimed victory. "By casting a decisive vote in favor of the Islamic Republic," he told enthusiastic crowds, "you have established a government of divine justice, a government in which all segments of the population shall enjoy equal consideration, [and] the light of divine justice shall shine uniformly on all...."

So began a quarter century of tyranny. In the weeks that followed, Iranians would awake to see pictures splashed across the front page of the official daily Ettelaat of government officials, intellectuals, and liberals before and after execution. Khomeini gave vigilantes tacit approval to sack the U.S. embassy, even while distancing himself from their actions. Looking back on her experience as a revolutionary, one elementary-school teacher told me during my first trip to Iran, "Khomeini promised us Islamic democracy, so we voted yes. By the time we realized we got another dictator, it was too late."

In the Islamic Republic of Iran, the key issue is not degree of reform, but rather fundamental ideology. Iran's leadership uses the rhetoric of democracy to bestow respectability to one of the region's most brutal regimes. President Muhammad Khatami may call for democratic reforms, but he has never believed in universal suffrage. Writing in the official daily Keyhan while still a deputy in the Majlis [parliament], Khatami argued that ordinary people cannot comprehend God's will, and so the full privileges of democracy should only extend to those with clerical education. He has never repudiated his view.

Far from being on the path of reform and moderation, as is claimed by many European governments, access-seeking pundits, oil-company lobbyists, and Senator Arlen Specter (R., Penn.), the Islamic Republic continues to erode the basic human rights of its citizenry. Khatami, now more than halfway through his second term, has failed to implement a single substantive reform. On March 17, 2004, he quietly announced that he would no longer seek to push fundamental reform through the Majlis. No amount of negotiation with Khatami, even if he were sincere, would change the fact that he has neither the will nor the power to implement meaningful change.

Over the last five years, Iranian authorities have closed more than 50 newspapers. According to Reporters Sans Frontiers, the Islamic Republic has the second-greatest number of imprisoned journalists in the world. On July 11, 2003, Iranian authorities murdered Canadian journalist Zahra Kazemi while she was in detention. Nevertheless, with Iranian state television tightly controlled and satellite access limited, it was possible on March 30, 2004, for Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Mahmud Hashemi-Shahrudi to claim with a straight face, "No country enjoys freedom, democracy, and the press freedom that currently exists in our country."

The fight against capital punishment is among the European Left's most popular causes. When it comes to Iran, however, there is only the silence of hypocrisy. Executions in Iran have risen proportionally to European trade. During the Khatami administration, application of the death penalty has ballooned. Iranian newspapers regularly document executions. For example, on February 14, 2004, Jomhuri Islami announced the public hangings of several youths, some less than 18 years old, in an orchard in the southwestern town of Mahshahr. Four days later, Sharq reported public hangings in Bandar-e Gaz's main square. On February 25, Jomhuri Islami announced the public hanging of Mohammad Ali Firouzi, only after he received 173 lashes.

Iranian women today mark a quarter century of oppression. While the American media applauds the struggle of women to win new rights throughout much of the Middle East, correspondents often fail to mention that in Iran, women fight for the restoration of basic rights taken away by the Islamic Republic. Human-rights groups may march against the French government's decision to ban the veil in French public schools, but they remain conspicuously silent about the Islamic Republic's enforcement of mandatory veiling.

The Islamic Republic's constitution does guarantee limited rights, but Iranian authorities use vigilante gangs to sidestep even these. Police fail to respond to calls as vigilantes break up crowded lectures in Tehran, Isfahan, and Shiraz. In the late 1990s, Fedayin-e Islam, a shadowy group linked to Iran's intelligence ministry, assassinated a series of writers and intellectuals, a crime as yet unsolved, which has cast a pale over the reform movement. In 1999, armed vigilantes from Ansar-e Hezbollah attacked a student dormitory, setting off widespread protests. Authorities used the unrest as reason to crackdown on freedom of expression. Scores of students and dissidents arrested in the aftermath of the crisis still languish in Tehran's Evin Prison.

Iranians have lost faith in the Islamic Republic. Recent telephone polls indicate that 85 percent of Tehran's residents seek fundamental change. According to the Iran-based Organization of Combatant Youth, voter turnout in recent polls was just 14 percent. Iranians visiting Iraq last month reported that in rural districts (to which Western journalists are forbidden access), turnout hovered near seven percent. According to Majlis deputy Fatimah Haqiqatju, as quoted in the [New Jersey] Star-Ledger, "It has gotten to the point where it is impossible to accomplish political reform within the system. The fate of the country will be either dictatorship or collapse, although they [the clerics] should remember that the outcome of a dictatorship is also collapse."

Twenty-five years after Khomeini declared the Islamic Republic, nearly 70 million Iranians struggle to be free. It's imperative that we do not abandon them.

