Iranian Alert -- DAY 19 -- LIVE THREAD PING LIST

Live Thread Ping List | 6.28.2003 | DoctorZin

[DoctorZIn]

The Iranian regime has been threatening a major crackdown on the protesters. In just 10 days (July 9th) the people of Iran are planning massive demonstrations events and strikes. On this date, 4 years ago, the regime brutally attacked peaceful student demonstrators while in their dorms. The result was the loss of life and liberty of hundreds of students, many of which are still unaccounted for.

Iran is a country ready for a regime change. If you follow this thread you will witness, I believe, the transformation of a country. This daily thread provides a central place where those interested in the events in Iran can find the best news and commentary.

Please continue to post your news stories and comments to this thread.

Thanks for all the help.

[DoctorZIn]

Iranian Alert -- DAY 19 -- LIVE THREAD PING LIST

Live Thread Ping List | 6.28.2003
Posted on 06/28/2003 6:55 AM PDT by DoctorZIn

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/937208/posts

[DoctorZIn]

SMCCDI: Freedom Fighter, "Bagher Parto" dies under torture

SMCCDI (Information Service)
June 28, 2003

"Bagher Parto", a courageous and brave Fredom Fighter, has died under torture made by the Intelligence unit of the Shiraz Pasdaran Corp.

Aged 36, he was an active member of the Iranian Secularist forces. He was arrested on June 16th.

Sources within the Islamic regime are stating that he was tortured in order to denounce other members of the "Azarakhsh" (Thunder) network and to make false televised confessions on links with the Israeli and US Intelligences.

It's to note that several other scholars of the city, such as the 2 Ghahremani brothers and Gheyssar Barani are kept in an unknown location under the management of this special unit responding to the offices of the Supreme leader.

Their families have been pressured to cut off any contact with their friends and especially with anyone inquiring on their status.

Ms. Barani has requested following being called: "To avoid calling their home anymore as this way might save her husband".

http://www.iran-daneshjoo.org/cgi-bin/smccdinews/viewnews.cgi?category=5&id=1056800929

[DoctorZIn]

Instigators deserve tough punishments: Spokesman

Saturday, June 28, 2003 - ©2003 IranMania.com

Tehran, Jun 25 - Government spokesman Abdollah Ramezanzadeh said here Wednesday that willful moves should be strongly confronted for being a threat to (social) freedom and the Constitution, IRNA reported.

Ramezanzadeh told reporters after the weekly cabinet meeting that the country is in need of a safe atmosphere for the public to raise their overall demands on condition of security and freedom.

He said government is determined to use all possible means to confront such measures and the Intelligence Ministry would definitely identify agent(s), if any, responsible for the incidents.

Asked whether Tehran has arrested all al-Qaeda members, Ramezanzadeh said just a handful have been identified.

He declined to give further details.

He said naturally, it is difficult to tackle or identify the al-Qaeda operatives, who hold ample forged documents and are well trained by the CIA, and given the complexity of the al-Qaeda network.

He added that Iran has asked others to give it a helping hand to it in that respect.

Asked to comment on massive crackdown on the terrorist Mujahideen Khalq Organization (MKO) by Paris, Ramezanzadeh said French government's move is positive. "We welcome the fight against terrorism by anybody anywhere," declared the spokesman.

He said the MKO has been at the fore of massive crimes in Iran and it is hoped that its members will be meted out necessary punishment.

Asked to comment on the MKO extradition, Ramezanzadeh said it is a natural demand of any country to demand extradition of the criminals, who have acted in the country or elsewhere against its interests. "We have not yet brought up any official request to that end," said the official.

He said studies are underway when to lodge the official request.

Elsewhere at the press conference, Ramezanzadeh commented on the impact of the US officials' allegations against Tehran, saying the US intervention in Iran's internal affairs darkens any hope for improvement of two-way ties. He strongly advised the US officials to reconsider their attitude and position on Iran.

