Iranian Alert -- February 9, 2004 -- IRAN LIVE THREAD --Americans for Regime Change in Iran

The Iranian Student Movement Up To The Minute Reports ^ | 2.9.2004 | DoctorZin

[DoctorZIn]

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.” But 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. Starting June 10th of this year, Iranians have begun taking to the streets to express their desire for a regime change. Most want to replace the regime with a secular democracy. Many even want the US to over throw their government.

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.

DoctorZin

[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]

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]

Kerry Says He Will Repair Damage If He Wins Election

Tehran Times - By Mehr News Agency
Feb 8, 2004
WASHINGTON (Mehr News Agency) -- The office of Senator John Kerry, the frontrunner in the Democratic presidential primary in the U.S., sent the Mehr News Agency an e-email saying that Kerry will try to repair the damage done by the incumbent president if he wins the election. The text of the e-mail follows.

As Americans who have lived and worked extensively overseas, we have personally witnessed the high regard with which people around the world have historically viewed the United States. Sadly, we are also painfully aware of how the actions and the attitudes demonstrated by the U.S. government over the past three years have threatened the goodwill earned by presidents of both parties over many decades and put many of our international relationships at risk.

It is in the urgent interests of the people of the United States to restore our country's credibility in the eyes of the world. America needs the kind of leadership that will repair alliances with countries on every continent that have been so damaged in the past few years, as well as build new friendships and overcome tensions with others.

We are convinced that John Kerry is the candidate best qualified to meet this challenge. Senator Kerry has the diplomatic skill and temperament as well as a lifetime of accomplishments in field of international affairs. He believes that collaboration with other countries is crucial to efforts to win the war on terror and make America safer.

An understanding of global affairs is essential in these times, and central to this campaign Kerry has the experience and the understanding necessary to successfully restore the United States to its position of respect within the community of nations. He has the judgment and vision necessary to assure that the United States fulfills a leadership role in meeting the challenges we face throughout the world.

The current Administration's policies of unilateralism and rejection of important international initiatives, from the Kyoto Accords to the Biological Weapons Convention, have alienated much of the world and squandered remarkable reserves of support after 9/11. This climate of hostility affects us all, but most especially impacts those who reside overseas. Disappointment with current U.S. leadership is widespread, extending not just to the corridors of power and politics, but to the man and woman on the street as well.

We believe John Kerry is the Democrat who can go toe-to-toe against the current Administration on national security and defense issues. We also remain convinced that John Kerry has the best chance of beating the incumbent in November, and putting America on a new course that will lead to a safer, more secure, and more stable world.

SMCCDI Note: The bold and underlined of the original introduction of the article as posted are made by SMCCDI in order to show the fact, stated by the official Mehr News agency, that J. Kerry's offices have started to lobby beside entities affiliated to the Islamic republic regime while the very same regime is promoting violence in Iraq and elsewhere.

[DoctorZIn]

Anger grows among children of Iran's 25-year-old revolution

Guardian - By Dan De Luce in Tehran
Feb 9, 2004

They slice through traffic on their motorbikes, racing each other at breakneck speed while holding their mobile phones.

They listen to heavy metal, read Günter Grass and admire Tom Cruise. They don't go to the mosque the way their parents did, and they have given up on politics.

A third of Iran's 65 million people are aged between 15 and 30, struggling to find jobs, queuing for visas, and frustrated with the theocracy they have inherited.

As Iran this week marks the 25th anniversary of the revolution that toppled a monarchy and delivered clerical rule, members of the "third generation" won't be celebrating an event that they don't even remember.

"It was a futile revolution," says Sohrab, who is as young as the Islamic Republic. "It brought nothing but harm for the people."

He speaks amid the roar of traffic and choking pollution in the working-class district of Shoosh in south Tehran, a place where the revolution enjoyed enthusiastic support in 1979.

Now Sohrab and his friends blame the clergy for Iran's troubles. "You cannot accuse anyone else," he says. "The revolution was in their hands, they made it happen. They were responsible. They started with a slogan of Islam, but they betrayed Islam."

He complains about the social restrictions that make having a girlfriend a clandestine project; the risks of speaking out publicly against the theocracy; the inflation that eats away at his wages; corruption; and his country's pariah status. "Ask me what doesn't bother me," he says.

He worries about friends who have turned to drugs. More than a million young Iranians are addicts, and hundreds of thousands of young men are in jail for drug offences.

With the clergy so deeply identified with politics, young people are turning away from religion, he says. "After all this, do you expect us to go to mosque and listen to them?"

