Iranian Alert -- DAY 21 -- LIVE THREAD PING LIST

Live Thread Ping List | 6.30.2003 | DoctorZin

[DoctorZIn]

The Iranian regime has been threatening a major crackdown on the protesters. In just 9 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.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Re #19

Thanks for your info. I appreciate it.:)

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

UN has been hijacked by the world's worst [Toronto Sun]

With the United Nations now inflicting moral outrages on the civilized world at the rate of about one a week, the question must be asked if the world body can be saved from itself.

Last week's outrage was the news that Iraq will co-chair the UN's key disarmament negotiating forum during its May 12 to June 27 meetings in Geneva. The chairs are chosen alphabetically and it's Iraq's turn, along with co-chair ... wait for it ... Iran.

Never mind that Iraq is under UN sanctions for invading Kuwait, is in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions regarding its own disarmament and that Iraq and Iran, another dictatorship, fought a brutal, eight-year war against each other for most of the 1980s. Such jaw- dropping inanities are simply business as usual at the UN.

The week before, it was word that Libya, one of the world's worst human rights violators, had been elected to chair the UN Human Rights Commission... [much more interesting info snip]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/834383/posts

[AdmSmith]

Anobody knows what happened to Madari? Perhaps he died in 1985:

"Another maraji in Najaf was Ruhallah Khumeini; there were others in Qum such as Gulpaygani, Shariycat-Madari (d. 1985), Marcashi-Najafi (d. 1989); and in Mashhad Abdullah Shirazi (d. 1986)."

http://www.victorynewsmagazine.com/ShahidBaqirReferences.htm

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

The UN is nothing but a criminal organization. Fraud, graft, shakedowns, bribery-- even child molestation, rape, mass genocidal debauchery, killing unborn infants, and prostitution. Giving them any legitimacy in this only hurts you. Don't give them leverage. They will sell you out to the highest bidder. Ok. I'll call it a day. I realise that few people know much about the UN, and I hope we are still friends. I'll most likely be back in a couple of days. FReegards....

[nuconvert]

Yes. This practice is bizarre. But if they decided to skip over the countries that were guilty of atrocities they'd decide that everyone was guilty. You know the UN. Hey they're up to the I's. Remember, we sat through the Congo already during the war. It seems a ridiculous kindergarten kind of "let's let everyone have their turn". It's time for them to grow up.

[Khashayar]

Mates,
If I said, UN that is because we do not have any one in our side.
You are in our side, I know, but to many UN still works and that could help them know what we are bearing.

[nuconvert]

They're quite a pair.

[firewalk]

Good morning
thanks for the ping

[PatrickHenry]

Your people are very close to Patrick Henry, right now.

I'm not informed enough on what's happening in Iran, but any thread that mentions Patrick Henry is certainly worth a bump.

[DoctorZIn]

Good morning.

It was a delight to wake up and read the posts today. The depth of conversation, knowledge of history, and compassion for the Iranian lovers of freedom has been moving. Keep up the great work. We are making a difference.

DoctorZin

[AdmSmith]

We can be assured that the posts are as well read by the Iranian government. Perhaps they will learn.

[AdmSmith]

MPs end protest, special committee formed to follow up case

Tehran, June 29, IRNA -- Five MPs who had staged a sit-in ended their protest here Sunday after Majlis Speaker Mehdi Karroubi appointed a committee to follow up the case.

One of the MPs, Fatemeh Haqiqat-joo told IRNA that the committee met with security and judicial officials and "it was decided that all the students under arrest in police custody should be handed over to the Information Ministry."

Also, the sides agreed that the court proceedings will be held in open in presence of defense lawyers. The MP from Tehran further stated that the committee is also permitted to visit the imprisoned students and submit a report to the
Majlis speaker.
She also expressed hope that the committee's pursuit will be successful to meet demands of students.
Four Iranian MPs defied judiciary officials' threats to arrest some parliamentarians on charges of provoking recent unrest and started a two-day 'sit in' here Saturday in parliament in protest to the way police treated students.
"The aim of the protest is to defend legal processes and in this way, we are intending to announce our protest to and worries about the way students are confronted," one of the protestors who represents Tehran in Majlis, Meysam Saeedi, said.
Three other protesting MPs - Fatemeh Haqiqat-Joo, Reza Yousefian and Ali Akbar Mousavi Khoini - blasted judiciary and police officials for allegedly failing to deal with 'vigilantes' for attacking students.
"All high-ranking officials believe in confronting vigilante forces, but what we see today is the lack of confrontation with those individuals who have taken up arbitrary approach," Saeedi said.
"Through our sit-in, we are intending to protest to the respective officials and announce our loyalty to the promises we gave and the slogans we chanted during elections," Yousefian said.
NB/SS
End



http://www.irna.ir/en/tnews/030630215124.etn05.shtml

[AdmSmith]

Suicide bombings are against Islam, says leading Iranian cleric

30 June By Anton La Guardia, Diplomatic Editor Telegraph

An influential Iranian cleric connected to hardliners in Teheran issued a powerful conciliatory signal yesterday when he denounced suicide bombings against civilians as a "crime" and came close to recognising the State of Israel.