— Michael Rubin is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/rubin200404010848.asp

Tens gather near Evin Prison at occasion of Traditional Sizde Bedar

SMCCDI (Information Service)
Apr 1, 2004

Tens of protesters gathered today near the Evin Political Jail in order to celebrate the traditional Sizde Bedar. The ceremony is qualified by the dogmatic clerics as a "Pagan Tradition" but has been tolerated due to the profound attachment of Iranians to their ancestral tradition and clashes that had resulted in previous years in order to keep it alive.

Security forces intervened around noon in order to block the accesses to the perimeters.

Slogans were shouted for free elections on the choice of the future Iranian regime, release of all political prisoners and the respect of human rights in Iran.

The demonstrators filmed by plainclothes agents marched around the area by singing the banned "Oh Iran!" National anthem under the angry watch of militiamen who stayed afar in most occasion.

Sporadic clashes took place as regime's agents tried to arrest some of the demonstrators at the issue of the action.

The crowd moved on later in order to gather at the "Park Mellat" (Former Park Shahanshahi) located nearby and beside the governmental TV HQ which was placed under intensive security watch by fear of a popular take over.

http://www.daneshjoo.org/generalnews/article/publish/article_5547.shtml

Millions celebrate the "Pagan" Sizde Bedar

SMCCDI (Information Service)
Apr 1, 2004

Millions of Iranians celebrated, today, the traditional Sizde Bedar qualified by the dogmatic clerics as "Pagan Tradition". Hundreds of them used the occasion to send another political message to the World by showing their rejection of the Theocratic system.

Crowd gathered from the late hours of the morning in the Capital's and in most provincial cities' parks while many moved out of the cities.

In most places, such as, in Tehran's Park Mellat, Manzarieh, Darband and Laleh, these gatherings were used by many freedom fighters in order to shout slogans against the regime and to call for a UN watched free election on the choice of the future Iranian regime.

Sporadic clashes took place near the Evin Political jail as some of the families of political prisoners and tens of protesters gathered in order to reject the persistent rights abuses. Other clashes took place near the governmental TV HQ located beside Park Mellat as security agents tried to move in order to arrest identified "trouble makers".

Iranians will go back to their home, later this afternoon, and will end the 13 days celebration which started with the beginning of the Iranian New Year on March 20th.

http://www.daneshjoo.org/generalnews/article/publish/article_5548.shtml

US Rebuffs Offer By UN To Act As Go-Between With Iran

AP - World News (via Yahoo)
Apr 1, 2004

VIENNA -- Indications of continuing nuclear cover-ups by Iran are nudging previously reluctant key U.S. allies closer to Washington's view that Tehran should be penalized, diplomats said Thursday.

The diplomats spoke to The Associated Press just days before chief U.N. nuclear inspector Mohamed ElBaradei flies to Tehran on a mission apparently weakened by U.S. refusal to have him act as an intermediary with the Islamic Republic.

The U.S. refusal appeared to be part of a strategy to wait and hope that new revelations in the coming weeks about Iran's nuclear program by ElBaradei's International Atomic Energy Agency would swing international sentiment behind Washington.

ElBaradei's offer to be a go-between was made during a recent Washington visit, said U.S. officials, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming disputed the U.S. assertion that ElBaradei's offer was spurned, saying senior State Department officials "made note" of his efforts.

ElBaradei "has a dialogue going with the Iranians and believes that having the U.S. and Iran sit together and talk about the nuclear issue would only be constructive," she said.

But the U.S. officials said Washington felt there was nothing to discuss as long as suspicions remained about Iran's nuclear programs, which U.S. officials insists is geared toward making weapons.

In testimony Wednesday to a congressional committee, U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton accused the clerical regime of "repeatedly lying and providing false reports to the IAEA."

Elbaradei "wanted to mediate better relations but it wasn't taken seriously" during last month's visit, which included talks with U.S. President George W. Bush, said one of the American officials.

"The Iranians are not being truthful about their nuclear program, and that is a big obstacle" to any kind of U.S. overture, he said.

Iran's nuclear ambitions first came under international scrutiny last year, when the IAEA discovered that Tehran had not disclosed large-scale efforts geared to enriching uranium which can be used either to general power or in nuclear warheads. Finds of traces of weapons grade uranium and evidence of suspicious experiments heightened concerns.

Since then, say critics, Iran has reneged on commitments to win international trust such as full-scale suspension of enrichment, even as IAEA inspectors have discovered new evidence of past experiments that could be used to make weapons.

Iran argues that it is honoring its suspension and all other pledges. In an allusion to the United States, Pirooz Hosseini, the chief Iranian delegate to the IAEA, told the AP that criticism of his country's nuclear record was " propaganda ... coming from certain circles."

