Iranian Alert -- DAY 36 -- LIVE THREAD PING LIST

Friends in high places

By Dan De Luce
Jul 15, 2003

Western governments classify the People's Mojahedin as a terrorist group, but it can still boast allies in the US and UK.

Western governments describe the People's Mojahedin as a terrorist organisation, yet the group has allies in the House of Commons and the US Congress.

When one of its leaders was arrested by French police last month, her followers went on hunger strike. Several set themselves alight in front of television cameras, with two later dying.

French security officials claim that the People's Mojahedin was planning to stage terrorist attacks throughout Europe, but the group says that it advocates secular democracy and women's rights in Iran.

So who are the People's Mojahedin, and where did the group come from?

Its origins lie in the 60s, when opponents of the Shah's regime in Iran looked to socialist ideals and new readings of Islamic texts for inspiration in their campaign against the US-backed monarchy.

Outraged by the Shah's brutal suppression of dissent, the People's Mojahedin, or Mojahedin Khalq Organisation (MKO), chose to take up arms.

Bombings and assassinations, including several attacks that claimed the lives of US military officers and contractors, took a serious toll and provoked further repression by the regime.

The MKO's blend of Marxism and Islam influenced other opposition figures, and made its mark on the clerics who came to rule Iran after the fall of the Shah. However, divisions among the MKO's ranks became apparent, with some electing to part from an increasingly radical leadership.

As the only armed and organised opposition group during the final years of the Shah's rule, many historians say that the People's Mojahedin played an important role in his eventual overthrow in 1979.

During the chaotic days after the Shah had fled amid mass protests, the MKO seized the state television headquarters and other government buildings.

As Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and his allies asserted control in what later became known as the "Islamic revolution", the MKO attracted a large following among students, who admired its record of fierce opposition to the Shah's regime.

Yet the group soon found itself marginalised as Islamic conservatives sought to defeat left-wingers. When the ayatollah demanded that the group disarm, it refused. Violent conflict eventually erupted between the Islamic clerical leadership and the MKO, which had done so much to weaken the Shah.

MKO members resumed the terror tactics practised during the Shah's era, assassinating senior figures and then speeding away on high-powered motorbikes.

Its underground war against the government reached a peak in June 1981, when a series of bombs exploded in Tehran's city centre during a major political meeting. The bombing killed 72 people, including chief justice Mohammad Beheshti, a senior figure close to the ayatollah, government ministers, numerous MPs and civil servants.

A month later, the president, Mohammad-Ali Rajei, and the prime minister, Javad Bahonar were killed in a bombing attack.

The government waged a determined campaign against the People's Mojahedin, using Militant Revolutionary guards and arresting and executing numerous MKO suspects.

In recent years, some journalists have questioned whether all those arrested were proven MKO agents, or whether they were merely rounded up in a sweeping move against all opposition.

Lethal attacks on the clerical leadership failed to bolster the MKO's position, and civilian casualties cost it support among ordinary Iranians.

"I remember my parents told us we couldn't go outside because they were afraid of more bombings by the MKO," Mustafa, a computer engineer, recalled.

With western governments backing Iraq in its war against Iran, the MKO decided to link its future with the Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein. The group acted as infiltrators and a source of military intelligence for Baghdad, and Saddam later used the MKO to help crush Kurdish and Shia opponents.

By siding with a regime bombing Iranian cities and killing hundreds of thousands of young Iranians, the MKO became despised in Iran and lost what support it still retained.

"The one thing in which there is common agreement among all political parties here, reformist or conservative, is that the MKO is a black organisation," Amir Mohebian, a conservative academic, said in an interview.

The 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war ended in stalemate, forcing the MKO into permanent exile and subservience to Saddam's repressive rule. A group that had been born in opposition to one dictatorship became dependent on another.

The recent collapse of Saddam's government has rendered the MKO homeless. The US bombed MKO bases during its attack on the Iraqi regime, but was slow to negotiate the group's surrender. Diplomats say that the US coveted intelligence about Iran held by the MKO.

More and more, analysts believe, the MKO may have become a pawn in a bigger contest between Washington and Iran. The George Bush administration sees the MKO as a possible lever in its campaign to restrict Iran's nuclear programme and force the extradition of al-Qaida suspects allegedly sheltering in the country.

Although it has staged occasional hit and run raids along the Iran-Iraq border, including mortar attacks, it is the MKO's skilful public relations effort that has kept it alive outside Iran.

