FDI's Weekly Newswire

Contents:

* Campaign escalates to free Sarkhouhi

* Tehran press reports on FDI

* Rioting over satellite dishes reported

* "Playing with Fire"

* No foreigners allowed, says Nateq-Nouri

* Nourizadeh on Saudi-Iranian relations

* Information on Kermanshah riots seeps out

* Punish corruption - by the others

* Turkish government to hand over more refugees

* CMI seeks opposition unity

Campaign escalates to free Sarkhouhi

The international campaign to free Iranian writer Faraj Sarkouhi, who disappeared on Nov. 3, has mounted in recent weeks, with Amnesty International and a variety of Iranian opposition groups joining the appeal launched by FDI on Nov. 13. (See Action Memorandum 28). Those interested can download letters of support from our Internet site (http://www.iran.org) or from other organizations, including Amnesty International and the Center for the Defense of Democracy in Iran (CDDI).

On Dec. 13, Sarkhouhi's wife, Farideh Zebarjad, held a press conference in Bonn, stating her fears that her husband might have been tried and executed by the Islamic Republic under the terms of a sweeping new espionage law put into force last year.

She also made public a letter she had written to Chancellor Helmut Kohl. "Your reasons (for maintaining a so-called critical dialogue with Iran) were that you could persuade the Iranian government to respect human rights. Clearly this is a serious breach of human rights."

Zebarjad said her husband had been one of a group of Iranian writers who were detained earlier this year when Iranian security forces forced their way into the private apartment of the German cultural attaché in Tehran. She said the men had been accused of spying for Germany and threatened with the death penalty.

Zebarjad said she feared her husband was being held as a bargaining chip in the case of four Lebanese and an Iranian being tried in Berlin on suspicion of assassinating Iranian Kurdish dissidents. The Berlin court has issued an arrest warrant for the Islamic Republic Intelligence minister, Ali Fallahian. Witnesses have accused President Rafsanjani and Supreme Leader Ali Khamene'i of having ordered the killings, accusations which they deny.

Iranian newspaper reports on Sarkhouhi alleged he disappeared after arriving in Germany on a flight from Tehran. But a German foreign ministry spokeswoman contradicted them last week. "Our ambassador made his most recent call on the Iranian government on December 11. The Foreign Ministry considers that Sarkouhi is probably still in Iran and expects more information from the Iranian foreign ministry," the spokeswoman said. [Reuters, Radio Israel, 12/13]

Tehran press reports on FDI

The Tehran press reported on a public meeting hosted by FDI and Americans for Tax Reform last week, at which representatives of five different opposition families were present. (See "Opposition leaders call for U.S. support," on our Web site for more information).

Iran daily reported the Dec. 10 event, which was aimed at fostering a better understanding between Iranian opposition groups and U.S. decision-makers in Congress, the press, and the executive branch. Three senior opposition leaders made presentations on their activities and thanked FDI for bringing them together. A representative of the Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran was also present.

Iran daily noted that a senior aide to Senator Alfonse D'Amato, Greg Rickman, the head of the Iran desk at the State Department, George Sibley, a former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense, Dr. Stephen Bryen, foreign diplomats, journalists, and "representatives of the Iran Nation's Party and the Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran" had participated in the meeting. [Iran daily 12/16]

Rioting over satellite dishes reported

An Arabic newspaper in London is quoting Iranian sources in reporting there was bloody rioting a few days ago in the Nazi Abad suburb of Tehran. Tens of Iranians were reportedly hurt during demonstrations protesting a government attempt to enforce a ban on satellite dishes.

The sources said that the Nazi Abad suburb in South Teheran has great demand for satellite dishes and this despite the decision prohibiting their operation. The Arabic newspaper account said that a large number of residents in the suburb had established an organized "mafia" for the recording Western films and programs on video tapes and sell them in the black market, making easy profits. ["Al Mashad Al-Siyasi" - London, 12/8]

This report has not been confirmed by independent sources.

"Playing with Fire"

In a lead editorial, the conservative daily Resalat, which is close Majlis speaker Nateq-Nouri, accused the United States of "continuing the criminal attitude" toward the Islamic Republic it had demonstrated during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war, and reminded readers that the United States had purposefully "shot down an Iran Air passenger airliner, killing all 230 persons on board.

