Iranian Alert -- February 13, 2004 -- 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.” 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.

U.S. Gov't TV Station Draws Arab Fire
Thu Feb 12,2004
By SALAH NASRAWI, Associated Press Writer

CAIRO, Egypt - Even before its first broadcast, a satellite television station financed by the U.S. government and directed at Arab viewers is drawing fire in the Middle East as an American attempt to destroy Islamic values and brainwash the young.

Al-Hurra, or The Free One, is to start broadcasting Saturday. President Bush has promised the news station, which will build up to 24-hour programming within a month, will "cut through the hateful propaganda that fills the airwaves in the Muslim world."

It already has landed a one-on-one interview with Bush. White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan has said the interview allows Bush to tell of "his commitment to spreading freedom and democracy in the Middle East."

The Bush administration's hope is that a fashionably produced Arab-language station will help stem anti-Americanism fueled by the war on terrorism, the occupation of Iraq and U.S. support for Israel.

Al-Hurra will be broadcast from the Washington area but will have facilities in several capitals, including Baghdad, and a largely Arab staff. It is publicly funded, costing about $62 million in its first year.

The station promises a balanced approach — a possibility critics dismiss — but it has a long way to go to capture some Arab hearts and minds.

"The main goals of launching such a channel are to create drastic changes in our principles and doctrines," said Jamil Abu-Bakr, a spokesman for Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood movement. "But the nature of Arab and Muslim societies and their rejection and hatred of American policies ... will ultimately limit the impact."

Abu-Bakr condemned al-Hurra as "part of the American media and cultural invasion of our region." Arab journalists also have widely criticized al-Hurra in editorials and columns as unwanted or even dangerous propaganda.

Norman Pattiz, a member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which runs al-Hurra as well as the Voice of America radio network, dismissed the criticism, saying the station is about news, not propaganda.

"People can sit there and say whatever they want before it launches," Pattiz said, adding that people should watch and decide for themselves. "I think they may be interested in the fact that we may bring a different perspective."

He defended the Bush interview, saying it isn't a speech or welcoming address, but rather probes into subjects that will be of interest to people in the region. The station will also interview regional leaders in the Middle East, he said.

"Once people start watching us, we'll have to walk the walk — and we're going to have to prove that we are reliable and credible," Pattiz said. "Without credibility, we are lost."

The U.S. government has tried reaching out directly to Arabs in other ways, most recently through the Arabic-language Radio Sawa and a slick Arabic-English magazine, "hi," about American culture and life.

Radio Sawa — Sawa means Together in Arabic — began broadcasting shortly before Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was ousted in April. "hi" debuted in July in 14 Arab countries. Both also are accessible on the Internet.

Neither are smash hits, though many young Arabs say they enjoy Radio Sawa's Arabic and Western pop music even if they look elsewhere for news. Pattiz, however, said their polls indicate a favorable response to Sawa's news.

Rami G. Khouri, executive editor of Lebanon's The Daily Star, expects Al-Hurra to "exacerbate the gap between Americans and Arabs, rather than close it."

"Al-Hurra, like the U.S. government's Radio Sawa and 'hi' magazine before it, will be an entertaining, expensive, and irrelevant hoax. Where do they get this stuff from? Why do they keep insulting us like this?" he wrote.

Al-Hurra is America's answer to the popular all-news Arab satellite networks it accuses of fanning anti-American sentiments, such as Al Jazeera.

Over the past decade, the Arab world has witnessed an explosion of satellite TV stations, both state-sponsored and private, resulting in a previously unheard of range of broadcast opinions. Al-Jazeera in particular has been lambasted by nearly every Arab regime for airing views of government opponents.

Al-Hurra does have some Arab defenders.

"Everyone is entitled to express his or her opinion. This is an open sky and nobody should be afraid of that," said Samiha Dahroug, head of Egypt's Nile News Channel.

But Dahroug added that Washington's image won't improve among Arabs until it changes its policies toward them.

"America is judged by how it conducts itself in the world," she said. "The facts speak for themselves."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040213/ap_on_re_mi_ea/mideast_whose_news_5

Iran's Khamenei calls for mass voter turnout

Friday, February 13, 2004 - ©2003 IranMania.com

TEHRAN, Feb 13 (AFP) -- Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on Friday for Iranians to turn out in force to vote in next week's parliamentary election and defeat what he called the enemies of the Islamic revolution.

"The people, for their own sake, for that of the country and the (Islamic) regime, must go to vote and ensure these elections are enthusiastically backed," Khamenei told tens of thousands of faithful gathered for traditional Friday prayers at Tehran University.

"Some people in the world, who do not want the welfare of our people, were seeking for these elections not to be held or be well supported," Khamenei said about the February 20 poll in remarks carried on state radio.

Iranian reformists had called for the elections to be postponed after the conservative Guardians Council vetting body barred thousands of candidates -- mainly reformists -- from the elections.

Some reformist parties have said they will boycott the poll.

"Our enemies have done everything against the revolution and have failed. Today they are seeking to create a gulf between the people and the leaders, but these elections are a response to the enemy who will learn that the people firmly defend their country and their regime," Khamenei added.

He strongly denounced some European parliaments who have criticised the massive barring of reform candidates.

"Certain European parliaments have gone beyond the limits. If their intervention was confined to simple words, it would be unimportant ... but if these words are transformed into interferance in our internal affairs, the people will given them an unforgettable lesson," he said.

"The elections are a barrier against the enemies ... People should go and vote en masse so the elections are held majestically," said Khamenei.

Implicitly criticising some reformists, he said they had tried to "discourage the voters, playing the game of the enemies" of the Islamic Republic.

Khamenei has intervened several times in the political crisis into which Iran plunged after the Guardians Council announced the banning in January, as the republic was preparing to celebrate its 25 anniversary.