Through its political wing, the National Council for Resistance, articulate spokesmen, fluent in foreign languages, explain the group's goals in clear terms, delivering user-friendly material to the media. Outsiders already hostile towards Iran's theocracy respond well to the group's message.

The MKO's ability to gain allies in parliaments, and publicity, infuriates Iran, which accuses Washington and other governments of adopting a hypocritical stance in their declared war on terrorism.

The MKO also has managed to raise serious sums of money from exiles and supporters. French police seized some $8m (£4.5m) during a recent raid on the MKO headquarters.

Former members have told horror stories about life inside the organisation, which, they say, resembles a cult. They have accused their former masters of punishing disobedience with torture, or even murder, and allege that the leadership separated some children from their parents.

Ervand Abrahamian, a history professor at Baruch College, in the US, has written a comprehensive history of the MKO. He says that the group has been sustained less by ideology than by a cult of personality surrounding its leader, Massoud Rajavi, and his wife, Maryam.

"If Massoud Rajavi got up tomorrow and said that the world was flat, his members would accept it," he told the New York Times.

Spokesmen for the MKO deny allegations of brainwashing, insisting that the organisation is the target of propaganda by the Iranian government, which it has labelled a "clerical dictatorship".

Whether the People's Mojahedin is a fanatical cult set on violence or the democratic organisation described by its leaders, its days of influence in Iran faded long ago.

Deprived of a base for its armed resistance, unpopular in its homeland and targeted for investigation by French authorities, it appears to be in terminal decline.

http://www.daneshjoo.org/generalnews/article/publish/article_1171.shtml

Iran 'cancels' envoy's visit

By Jim Muir
BBC Tehran correspondent 7.15.2003

The first-ever visit to Iran by the UN special rapporteur on freedom of expression and opinion, Ambeyi Ligabo, has been postponed at the Iranian Government's request.

Kazemi's relatives claim she was beaten in custody
The reason given by officials was that there were difficulties in arranging Mr Ligabo's schedule.

The visit would have come at a moment when human rights are under strong pressure in Iran, with numerous recent arrests of liberal journalists and student leaders.

An Iranian foreign ministry official was quoted as saying that there were problems arranging the meetings the envoy had asked for.

But the special rapporteur was to have been here for 10 days - and it is not unusual for the schedules of visiting officials, even very high ones, to be fluid until the last moment.

Rights concerns

The visit would have taken place at a time when human-rights organisations both inside Iran and internationally are deeply concerned about a crackdown emanating largely from the hardline judiciary.

Since the street disturbances in Tehran and elsewhere in the middle of June, dozens of prominent liberal journalists and also student leaders have been arrested.

Iran's Supreme Leader is under pressure
Most recently, it was the turn of Issa Sarkhiz, a prominent reformist newspaperman.

If Mr Ligabo wanted to talk to student leaders, he would find it hard to do so without visiting them in jail since virtually all student activists of any stature have been arrested.

There is also great concern about the case of Zahra Kazemi, an Iranian Canadian photo-journalist who was arrested last month and died last week after being in a coma for two weeks.

President Mohammad Khatami has ordered an urgent inquiry into her death in custody.

Officials say a committee he set up has intervened to prevent her body being buried until the cause of death has been fully clarified.

Officially, the visit by the special rapporteur has been postponed, not cancelled, and a new date should be set later in the year.

But it is hard not to conclude that the postponement marks a setback for the efforts of reformists within the Iranian establishment to improve the country's image on human rights.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3069179.stm

Amnesty Int.'l calls for independent inquiry in the death of Canadian-Iranian journalist

SMCCDI (Information Service)
Jul 15, 2003

Amnesty International, the famous rights watch, added its voice today to the calls made by other international human rights organizations and Iranian opposition groups, such as SMCCDI, in calling for an independent and thorough investigation into the death in custody of 54-year-old photojournalist Zahra Kazemi on 12 July 2003.

"Iran's obligations under international human rights treaties require the establishment of an independent and impartial judicial inquiry to determine the causes of Zahra Kazemi's death," Amnesty International said in its statement e.mailed today.

"Such investigation must also determine whether Zahra Kazemi was ill-treated or tortured in custody as some reports have indicated," the organization added.

Zahra Kazemi, who had dual Canadian and Iranian nationality, died at the Baghiyetollah Hospital of Tehran which is under the management of the Islamic regime's Pasdaran Corp. She was arrested in late June for taking pictures of security forces beating on people who were protesting against the detention of family members outside the Evin prison located in northern Tehran. Those beaten were protesting against the detentions of their relatives arrested during the riots which rocked main Iranian cities last month.