He also commented on recent claims of UK Prime Minister Tony Blair on Iran, saying the UK Ambassador Richard John Dalton had been summoned to be informed of Iran's protest to the claims, an issue is awaiting a response from London.

http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default.asp?NewsCode=16521&NewsKind=Current%20Affairs

[DoctorZIn]

OSAMA'S NO. 2 IS 'SEIZED' BY IRAN

By NILES LATHEM, NY Post

June 28, 2003 -- WASHINGTON — Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's right-hand man, was reported last night to be in custody in Iran along with several other top al Qaeda leaders.

The Arabic news channel Al-Arabiyah said the fanatic Egyptian-born doctor is under arrest in Iran along with bin Laden's son Saad and al Qaeda's infamous spokesman Abu Ghaith.

The report said they may be sent back to their home countries.

Al-Zawahiri has been sentenced to death in Egypt for his role in the assassination of Egyptian president Anwar Sadat.

Saad bin Laden is considered to be a rising star in the terror organization, while the fat-faced, bearded Abu Ghaith, a close bin Laden aide, frequently appeared on video broadcasts during the war in Afghanistan.

Bush administration officials, who have accused Iran of harboring several al Qaeda leaders, said they could not confirm the report of al-Zawahiri's presence in Iran.

The officials said it remains questionable whether Iran plans to detain al Qaeda henchmen — or is allowing them to establish a new base of operations.

The possibility of al Qaeda operatives in Iran has prompted a review of White House policy toward that country, and officials said they are debating options that include covert operations aimed at toppling the ayatollahs who rule Iran.

Al-Zawahiri, whom many consider the real brains behind al Qaeda and who often has appeared at bin Laden's side during videotaped statements, is perhaps the most wanted man in the world after bin Laden and Saddam Hussein.

He has been missing since the fall of the Taliban in Afghanistan, where his wife and other family members were killed during U.S. bombing raids on the Tora Bora mountain fortress in December 2001.

U.S. intelligence officials said they've had conflicting reports about al-Zawahiri's movements.

Some reports suggest he is still traveling with bin Laden in the lawless no man's land along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, while other reports suggested the two al Qaeda leaders have agreed to travel separately in order to preserve the organization in the event that either is captured or killed.

"There has been some raw reporting several months back that he did in fact stray into Iran, but we have not been able to verify it," said a U.S. intelligence official.

http://www.nypost.com/news/worldnews/37223.htm

[AdmSmith]

Please note the words He said naturally, it is difficult to tackle or identify the al-Qaeda operatives, who hold ample forged documents and are well trained by the CIA, and given the complexity of the al-Qaeda network.

This is probably how they are going to "sell" the idea of getting rid of some of the parts of the Iranian organizations that are collaborating with al Qaeda. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/936710/posts?page=64#64

[TigerLikesRooster]

Re #6

You may be right. I am wondering if those collaborating with Al Qaeda are also in charge of vigilantes. What is your take on this?

[DoctorZIn]

Iran Student Leaders Say Crisis Deepening

By ALI AKBAR DAREINI
The Associated Press
Saturday, June 28, 2003; 9:44 AM

TEHRAN, Iran - Public opposition to Iran's ruling clerical establishment is deepening, a student leader said Saturday, as officials reported that more than 4,000 people were arrested during this month's pro-reform protests.

The count of arrests was dramatically higher than authorities' earlier reports, which had only 520 people - mostly "hooligans" - as a result of the June 10-14 protests against the hard-line clerics.

Among the 4,000 arrested were about 800 students and 30 key student leaders, Iran's prosecutor general, Abdolnabi Namazi, said, according to the state-run daily Iran.

Namazi said about half of those detained were almost immediately freed, while some 2,000 remained in jail, the paper reported Saturday.

"The confirmation of 4,000 arrests shows how insincere the rulers are and how the crisis has deepened in Iran," student leader Saeed Allahbadashti told The Associated Press.