Like his peers, he wears his hair long and slicked back with gel. He has a "hidden friendship" with a girl; "people have learned to do everything they want in society behind closed doors". He adds: "We are human beings. It's natural."

Although he failed to secure a coveted place at university, he says he is lucky, because he works for his father's small transport business. His friends are scraping by and desperately seeking decent jobs.

Hoping for real change, Sohrab, along with millions of other young Iranians, voted for reformists four years ago in parliamentary elections. But the reformist majority was overruled in a system that gives final authority to appointed ideologues.

"They know how to fool us" he says. "I had a lot of enthusiasm at the time. But I won't vote again. Even if my father becomes a candidate, I won't vote."

At Tehran University, where student unrest in the 70s helped force the Shah from power, Islamic militancy lost its appeal long ago.

"The ideas of that time are now outdated," says Hooshang, an electrical engineering student. "Politically, we can't speak out. If we speak freely, they'll compile a file on us."

Some students who have dared to speak out have been imprisoned or summoned to court. One of them, Ahmad Batebi, appeared in a dramatic photograph on the cover of the Economist in 1999, holding up the bloodied T-shirt of a classmate beaten by vigilantes. Batebi was convicted of endangering national security and remains behind bars.

Apart from student leaders and a few young journalists, most Iranians are tuning out of politics. They are focusing on finding a job or an emigration visa, or the next heroin fix.

Unable to contain the vast youth population, the Iranian establishment has been forced to grant a limited degree of social freedom, allowing couples to hold hands on the street, spicing up programming on state television and permitting concerts and billiard halls.

Journalists say the leadership hopes to follow China's example, easing social and economic restrictions while holding on firmly to power.

Among young couples sharing ice cream at a shopping centre, there is no gratitude for the new social allowances.

"It's not a matter of tolerance. They were forced to act because society was about to explode," says Sadjad, 19, a university student.

"We are not the youth of 10 years ago and we have more access to the rest of the world, so they have to give us more freedom."

His girlfriend Mara says the concessions are meaningless. "Freedom is not only about going with your friend hand-in-hand. It's being able to speak freely, even in front of a policeman."

After Iraq invaded Iran in 1980, the founder of the Islamic republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, called on families to produce children for the defence of Islam and the revolution.

But instead of being disciples of the cause, the generation now coming of age poses a daunting challenge to the survival of his theocracy.

The road to theocracy

1977 US president Jimmy Carter toasts the Shah and calls Iran "an island of stability" in the Gulf

January 1978 Newspaper article written by the regime slanders the Shah's most outspoken critic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, as a British spy. Wave of anti-Shah protests follows

September Martial law declared as protests continue against the Shah and his notorious secret police, the Savak

October The Shah insists Iraq evict Ayatollah Khomeini after years in defiant exile. Khomeini refused entry to Kuwait and takes refuge in a suburb near Paris. The regime unravels and the Shah and his family flee

February 1 1979 Without permission to land, the ayatollah returns to acclaim

February 11 Government troops return to barracks

December New constitution ratified in a referendum declaring an Islamic republic

http://www.daneshjoo.org/generalnews/article/publish/article_4822.shtml

[F14 Pilot]

"Iran Guardian Council acts as a political party"

Sunday, February 08, 2004
IranMania News

Tehran, February 8 ( IranMania) – A student gathering called ‘Defense for Democracy’ was held in Elm-o-Sanat University of Tehran on Saturday. The reformist MPs, Elaheh Koulaee, Mohammad Kianoushrad and Ali Tajernia took part in the gathering. The get-together which was organized by the university’s Islamic Association was warmly welcomed by the students.

According to Iran’s Labor News Agency ( ILNA), Elaheh Koulaee said: “25 years ago we had some ideals in mind, but see what we have achieved today! Iranians have started struggling for democracy and a fair distribution of political power since a century ago, but today they face challenges they could never imagine. The question now is why we have problems in understanding such concepts as freedom, independence and Islamic republic which were clearly defined by the founder of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini.”

Elaborating on the hardliners’ recent moves, Koulaee reiterated: “The conservatives are inflicting a heavy blow on the entire nation by their shortsightedness. We have to be united inside the borders of our homeland. For as long as we don’t listen to different views, we will gain nothing.”