Alireza Jafarzadeh, formerly with the National Council of Resistance to Iran, and now president of Strategic Policy Consulting Inc. said in a telephone call from Washington that Iran's top leadership decided earlier this year to deceive the IAEA "and get the nuclear bomb by 2005,"

Jafarzadeh's National Council office was shut down last year after the United States declared the group a terrorist organization. But he has revealed key information about Iran's covert nuclear activities in the past, including Iran's large-scale enrichment efforts at the central Iranian city of Natanz.

Vienna-based diplomats who follow IAEA activities could not confirm Jafarzadeh's assertion. But they said evidence continues to accumulate about Iran's suspect nuclear intentions and its reluctance to come clean.

One of them cited intelligence from the United States and another unnamed country suggesting that within the past year, Iran had moved nuclear enrichment programs to smaller, easily hidden sites in an effort to stymie inspectors.

Another said IAEA inspectors had complained that they were forced to use Iranian equipment instead of their own cameras and electronic equipment meant to sample the air for traces of enriched uranium in February, while touring a nuclear site.

The Iranians "don't want the photos leaving the country, so the Iranians will in certain cases ... keep the photos and the cameras," thus hampering unrestricted IAEA access, said one of the diplomats.

Adding to the skepticism was Iran's weekend announcement that it had inaugurated a uranium conversion facility in Isfahan, 155 miles (250 kilometers) south of Tehran, to process uranium ore into gas -a crucial step before uranium enrichment.

Iran insists the move does not contravene its pledge to suspend enrichment activities. But Britain, France and Germany -who have blunted past U.S. attempts to come down hard on Iran -on Wednesday were critical, saying the Isfahan plant sent the wrong signal about Iran's commitment to suspension.

The Germans, French and British now think that "things are not going well," said a diplomat familiar with the position of the European three.

The three European powers last year secured Iran's agreement to suspend enrichment and cooperate with the IAEA in exchange for promised access to Western European technology. Since then, they have stymied U.S. attempts to have Tehran hauled before the U.N. Security Council for allegedly violating the Nuclear Nonproliferation treaty.

But the diplomats said European willingness to believe Iran was fading. One said Iran's "cat and mouse tactics" were increasing sympathies for the U.S. position two months ahead of the IAEA's next board of governors meeting.

Even if no "smoking gun" definitely proving a weapons program is found, Iran's past record could be reviewed and declared in violation of the Nonproliferation treaty, said another diplomat. That would open the way for Security Council involvement.

http://www.daneshjoo.org/generalnews/article/publish/article_5551.shtml

GALAXY TO PLAY NATIONAL TEAM OF IRAN IN INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY APRIL 28 AT THE ROSE BOWL
Iran Climbs Seven Slots To Claim Their Best-Ever FIFA World Ranking Taking 24th Place And Lead Group 1 of Asian Qualifying FIFA World Cup Germany 2006

Galaxy Return to Rose Bowl For First-Time Since 2002
CARSON, CA. (Tuesday, March 30, 2004) - The Los Angeles Galaxy announced today that the club will host the national team of Iran, who recently climbed seven slots to claim their best-ever FIFA World Ranking of 24th place, in an international friendly on Wednesday, April 28 (7:30 pm) at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The visit by Iran marks their first match in Southern California since drawing the USA 1-1 in front of 50,181 fans on January 16, 2000 at the Rose Bowl.
Tickets for Galaxy-Iran match will go on sale Friday, April 2nd at 10:00am with pricing as follows: Sideline $45, Reserved $35 and General Admission $20. Galaxy Full Season Plan Holders will have an exclusive three-day priority sale period (as of this release) to purchase individual ticket seating for the match at a special (group) price. Others wishing to lock in their seats before public sale can do so by purchasing a special two game package for the Iran (April 28) and Columbus Crew (April 24) games by calling 1-877-3GALAXY.
“The match against Iran will give us the chance to play against one of Asia’s most talented and exciting national teams,” said Galaxy President/General Manager Doug Hamilton. “We are always looking to bring our fans top international opponents and a team in the midst of World Cup qualifying as Iran will be.”
The match will be the third-ever match between the MLS club and a national selection that is a member of the Asian Football Confederation. Previously, the Galaxy defeated China 3-1 on February 21, 2001 in Yuxi, China and the teams played to a scoreless draw on September 6, 2003 at The Home Depot Center.
Iran are coached by Croatian Branko Ivankovic, who served as an assistant to his countryman Miroslav Blazevich in both Croatia’s third-place finish in FIFA World Cup France 1998 as well as Iran’s bid to qualify for the 2002 World Cup. They are currently 24th in the latest Coca-Cola World rankings.
On the field, Iran is lead by forward Mehdi Mahdavikia, who was named the AFC Player of the Year for 2003, becoming the third player from his country to claim the honor. Currently, Mahdavikia plays for Hamburg SV in the German Bundesliga.
Iran are presently tied with Jordan atop Group 1 of AFC qualifying to FIFA World Cup Germany 2006 after earning the maximum of three points in their first match, a 3-1 defeat of Qatar at Azadi Stadium in Tehran on February 18. The Iranians return to the pitch for their next qualifier on March 31 at Laos.
The Iran Soccer Federation was founded in 1920 and joined the ranks of the sport’s world governing body, FIFA, in 1945. Iran played in FIFA World Cup France 1998, bowing out after the first round, despite a 2-1 defeat of the USA.
During the club’s nine-year history, the L.A. Galaxy has faced teams from Argentina, China, Chile, Colombia, England, France, Germany, Holland, El Salvador, Honduras, Japan, Korea and Mexico. Overall, Los Angeles boasts a 22-10-12 (W-L-T) all-time international record, including a 2-1-0 mark on recently-completed pre-season tour of France, which included defeats of OGC Nice and St. Raphael.
The club has already claimed all there is to win in this region of the world both domestically and internationally having captured the 2002 MLS Cup, 2001 U.S. Open Cup and 2000 CONCACAF Champions’ Cup titles.
The Los Angeles Galaxy are in the midst of their final preparations to the 2004 Major League Soccer season, which begins Saturday April 3 at The Home Depot Center vs. the New England Revolution. To purchase season tickets, please call 1-877-3GALAXY.
---www.lagalaxy.com---