The protests, which were the largest in months, began as students demonstrations against plans to privatize universities and snowballed into broader displays of opposition to Iran's hard-line clerical establishment, led by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The demonstrations largely ended after the deployment of hundreds of security forces and unleashing of pro-clergy thugs - armed with knives and batons - to attack protesters.

Allahbadashti, one of few student leaders not imprisoned during the protests, said the establishment has lost its legitimacy through its crackdown on the protests.

"The judicial authorities are openly lying to the nation. First, they said few hooligans been arrested. Now, they confirm the arrest of 800 students. They are buying only greater hatred from the people whose call for change has been ignored," he said.

Meanwhile, authorities are trying to prevent a new round of student protests to mark the fourth anniversary of a July 9, 1999 attacks on Tehran University dormitories by pro-clerical militants.

Those attacks killed one student, injured at least 20 others and triggered six days of nationwide anti-government protests, the worst since the 1979 Islamic revolution that toppled the pro-U.S. Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

Authorities have banned any marches to remember the raid. "An incident took place a few years back and there is no necessity to mark the anniversary," the Iran quoted Namazi, the prosecutor, as saying.

Students have vowed to defy the ban and warned that their accumulated wrath was about to explode.

Protesters have long focussed their anger toward Iran's unelected hard-line clerics, while supporting President Mohammad Khatami, who was elected by a landslide on promises of delivering social, political and economic reforms.

But this month's student-led protests not only called for the conservative establishment's ouster but also denounced Khatami for failing to fulfill his promises.

Political analyst Mostafa Kavakebian said the government's iron-fisted approach to dealing with pro-reform students would make matters worse.

"History shows that use of force against civil protests only backfires. It's not logical for the establishment to get harsh with students," said Kavakebian, who also heads a reformist political party.

[Libertarianize the GOP]

http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/bump-list

[DoctorZIn]

You may be right. I am wondering if those collaborating with Al Qaeda are also in charge of vigilantes. What is your take on this?

There have been reports of high level involvement of the regime with Al Qaeda. For instance, immediately after the fall of Afghanistan, there were reports of high level Al Qaeda traveling in north eastern Iran with Iran's Rafsanjani. Similar reports have continued ever since.

[FairOpinion]

FoxNews is covering it. Tony Snow just said that this is the least covered world news story.

I agree, I think even FoxNews should cover it more, althought they are making a decent effort at coverage, but I don't see it in papers and other TV stations.

[norton]

When you're hiring thugs I guess you go where you can find them...

Still want more information on the non-Iranian vigilantes; someone has got to know where they come from, how they are organized, and how the police and army are reacting to their presence.

[DoctorZIn]

The thugs the regime is using come from Arab countries, specifically, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan and the Persians of Iran despise them.

[AdmSmith]

Rafsanjani is a complex figure, and he is as well involved in business. My guess is that he will swing when he see where the wind is blowing.

Below is an Opinion from the Daily Star in Lebanon:

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/opinion/26_06_03_a.asp
The 3-way battle for Iran’s uncertain future