Concerning her disqualification by the Guardian Council, the MP stated:
“Two years ago, the Daricheh Internet site released an article saying that I cooperate with the Russian embassy. My friends repeatedly asked me to insistently deny the news. However I told them the issue is too comic and trivial to react to, for, my record is available to everyone. When the Guardian Council termed me unqualified to stand for the upcoming parliamentary elections, I found the same baseless reports as the body’s basis of decision-making. We have to learn from past experiences. Every 25 years the Iranian nation experiences a great development. Thus having this issue in mind, why should we repeat the same mistakes? The conservatives accuse us of skepticism the same way the anti-reform forces accused the constitutional revolutionaries at the end of the Qajarid era.”

The reformist MP noted: “How is it that if the members of the National Security Commission in their secret meetings talk about resumption of ties with the US, it is considered a crime and a reason for their invalidation, but those affiliated to the conservatives can talk for hours with US diplomats without being blamed?”

Mohammad Kianoushrad for his part said: “Presently some try to turn the Islamic Republic into an Islamic Monarchy. We are opposed to the change and defend the nature of the Islamic system. The disqualification of the candidates was a politically-motivated move and the Guardian Council acted as a political party which tried to do away with its rivals.”

http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default.asp?NewsCode=22425&NewsKind=Current%20Affairs

[DoctorZIn]

Charles on Iran Visit, the First Since 1971 by a British Royal

By REUTERS
Published: February 9, 2004

EHRAN, Jan. 8 (Reuters) — Prince Charles on Sunday became the first member of the British royal family to visit this Islamic Republic, arriving here after meeting with British troops in Iraq.

Charles, welcomed at Mehrabad Airport here by the British ambassador, Richard Dalton, will meet President Mohammad Khatami on Monday before traveling to the ancient southeastern city of Bam, where an earthquake on Dec. 26 killed more than 40,000 people.

Earlier on Sunday, Charles met British troops based in the southern Iraqi city of Basra and listened to prominent Iraqi officials discuss a range of political and economic problems.

British officials said Charles's visit to Iran, which comes at a time of political tension in a country once listed by President Bush as a member of an "axis of evil," was focused purely on relief efforts for Bam.

"Prince Charles is patron of the British Red Cross, and he is coming in that role," said Andrew Dunn, press officer at the British Embassy in Tehran. "It's a completely nonpolitical visit."

Diplomats said such a trip would have been unthinkable five years ago, before relations between the countries improved as Iran began a reform process and Britain adopted a more conciliatory approach.

Britain, France and Germany, members of the European Union, are following a policy of engagement with Tehran, in contrast to the line of isolation pursued by the United States.

The last official visit to Iran by members of the British royal family was in 1971, eight years before the Islamic fundamentalist revolution overthrew the monarchy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/09/international/middleeast/09PRIN.html

[DoctorZIn]

Students in Iran sound boycott call

Tehran, Feb. 8 (Reuters)

Several hundred pro-reform Iranian students today called for a boycott of the February 20 parliamentary elections, reflecting mounting tension in the country gripped by its worst political crisis for years.

The Guardian Council, an unelected conservative watchdog body, has barred more than 2000 candidates from the poll, mainly reformist allies of President Mohammad Khatami, including some 80 MPs from the 290-seat parliament. Reformists yesterday abandoned an attempt to have the election postponed over the issue.

Baton-wielding police blocked a crowd of about 400 students, often the vanguard of reformist protest in Iran, from leaving Tehran University campus. The protest ended without violence. “Boycotting the parliamentary election is the way ahead for Iranians,” students chanted from behind the university gates.

The Guardian Council, composed of clerics and Islamic lawyers, last month rejected almost half of 8,200 aspiring candidates, saying they were not loyal to the values of the Islamic Republic.

But Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the last word on all state matters in Iran, ordered a review of the bans and just under 1,400 candidates were cleared on appeal.

The students called on Khatami to resign and for a referendum to overhaul the constitution that gives hardliners such massive vetting powers.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1040209/asp/foreign/story_2876598.asp

[F14 Pilot]

We are opposed to the change and defend the nature of the Islamic system

There's no obvious difference between the so-called Reformists and Hardliners inside Iran.

[risk]

There's no obvious difference between the so-called Reformists and Hardliners inside Iran.

Good point. What does "moderate" or "reformist" mean in the context of such inexplicable evil? On a related note, what about John Kerry's recent involvement in Iran?

As DoctorZin's earlier post #3 has observed, Kerry is also working at cross-purposes to real change in Iran. Is there a serious difference between Kerry's cries for Regime Change at Home and ANSWER, NION, or CAIR? He wants direct talks with the mullocracy now. Just when our diplomatic pressure is could be about to foment real change. If there weren't offers of big money to the Kerry campaign from the Coalition's enemies, there will be now.