http://www.lagalaxy.com/gamesummary.php?id=374

U.S. Allies Lean Toward Punishing Iran

AP - World News (via Yahoo)
Apr 1, 2004

VIENNA - Indications of continued nuclear cover-ups by Iran are nudging previously reluctant U.S. allies closer to Washington's view that Tehran should be penalized, European diplomats said Thursday.

The diplomats spoke to The Associated Press just days before chief U.N. nuclear inspector Mohamed ElBaradei flies to Tehran. His mission could be jeopardized by a U.S. refusal to have him act as an intermediary with Iran.

The U.S. refusal appeared to be part of a strategy to wait and hope that new revelations in the coming weeks about Iran's nuclear program by ElBaradei's International Atomic Energy Agency would swing international sentiment behind Washington.

IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming disputed a U.S. assertion that ElBaradei's offer was spurned, saying senior State Department officials "made note" of his efforts.

ElBaradei's one-day Tehran visit begins Tuesday. His offer to mediate "wasn't taken seriously" during last month's talks in Washington with President Bush, an American official said.

The U.S. official and others said Washington felt there was nothing to discuss as long as suspicions remain about Iran's nuclear program, which America insists is geared toward making weapons.

Iran's nuclear ambitions first came under international scrutiny last year, when the IAEA discovered that Tehran had not disclosed large-scale efforts to enrich uranium, which can be used to generate power or in nuclear warheads. Finds of traces of weapons-grade uranium and evidence of suspicious experiments heightened concerns.

Critics say that Iran has since reneged on commitments to win international trust — such as a promise to suspend enrichment — as IAEA inspectors have discovered new evidence of past experiments that could be used to develop weapons.

Iran argues that it is honoring its suspension and all other pledges. In an allusion to the United States, Pirooz Hosseini, the chief Iranian delegate to the IAEA, told AP that criticism of his country's nuclear record was "propaganda ... coming from certain circles."

But Vienna-based diplomats said evidence continues to accumulate against Iran.

One cited intelligence from the United States and an unnamed country suggesting that within the past year, Iran had moved nuclear enrichment programs to smaller, easily hidden sites.

Another said IAEA inspectors had complained that they were forced to use Iranian equipment instead of their own cameras and devices to test for traces of enriched uranium at one site in February.

The Iranians "don't want the photos leaving the country, so the Iranians will in certain cases ... keep the photos and the cameras," one of the diplomats said.

Adding to the skepticism was Iran's weekend announcement that it inaugurated a uranium conversion facility in Isfahan, 155 miles south of Tehran, to process uranium ore into gas — a crucial step before uranium enrichment.

Iran insists the move does not contravene its pledge to suspend enrichment. But Britain, France and Germany — who have blunted past U.S. attempts to come down hard on Iran — on Wednesday were critical. They said the Isfahan plant sent the wrong signal.

The Germans, French and British now think that "things are not going well," said a diplomat.

Last year, the three secured Iran's agreement to suspend enrichment and cooperate with the IAEA in exchange for promised access to western technology. They have stymied U.S. attempts to have Tehran brought before the U.N. Security Council for allegedly violating the Nuclear Nonproliferation treaty.

The diplomats said willingness to believe Iran was fading. One said Iran's "cat and mouse tactics" boosted sympathy for the U.S. position.

Even if no "smoking gun" is found, Iran's past record could be reviewed and declared in violation of the Nonproliferation treaty, said another diplomat. That would open the way for Security Council involvement.

http://www.daneshjoo.org/generalnews/article/publish/article_5550.shtml

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