It was he who insisted that the reformist-dominated government of President Mohammad Khatami go ahead and organise the elections.

On Friday, eight reformist parties announced they had set up a "Coalition for Iran" to contest the poll, the bloc's spokesman Ali Akbar Mohtashami-Pur, said, cited by the student news agency ISNA.

Among the parties are that of President Khatami, the Association of Religious Combattants.

http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default.asp?NewsCode=22531&NewsKind=Current%20Affairs

Iranian election worries European Parliament

Friday, February 13, 2004 - ©2003 IranMania.com

Strasbourg, Feb 12 (AFP) -- The Iranian legislative election next week cannot be "free and fair" now that key reformist candidates have been banned from running, the European Parliament said.

The parliament adopted a resolution expressing regret at the "severe setback in efforts towards the establishment of democratic structures in Iran".

It said "the lack of respect for democratic procedures may lead to a parliament unable to legitimise itself" and warned Iran could see its position in the international community weakened.

"MEPs (members of the European Parliament) remain convinced that continued dialogue between all the relevant European institutions and Iranian decision-makers, political forces and civil society is more important than ever," it said.

"They would welcome a more active participation of the Iranian judiciary and the Guardian Council in the EU-Iran human rights dialogue," they added.

The campaign for the February 20 election got off to a lacklustre start on Thursday. Many people were still on holiday, marking the 25th anniversary of Iran's Islamic revolution.

More than 2,300 candidates have been barred, mostly linked to the reformist movement, after being disqualified from standing by the Guardians Council, an unelected constitutional and legislative watchdog controlled by conservatives.

http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default.asp?NewsCode=22526&NewsKind=Current%20Affairs

Future democratic Iran should void all contracts with certain European countries who did not support the people during this sensitive time.

•In a rally in front of the Federal building in Los Angels, more than 7,000 demonstrators gathered, holding up portraits of former crown prince Reza Pahlavi. In an interview with Radio Farda, rally organizer Foad Pashai says eleven chartered buses brought people from various cities in Southern California to the rally. Political activist Suzie Yashar says the demonstrators want to ask their compatriots inside Iran to stay home on the elections day and do nothing. “We shall be your voice here,” she adds. I cannot support a system that counts my mother, my sister and my daughter has half persons, member of the national alliance for democracy in Iran Alireza Sabouri says. (Firouzeh Khatibi, Los Angeles)

•We have gathered here to tell the people, the young people, the intellectuals in the regime's prisons, and all the friends and comrades inside Iran, that they are not alone, a demonstrator tells Radio Farda during an anti-regime rally in Cologne on the 25th anniversary of the Islamic revolution. (Shahram Mirian, Cologne)

•Senator Sam Brownback spoke to the crowd of anti-regime Iranians gathered in front of the US Congress on the anniversary of the Islamic revolution. In interviews with Radio Farda, demonstrators, including Los Angeles-based playwright Parviz Sayyad, express their solidarity with democracy-seeking people inside Iran. (Mahdieh Javid)

http://www.radiofarda.com/transcripts/topstory/2004/02/20040211_2000_0624_1457_EN.asp

Mission Statement:
The Alliance for Democracy in Iran (AFDII) is a non-profit organization that seeks to promote through education, advocacy and activism the legitimate aspirations for liberty of the Iranian people.
Who We Are:

AFDII is a freedom coalition, founded by pro-democracy Iranians - who struggle for liberty within, and from outside Iran. We have joined in a shared spirit of unity, cooperation and commitment. We champion the vision of a free Iran reclaiming its rightful position in the international community. AFDII is a global initiative to advance, in a common cause on behalf of all Iranians, the purposes of national self-determination, the principles of secular democracy, the capacity for responsible self-government, the respect for individual and universal human rights, and the provision of institutions of ordered liberty essential to a free Iran.

What We Do:

AFDII designs and promulgates programs that foster aspirations for freedom. Our initiatives educate for liberty, encourage to unity, and empower to action those Iranians, in and out of Iran, who aspire to realize their homeland's potential for responsible self-government. AFDII will train and facilitate those - Iranians and friends of a free Iran - who wish to engage in public debate and international mobilization, in order to advance the non-violent establishment of a popularly elected, democratic Iran.

AFDII is in solidarity with the student dissidents in Iran. We endorse their efforts to bring about regime change via a free and fair national referendum, and we will continue to provide material support to those who sacrifice and suffer for their conscientious resistance to Iran's brutal clerical regime. AFDII will do all legally permissible under international law to assist in the national opposition's expressed aim of non-violent replacement of the current corrupt Iranian government, to trumpet the just cause of Iranian democracy to the world, and to provide material, humanitarian and legal aid to those persecuted for their courageous resistance to tyranny.

http://www.afdii.org/Mission.asp

IDF Warns Iran Over Hizbullah

February 13, 2004
The Jerusalem Post
JPost.com

Israel will have no choice but to deal with Lebanon, Syria and Iran if Hizbullah continues to support Palestinian terror groups in the West Bank and Gaza, a senior Israeli security official told Channel 2 on Friday.

Palestinian terrorists told The Associated Press last week that they receive thousands of dollars from Hizbullah for organizing attacks, including suicide bombings.

The arrest of Ghassan and Sirhan Atmala, two Israeli Arab brothers last month, buy the Shin Bet security service, underlined the contention of Israeli security officials that Hizbullah has succeeded in getting a foothold in the Palestinian uprising against Israel, and is also recruiting supporters among Israel's Arab minority.

The two brothers from northern Israel allegedly underwent explosives training in Lebanon and were in contact with Hizbullah members in Turkey and Jordan with the intent of carrying out terror attacks, according to the indictment.

With AP

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1076654399281&p=1008596981749

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