Sayed Safavi, the brother of the commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Gen Yahya Rahim Safavi, also called for a dialogue of Muslim, Jewish and Christian religious leaders to help to resolve the Arab-Israeli dispute.

His comments, in a letter to The Daily Telegraph, come as Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, holds talks in Teheran to warn the clerical regime that it must subject its nuclear programme to intrusive inspections and stop supporting terrorist groups in the region.

Senior British officials believe the letter "may be a sign of an important change by the regime".

Dr Safavi says his letter contains his "personal reflections". But it is understood the comments have the tacit approval of key elements of the Iranian regime, including hardliners described by British officials as "the forces of darkness".

The cleric's links to the Revolutionary Guards, a vital organ defending the regime, as well as his pedigree as a descendant of the ancient ruling Safavi dynasty, lend particular weight to his words.

Dr Safavi, a follower of Sufi mysticism who shares his time between London and Teheran, criticised the suicide bombers on the grounds that even in a military "jihad", or holy war, Islam does not permit the targeting of the innocent.

"For Muslims to kill civilians unconnected with any attack on them is a crime. This is not in accordance with Islam," he writes, "The principal law of Islam is, 'Don't attack civilians'. This includes Jewish, Muslim or Christian civilians." He added: "If we have an enemy, then our enemy's child and our own child have no involvement in our confrontation . . . It is not right to involve children who have no sin."

Islamic militants will still find room in his comments to justify their bloody actions.

The cleric accepts that "if there is no choice, no peace, no security, then the holy Koran says that when your enemy attacks you, you can fight him".

Moreover, Muslim extremists like to claim that Israeli civilians are not really "civilians" because most of them serve in the Israeli army and perform regular stints of reserve duty.

Nevertheless, Dr Safavi's comments are a rare departure in a region where suicide bombers - especially Palestinian militants who attack Israeli civilians in the name of Islam - are idolised and often receive the explicit blessing of Muslim religious leaders.

Dr Safavi's views on Israel are, if anything, even more revolutionary.

Israel has long regarded Iran as the most dangerous of its neighbours, sponsoring Islamist militants and developing nuclear weapons that directly threaten the existence of the Jewish state.

In his letter, Dr Safavi does not directly address the question of Israel's right to exist. But his comments implicitly accept Israel, and even sympathise with its fears. "Israel is scared of Islam. The Islamic world is scared of the West," he writes, adding: "The Israeli government may not be religious, but Israel is not a secular country. It sees around it a very scary situation. But if we share what terrifies us, we move beyond that."

He implies that Middle East peace talks have so far failed because they excluded religious figures. "Religious leaders are more patient than politicians," he writes, "Religious leaders should have a central role. . . We need dialogue between civilisations and cultures. This is the only solution that will bring peace."

The letter equates President George W Bush and Osama bin Laden, claiming both seek a "clash of civilisations", and denounces both Israel and the United States for carrying out acts of terrorism.

Nevertheless, his remarks amount to an unusually strong appeal to moderation and dialogue among foes.

It is unclear whether the comments will be endorsed by any of the factions in Iran involved in a seemingly perpetual struggle for dominance.

The fact that they were issued to Western newspapers will reinforce suspicions within the Bush administration that they are an attempt to deflect the pressure being applied by America and Europe since the end of the war in Iraq.

The United States has praised a series of student-led demonstrations as a cry for freedom, while the European Union has expressed alarm about Iran's nuclear programme, which it fears may conceal plans to build a nuclear bomb in the coming years.

Moreover, British and American officials accuse elements of the Iranian regime of sheltering senior leaders of the al-Qa'eda movement.

Intriguingly, Dr Safavi declares: "No Islamic country or organisation may legitimately use chemical or biological weapons."



http://www.iranexpert.com/2003/suicidebombings30june.htm

[AdmSmith]

If Iran wants to talk business they should extradite the imprisoned al Qaeda members in a week.

[nuconvert]

"The letter equates President George W Bush and Osama bin Laden, claiming both seek a "clash of civilisations", and denounces... the United States for carrying out acts of terrorism."

Well, he had it right up until that point.

But I give him credit for everything else.

[dixiechick2000]

" It was a delight to wake up and read the posts today."

Absolutely, DrZin! Thanks to all!

[nuconvert]

"One of the MPs, Fatemeh Haqiqat-joo told IRNA that the committee met with security and judicial officials and "it was decided that all the students under arrest in police custody should be handed over to the Information Ministry."

And can they make this decision and have it mean anything?

[AdmSmith]

The letter equates President George W Bush and Osama bin Laden, claiming both seek a "clash of civilisations", and denounces... the United States for carrying out acts of terrorism."

Well, he had it right up until that point.
But I give him credit for everything else.

Regard the letter as test balloon, we will see more of this type in the coming week. The part about Dubya and OBL is for internal consumption in Iran in the internal struggle.

[AdmSmith]

Note the words "it was decided that all the students under arrest in police custody should be handed over to the Information Ministry." The Iranian administration has no say over the forces of darkness.

[nuconvert]

Sorry. A bit confused. "the forces of darkness" being the Mujahedeen?