[F14 Pilot]

Prince Charles Meets With Iranian Leader

ALI AKBAR DAREINI
Associated Press Writer
Mon, Feb 09, 2004

TEHRAN, Iran - Britain's Prince Charles headed Monday to the earthquake-flattened city of Bam after meeting with President Mohammed Khatami on the first visit to Iran in 33 years by a member of the British royal family.

After a handshake at the Red Palace in central Tehran, Prince Charles inquired about Khatami's recent back pain, which had confined him to his home for several days.

"It's due to old age," the 61-year-old president said with a smile, standing straight and with no visible signs of pain.

His smile, however, appeared forced and his face was not as fresh as journalists usually see him. Khatami has been under tremendous pressure about Feb. 20 legislative elections that he says will be unfair because more than 2,000 pro-reform candidates have been banned from running by a hard-line council.

There was no immediate comment from Khatami's office about his hour-long private discussions with Prince Charles.

The prince arrived in Tehran late Sunday after dropping in on British troops in a high-security visit to the southern Iraqi city of Basra. There, dressed in desert camouflage and boots, he sipped tea with soldiers and praised them for their role in securing in southern Iraq.

After the meeting with Khatami, the prince left for Bam, where more than 41,000 people died in a December earthquake that destroyed the ancient southeastern city.

Charles' visit ostensibly was planned so he could see quake aid work in Bam. However, the visit prompted speculation of political motives, perhaps to further improve relations strained after the 1979 Islamic revolution. The British Embassy asserted the prince's trip had no political implications.

"The prince is a patron of the British Red Cross and is visiting Iran in that role. It's an official but completely a nonpolitical visit," said Andrew Dunn, First Secretary at the British Embassy in Tehran.

The prince is accompanied by a small entourage that includes the head of the British Red Cross, Sir Nicholas Young.

A magnitude-6.6 quake flattened the southeastern city of Bam on Dec. 26, killing more than 41,000 people and injuring more than 15,000. The quake also leveled most of the ancient city, including the Arg-e-Bam, or Citadel of Bam, the world's largest mud-brick fortress.

On Friday, Charles made an appeal in London for funds to aid quake survivors.

Dunn said Charles and Young will assess how the British Red Cross can help the survivors and try to resume agricultural life in the area.

The last time a British royal family member visited Iran was in 1971, when Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and Princess Anne attended grand celebrations marking 2,500 years of monarchy in Iran.

Now, three decades later, Charles is visiting a completely different Iran, ruled by hard-line clerics who routinely have denounced British support of the former shah.

People on the streets of Tehran were surprised by Charles' visit.

"I won't believe a British royal figure is in Iran unless I see it by my own eyes," said Hadi Taqipour, a store clerk.

With Britain often serving as a bridge between Iran and the West, analysts say the unexpected trip will have political repercussions.

Political analyst Davoud Hermidas Bavand said Charles' visit could strengthen hard-liners' position in the power struggle with reformists that has dominated Iranian politics in recent years. That struggle has intensified in the run-up to Feb. 20 elections, with reformists accusing hard-liners of rigging the polls through disqualifying reformist candidates to ensure a hard-line parliament.

"Whether Charles means it or not, the trip will be interpreted as boosting the position of hard-liners," he said.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040209/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iran_prince_charles&cid=540&ncid=716

[F14 Pilot]

I am sorry to keep using this damned word "Reformists", Btw there is no obvious difference between hardliners and reformists but as long as there is a struggle among them, it makes me happy and we have to follow the News.
We all know that most Media do not know any thing about the things we may know/understand as people.

---

Why Iran's elections will exclude reformists

Monday February 9, 2004
The Guardian

Why will the reformists be missing from ballot papers?
Iran's reformists abandoned on Saturday an attempt to postpone this month's parliamentary election, from which many of their candidates have been barred. The Guardian Council, a powerful body of clerics and Islamic lawyers, has barred more than 2,000 candidates from the February 20 poll, mainly reformist allies of President Mohammad Khatami, including some 80 MPs from the 290-seat parliament. The reformist-run Interior Ministry twice called for the election to be postponed until its fairness could be guaranteed but hardliners shot down the suggestion. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the last word on all state matters, insisted earlier this week that the election should not be delayed ... Reformists accuse the Guardian Council of a bloodless coup d'etat to wrest parliament away from them after they won a huge majority in 2000. Iran's largest reformist party, the Islamic Iran Participation Front, has said it will boycott the vote.
Parinoosh Arami for Reuters, February 7

How much real political debate goes on in Iran?