"The authorities must enact concrete measures aimed at ending all forms of ill-treatment in Iran, such as acceding to the UN Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment," the organization said.

"Only a prompt, thorough, independent and impartial investigation will serve the interests of justice." Amnesty added.

For its part, SMCCDI issued, yesterday, an "Urgent Action" calling on World's Freedom Lovers and Journalists to protest against the murder of Zahra Kazemi.

The Mouvement asked for the immediate inquiry of an independent team compsed by members of the International Jurists and the famous Reporters Sans Frontieres on this case by reminding the murders, by the Islamic regime, of several Iranian and foreign journalists.

The Urgent Action which was mass e.mailed, to over 15 thousands e.mails, asked for the immediate transfer of those involved in this new murder to Canada in order to face public trial.

It requested from the Canadian government an immediate formal protest and retaliatory measures, against the Islamic republic, in case of the regime's refusal to accept such conditions.

http://www.daneshjoo.org/generalnews/article/publish/article_1177.shtml

US "not interested" in direct talks with Iran

World News
Jul 15, 2003

WASHINGTON - The United States said it did not want direct talks with Iran about its nuclear program and was only interested in dealing with the issue through the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

"At this point, all I can tell you is we're not engaged in or not seeking talks with Iran regarding its nuclear program," US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said.

"Our policy has been to support the International Atomic Energy Agency's ongoing efforts to investigate the nuclear program," he told reporters when asked about a report that Washington had rebuffed overtures from Tehran for bilateral talks.

Boucher declined to confirm the report, in the Financial Times newspaper, that Iran had signalled its willingness to open such talks as a way of approaching US concerns about its alleged support for terrorism and the Middle East.

But he did say that the United States believed Iran's nuclear program, which Washington maintains is a front for atomic weapons development, was an international matter and not for the two countries to discuss among themselves.

"Iran's program is of concern to the international community, not just the United States," Boucher said.

"We look to Iran to respond to the requests from the International Atomic Energy Agency, for them to rectify the outstanding problems and answer unresolved questions," he added.

"We're not engaged and we're not seeking talks with Iran on their nuclear program," Boucher said. "That's where we are today."

Citing unnamed officials, The Financial Times reported that Tehran had indicated its readiness for discussions with the United States through its ambassador to the United Nations Mohammad Javad Zarif.

The paper said Zarif had given the signals in conversations with Americans in close contact with the Bush administration, including at least one former senior official.

Tehran's willingness to talk with the United States was also conveyed to US officials by Tim Guldimann, Switzerland's ambassador to Iran, the paper said.

Switzerland represents US interests in Iran.

The United States and other nations have been urging Tehran to be more open about its nuclear program and, in particular, to sign an additional protocol to the Non-Nuclear Proliferation Treaty that would allow UN inspectors to make unannounced spot checks on its facilities.

At present Iran is only obliged to accept prearranged visits with the IAEA, the UN's nuclear watchdog, and only to sites it chooses to declare.

A senior Iranian diplomat said in Moscow that Tehran was in favour of signing the protocol but that an agreement would depend on the rights of both signatories being clarified.

"We favour signing the protocol but we believe that the rights of Iran and the IAEA must be clarified," Russia's Interfax news agency quoted visiting Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Galiamali Khosru as saying.

Last week in Tehran, IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei failed to secure Iranian authorization for tougher inspections but the two sides agreed to hold more talks on the issue.

http://www.daneshjoo.org/generalnews/article/publish/article_1174.shtml

Satan on the air

A crucial test for the theocracy: Students are protesting throughout the country, while the United States is increasing external pressure, principally because of Teheran's nuclear program. Reformers are looking to Europe for support, while the religious extremists cling to power.

In the Mecca of the media world that revolves around Hollywood, 60-year-old Sia Atabai has spent years within the countless ranks of nameless producers. The former Iranian pop star's television station, National Iranian Television (NITV), with its crude mixture of news, talk shows and low-budget films in Farsi, was at best well-known among expatriate Iranians.
Atabai's dream of becoming a Persian media mogul for his four million fellow countrymen living in the United States and Western Europe seemed excessively ambitious - until the middle of last week.

Ever since the outbreak of student protests against the religious leadership in Teheran, Atabai has at least been assured international attention well beyond the expatriate community. His station, NITV, which is also received in Iran and supposedly played a part in spurring the unrest, has become a nightmare for the mullahs.