The Iran Air incident occurred in July 1988, and some investigators still believe that the Islamic Republic downed Pan Am 103 five months later in retaliation, although no hard evidence proving Tehran's involvement has ever surfaced.

Resalat then turned to Saudi accusations that the intelligence services of the Islamic Republic played a direct role in the Dhahran bombing, and accused the Americans of "playing with fire." Resalat said that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamene'i told military commanders that "if the imperialists attempt any attack against the Iranian nation, Muslims throughout the world will make it their religious duty to attack the interests of the United States, wherever they be found." [Resalat 12/17]

In his speech to Rev. Guards commanders, broadcast live by Tehran Radio on Dec. 15, Khamene'i declared that the Americans had "decided to strike. They did not say so but evidence indicates this."

He claimed that U.S. media allegations over Tehran's alleged involvement in the bomb were aimed at justifying military action against Iran. "Americans accuse Iran of being a threat to the region, of having nuclear ambitions and supporting terrorism. U.S. media have raised the possibility of an Iranian involvement in the Saudi June bombing," he said. [Tehran Radio 12/15; Reuters 12/15]

No foreigners allowed, says Nateq-Nouri

Majlis speaker Nateq-Nouri told parliamentarians on Sunday that "the presence of foreigners in the region does not provide security and peace, but instead enflames instability and disputes." Instead of allowing foreign troops into the region, as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE, and Oman have done. "the security and stability of the region flows from cooperation among the states of the region and an end to the presence of foreign forces in the Persian Gulf."

Mr. Nateq-Nouri did not say whether he believed the same principle held true in Lebanon, where Islamic Revolutionary Guards troops have been present since the mid-1980s and have played a central role in training Hezbollah and driving out international investment from the country.

Top on his mind were the latest accusations concerning the June 25 bombing in Dhahran. "This kind of propaganda by the United States is a satanic form of disinformation. The Americans just want to organize a new plot in the region to increase tensions," he said.

"If the situation in the region becomes intolerable and unsafe for the Islamic Republic, it will become so for others, too," he warned. [Iran daily, Resalat, 12/16]

Nourizadeh on Saudi-Iranian relations

The Dhahran bombing, and rumors carried in the U.S. and British press that the Clinton administration is contemplating military reprisals against the Islamic Republic, was the subject of an interview with Ali Reza Nourizadeh, an exile journalist based in London, with the BBC's Farsi-language service. Excerpts from the interview were picked up by Iran daily in its Dec. 17 issue.

Nourizadeh reportedly told the BBC that there were "two new elements" in the Tehran-Riyadh relationship. "The first is the appointment of Mr. Mohammad Reza Nuri-Shahroudi, a very skilled Iranian diplomat, as Iranian ambassador to Riyadh." Mr. Nuri-Shahroudi "had succeeded in Libya in improving relations" with the Islamic Republic, which led his new assignment, where tensions were running high.

Iran left out the reason Mr. Nourizadeh gave for Mr. Nuri-Shahroudi's success in Tripoli. According to Mr. Nourizadeh, this was because "he had succeeded in obtaining military equipment from Libya, which led to his promotion."

Iran daily continued to quote Mr. Nourizadeh as saying the Saudis were initially suspicious of Nuri-Shahroudi "because he was a cleric. But during the first two months of his stay, he had a positive impact on senior Saudi officials, and met with Crown Prince Abdallah and other Saudi statesmen. And this created the second positive element: his success in convincing the Saudis of the facts behind the U.S. accusation of a possible Iranian involvement in the Khobar bombing. The Saudis said "no" to the American accusation, and tried to convince the Americans that Iran had no role in the explosion." [Iran daily 12/17]

"That's not what I said," Mr. Nourizadeh told FDI. "I said that although the Saudis had information linking the terrorists to Iran, they told the Americans "we are going to have to live with them [i.e., the Iranians] forever, so we have to be careful how we disclose this information."

Mr. Nourizadeh believes that the Islamic Republic ambassador to Riyadh convince Crown Prince Abdallah to intercede with King Fahd to delay revealing information of an Iranian hand in the Dhahran bombing.