We have yet to see a system develop in which political parties with clear-cut manifestos, membership and mantles of leadership can become institutionalised. The two main facets of Iranian politics today are the "reformists" or the Islamic Iran Participation Front ... and the "conservatives", who hold most of the remaining seats and wield power and influence in other branches of the Islamic establishment ... Given [that] political polarisation has come to stay in state affairs, it would be in the public interest to promote healthy party politics.
MP Zamani in Iran Daily, February 4

Are there divisions within the conservatives?

The real political struggle is between the ideological conservatives ... and the pragmatic conservatives ... The ideological conservatives do not want to open up politically or economically, or to modify their US-hating, Israel-hating ideology. The pragmatic conservatives probably want to pursue a Chinese model: liberalise the economy and make peace with the US - but maintain political repression, albeit with the worst excesses softened.
Charles Grant at opendemocracy.net, February 3

What is that ideological line?

All those who base their actions on useless political obstinacy ... are guilty and should answer to the nation ... It is as if they have not made an oath to defend the constitution and the achievements of the revolution, the late Imam Khomeini, or the people. Undoubtedly, the resentful enemies of Iran, particularly the destructive and racist Zionist regime ... intend to take advantage of the current circumstances and damage the reputation of the Islamic Republic further.
From an editorial in Tehran Times, February 5

What is the mood among voters?

Most Iranians, disillusioned by years of broken promises of reform, have grown apathetic to the reformist-hardline power struggle. Turnout in local council elections a year ago plunged to about 15% in major cities, and most analysts expect a similar outcome in the parliamentary election.
From the International Herald Tribune, February 3

What about young Iranians?

While a central premise of Iran's Islamic government from the time of its inception has been its steadfast opposition to the US and Israel, for most Iranians no such nemeses exist. Iran's young populace - more than two-thirds of the country is younger than 30 - is among the most pro-US in the Middle East, and tend not to share the impassioned anti-Israel sentiment of their Arab neighbours.
Karim Sadjadpour in the Washington Post, February 3

Can we expect a thaw in US-Iranian relations?

On the Iranian side, factions within the conservative camp feel that a full opening to the west could undermine their grip upon political power ... On the American side, a group of Iranian expatriates ... have blocked avenues of potential improvement ... The US policy of isolating Iran through economic sanctions has not only failed to achieve its intended objectives, it has also prolonged the dominance of Iran's hardliners.
Mehrdad Valibeigi in the Middle East Report Online, January 28

http://www.guardian.co.uk/editor/story/0,12900,1143781,00.html

[F14 Pilot]

This article points to the fact that how Old European countries support the Mad Mullahs of Tehran and every cent they invest there makes the Mullahs live one day longer.

---

Volume of German exports to Iran

Monday, February 09, 2004
IranMania News

TEHRAN, Feb 8 (Mehr News Agency) -– On Jan 30 MNA reported that the volume of German exports to Iran declined by approximately 80 million euros in 2003 compared to the previous year and the volume of Iranian exports to Germany declined by 79 million euros.

However, it should be noted the figure released pertains to the volume of trade in the first ten months of 2003.

Markus Potzel, the economic counselor of the Germany Embassy in Tehran, told the Mehr News Agency by phone that the volume of German exports to Iran may show increase in view of the volume of trade between the two countries during the 12 months of 2003.

http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default.asp?NewsCode=22453&NewsKind=Business%20%26%20Economy

[Pan_Yans Wife]

While a central premise of Iran's Islamic government from the time of its inception has been its steadfast opposition to the US and Israel, for most Iranians no such nemeses exist.

This is a difficult thing for the Western media to express. I believe so many of the media hate American values, and put so much emphasis on moral relativity, that proving to its readers and viewers that Iranians are not anti-American, goes against the media's mission in undermining America.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

Then how do you characterize the conservatives in Iran?

[risk]

Let me answer your question with another. Do you think that average, even unsupportive Germans were not responsible for what Hitler and the Nazi party decided to do with their power in the 1930s?

There is always evil. It's when it goes unopposed that it causes real harm.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

You didn't answer my question.

Until you understand the terminology that the government uses, how can you frame an honest opinion about the citizens who are ruled by the theocratic regime?

Welcome to the Iran thread, I encourage you to enjoy the countless hours of research that Doctor Zin has put into it.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

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