The leadership of the theocracy is virtually panic-stricken. For the first time in the history of the Islamic Republic, the interior ministry has formed a crisis committee for the "Defense of Fundamental Islamic Values and Strengthening of Internal Security." Ali Junessi, director of the Iranian secret service, even demanded special courts intended to sentence "elements endangering the state" in abbreviated proceedings.

Even more threatening to the religious leadership is that, in contrast to unrest in the past, the liberal-leaning head of state, Mohammed Khatami, is not just facing pressure on the home front. In Washington, US President George W. Bush is becoming increasingly open in declaring his intentions, while the hawks in his administration are not ruling out military action.

The leader of the world's only remaining superpower has not only demonstratively welcomed protests against the regime, which Washington accuses of supporting the Al Qaeda terrorist network and stirring up opposition to US troops in Iraq. Bush is also attempting to exert pressure on the government in Teheran through the International Atomic Energy Organization (IAEO) in Vienna.

In a report issued last Monday, the head of the IAEO, Mohammed al-Baradei, accused the religious leadership of having failed to disclose "certain nuclear material and activities." In doing so, the world's chief nuclear inspector has bolstered Washington's concern that the mullahs have been developing a nuclear bomb for some time.

US intelligence services are not just concerned that Iran is gathering expertise on building nuclear weapons at its largest nuclear power plant in the port city of Bushir, which is scheduled for completion by the end of this year. They are also worried that Teheran could produce highly enriched uranium for use in nuclear weapons at a long-hidden facility near Natan, 240 kilometers south of the capital. A heavy water reactor that can also produce weapons-grade plutonium is also in the works in Arak, not far from the holy city of Ghom.

Teheran rejects claims of its alleged military ambitions as malicious insinuations by the "Great Satan." President Khatami assures that the sole purpose of Iran's nuclear program is "for the production of electricity." But in the wake of the al-Baradei report, US hawks such as Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld are now being joined by representatives of "Old Europe," such as German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, in voicing their "cause for concern."

At their conference in Luxembourg, the EU foreign ministers left no doubt as to their support for Washington. According to EU representatives, Teheran could only expect the anticipated trade and cooperation treaty with the EU to materialize once it is certain that Iran's nuclear program is intended solely for peaceful purposes. And the mullahs need this treaty more than ever.

Allah's self-proclaimed earthly representatives have managed to lead their oil-rich country to the brink of both political and economic ruin. There is no end to complaints about corruption and nepotism among the clerics, who control large segments of the state-owned economy. About two-thirds of Iran's 70 million people are younger than 30, and they suffer from unemployment and a lack of prospects. Every other Iranian is unemployed.

The riots of the past week are at best an indication of the true extent of frustration. More than ever before, the protestors can now depend on sympathy from within the population. Residents have given refuge to demonstrators, and drivers have blocked traffic to obstruct security forces, though their efforts failed to prevent security crackdowns.

But although the images photographed by some observers are reminiscent of revolutionary scenes in the late 1970s, Iran's rulers continue to maintain a firm hold on the majority of the population. Most of all, the students lack a charismatic leader who can truly mobilize public opinion, someone like the one-time founder of the Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who also had at his disposal an untainted social model - his design for a theocracy.

The activists of today want a different republic. Just as during the "Hot Summer" of 1999, when students challenged the mullahs for the first time, the current demonstrators' slogans are democracy and freedom of speech.

Whether such pressure will truly produce results remains questionable. The Khatami administration, in the context of the nuclear conflict, has signaled its willingness to fully cooperate with the IAEO in the future, and has even agreed to unannounced inspections of its facilities. However, it still refuses to allow certain tests demanded by the IAEO.

The only good news for the regime has come from France, where the interior ministry has taken legal action against the European headquarters of the Peoples' Mujahedin. In protest, fanatical adherents to the group soaked themselves in gasoline and set themselves on fire in Rome, Bern and London.

However, it seems unlikely that the worldly Khatami will prevail in the struggle for power in Teheran. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, well-known for his virulent dislike of America, maintains an iron grip on both the judicial system and the security services, which were not reactivated until last Wednesday, when they were deployed on a special mission. To prevent further calls for demonstrations through the expatriate TV station, they stormed houses in Teheran and seized the devil's equipment - satellite dishes that were previously largely tolerated - from rooftops.

Nevertheless, NITV producer Atabai has no doubt that the uprising has been successful. The telephone calls and faxes he has received from throughout the theocracy have convinced him that "Iran can now liberate itself."

DIETER BEDNARZ

http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/english/0,1518,254205,00.html

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