Perhaps Iran daily accidentally switched tapes? Kayhan reported an almost identical quote about Saudi Arabia "not accepting" the U.S. accusations - but attributed it to the Islamic Republic's ambassador to Riyadh, Mohammad Reza Nuri-Shahroudi.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran believes the Saudi Arabian government will not accept accusations made by the United States regarding the possible role of the Islamic republic in the bomb explosion in Dhahran," he said. "The governments of Iran and Saudi Arabia will not permit the U.S. and Israeli governments to interfere in the affairs of the region." [Kayhan 12/16]

Information on Kermanshah riots seeps out

Information on the Dec. 2-5 riots in Kermanshah and four other western Iranian cities, during which several dozen people were killed by the security forces of the Islamic Republic, has been leaking out gradually in the government-controlled press in Tehran.

Last week in parliament, three deputies from Kermanshah province made statements about the clashes, which they dismissed as skirmishes between pro-regime supporters and "counter-revolutionaries." Nevertheless, their statements show how serious the events actually were.

Mr. Iradj Jamshidnejad, MP from Eslamabad, blamed the riots on "the plots of foreigners in Kermanshah," and praised "Hezbollah" for playing "the most important role in neutralizing their plots." [Tehran Radio 12/15] The term 'Hezbollah' is frequently used by regime-supporters used to indicate any pro-regime force, including the Rev. Guards or the Basijis.

A statement signed by Sunni and Shiite clerics, university professors, and government officials in Kermanshah also denounced the "counter-revolutionary" character of the riots, and said they had been "caused by opportunistic and wild agents of world imperialism," a code-word for the United States and Israel. "Based on all evidence, Mollah Mohammad Rabaii died a natural death, caused by a heart attack, and there are no doubts in this regard." [Kayhan 12/16]

As we reported in last week's Newswire, both the KDPI and the opposition Iran Nation's Party quoted eyewitnesses as reporting that Rabaii's body showed signs of strangulation. In addition, he was found dead outside his car on the outskirts of town - a strange place for a heart attack victim.

Eyewitnesses told FDI that in recent days the regime has organized a series of counter-demonstrations throughout Kermanshah city, with the full support of the security forces. Small pro-regime crowds chanted "death" to the demonstrators and made other verbal threats. Similar counter-demonstrations have been held after disturbances in Iranshahr, Mashad, Zahedan, and Shiraz, to create a climate of terror.

Punish corruption - by the others

In an unusual editorial, the conservative daily Resalat threatened to expose the corruption of other factions within the ruling clerical elite, as part of a salutary effort to "cleanse" society.

The editorial referred to recent statements by Ayatollah Khamene'i that "culture" is key to putting an end to the current problems facing the Islamic Republic. "If our society is currently suffering from problems such as bribery, embezzlement, ethical corruption and impatience, these are mainly rooted in a weakness in the cultural account of our society."

"Anyone in a uniform or a position of authority who is misusing his position or his reputation to have access to money or to engage in sexually-related corruption should be dealt with in a tough and speedy manner," the editorial urged.

Evoking next year's presidential elections, the paper counseled the new president to "remember Ayatollah Khamene'i's guidance, that the only solution to the problems of the country is through a cultural reform." [Resalat 12/12]

Turkish government to hand over more refugees

The Turkish government is planning to hand over two more Iranian refugees to Tehran, according to the opposition Iran Nation's Party in Tehran.

According to the INP, the Turkish authorities arrested two Iranian refugees, Mansour Sabet Ghadam and Reza Moghimi on Dec. 13, and informed Tehran they would expel the two to Iran.

The Secretariat of the INP in Tehran criticized the Turks for delivering Iranians "who have tried to find a safe place to live in Turkey to the guardians of the terror atmosphere created by the Islamic Republic of Iran." [INP weekly bulletin, 12/15]

CMI seeks opposition unity

In an interview during the recent Party Congress of the Constitutionalists Movement of Iran (CMI) in Washington, Secretary General Dr. Khosrow Akmal told the Voice of America's Farsi- service about the group's goal of creating closer ties among different opposition groups. "There are others who are fighting for democracy, independence, human rights, and the separation of religion from government in Iran," Dr. Akmal said. "These are the principles we believe in. We are ready to cooperate with everyone who believes in these four principles."

Interestingly, Dr. Akmal's statement was picked up in Iran daily in Tehran, which noted that the CMI Congress was attended by representatives of the Voice of America's Farsi Service, the State Department, and the Foundation for Democracy in Iran [Iran 12/16].