The struggle in Iran is frequently described as one between two camps: reformists gathered around President Mohammad Khatami and hard-liners loyal to the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. These two groups are certainly at each other’s throats, but no analysis of the situation is complete without an appreciation of the role being played by a third force: former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. The latter’s efforts are deployed behind the scenes these days, but whatever happens in the more public contest, he figures to have a huge say in what follows.
At some point, Rafsanjani will have to make a decision. He can profit to some extent by allowing the reformers and the old guard to lose popular support by engaging in never-ending battles, but if the mayhem both political and physical goes on too long, there will be precious few pieces left to pick up.
Khatami’s principal accomplishment has been to articulate the longings of a populace for whom the radical changes of the 1979 Islamic revolution are no longer sufficient. They understand that reform is a process, not a destination, but Khatami has not been able to translate his enormous popularity into implementation of the sweeping changes that are required. Whether he remains in office or not, though, the people who have twice elected him president will not simply forget why they did so.
In some ways Rafsanjani’s power is equal to or even greater than Khatami’s. He heads the powerful Expediency Council, which arbitrates intra-government disputes and so can make or break virtually any initiative. Perhaps even more importantly, he has constituencies within both the state bureaucracy and the influential bazaar merchant community of which Khatami can only dream. Rafsanjani is accused by some of using his unique position to perpetuate government paralysis as a means of undermining the credibility of both the reformists and the hard-liners so that he can return to the presidency. If this is true, he is playing a highly dangerous game that risks, at best, putting him in charge of a sinking ship.
Iranians have paid a heavy price for the inability of their leaders to chart and follow a coherent course. That burden will become unbearable unless Khatami’s opponents accept that his ideas are a natural product of the revolution, not a program for its defeat. The people who followed Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini did so because they wanted a more participatory system than that allowed by the much-despised monarchy. They got precisely that, and the result is that they have twice voted for Khatami because he promises more of the same.
Whether he remains in the background or eventually makes a move for his old job, Rafsanjani is ideally placed to render yeoman service to his country and his people. He could also, however, set them back decades by ignoring the manifest will of a people who, granted a few timid liberties, will not give them up without a fight. How he decides depends on the extent to which he understands the inimitable attraction of freedom. Iran cannot go back to the pre-Khatami days, and it can only go down if anyone is foolish enough to try.

[AdmSmith]

I am wondering if those collaborating with Al Qaeda are also in charge of vigilantes. What is your take on this?

I do not know, but it can safely be assumed that those collaborating with al Qaeda have the same view on the demonstrators as the vigilantes.

[firewalk]

Good afternoon
Thanks for the ping

[dixiechick2000]

Thanks for the updates.

I'm sorry to hear about Bagher Parto. Prayers for his family.

I'l check in later!

[DoctorZIn]

We have a new member of the FreeRepublic community.
Khashayar is an Iranian Student in Iran who is risking his life to post on the FreeRepublic.

Check out his post and invite him to join our thread...

Iranians want the USA to invade, why they don’t invade?
Posted on 06/28/2003 1:19 AM PDT by Khashayar

There is a big question while the protests and opposes rised in Iran last week, Why the USA which is next to Iranian borders, dont come in to support or in other words why we Iranians do not see any effective behavior from the US officials. Me, as a citizen of any other country , do not like to see my country to be invaded or collapsed but the real fact in Iran is that the mullahs will not go or over thrown with out any military intervention or support from a powerful source. This is what you can hear in Iran now, I think those men in the Pentagon or the white house should take a decision fast. Are they taking care of the fate of the Iranians? So They have to be more responsible as well. We do not need just words, we need action. The great help America can give us now is to support us more and more not just by words but by actions. Please do something!

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/937130/posts

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

[norton]

I'd really like more than generalities.

Just as the regime claims outside influence causes the unrest, the protesters can claim they are against outside enforcers.

(remember that we get to hear Jessie Jackson shout "torture" and "repression" every time a mugging goes bad in the inner city.)

Also: FOX is reporting that the unrest is quieted because the university told students there would be no finals, and they all went home...?


dr. Z; we all want to support change in Iran. We do NOT want to see the USA pulled into something that is not going to be a real event - that is not a real event except for the US bashing that would surely follow any Bay of Pigs in the Gulf.

[SauronOfMordor]

Iranians want the USA to invade, why they don’t invade?

The US will not invade just because some people want us there, or because bad things are happening. Bad things are happening in the Congo, Zimbabwe, Indonesia, Venezuela, and a bunch of other places. The US does not have the men or resources to do everything

The Iranians are going to have to take out the mullahs by themselves.

Plus, if the US came in and took out the mullahs, what will we be expected to do when a new batch of mullahs arrive in Iran? keep coming in? Will the Iranian people pay us for the service?

If the Iranians get rid of the mullahs themselves, they will also, in the process, develop an attitude that any new mullahs that show up will be attached to the nearest tree, and the attachment will be done by the nearest Iranians who notice the mullah being there. Otherwise Iran will not KEEP any freedom