The life and [troubled] times of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamene'i called last week on Iranian pilgrims to hold protests against Israel and the United States during the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. In a speech broadcast by Tehran radio, and translated by the French Press Agency, Khamene'i stressed the "necessity and importance of expressing hatred and scorn for an disavowal of enemies of Islam" during the pilgrimage.
"At a time when the enemy is heavily investing in sowing discord among Moslems, hajj should be meaningful, loud, and serve to foil the designs of the Great Arrogance [US] and the Zionists," he said.
Saudi Arabia has warned pilgrims not to bring political materials into the country during the hajj.
Students from Qom's most famous religious school, the Howzeh, have written a scathing 9-page open letter to Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, accusing him of collaborating with the Tehran regime. A copy of the letter was faxed to FDI from clerical sources inside Iran who are known for their opposition to the current Islamic Republic leadership. While FDI cannot vouch for the accuracy of the letter's claims against Grand Ayatollah Sistani or other persons mentioned in the letter, sections of which we have translated from the Persian-language original, the vehemence of the attack shows the extent of the intrigue currently dividing the traditional Shiite clergy.
Setting the scene for their attack on Grand Ayatollah Sistan, the "students" complained bitterly of the infiltration of the Howzeh by agents of the regime. "Security agents of the Islamic Republic Ministry of Information and Security have donned clerical robes to spy on us. At least 2,300 agents have been planted among us," the students wrote. "They are professionally-trained agents, who have come to spy on us and our studies."
The students claimed that the regime has chosen Grand Ayatollah Sistani to become the next marja taqlid - or source of imitation, the spiritual leader of the world's Shiite Muslim community - hoping to use Sistani "to achieve their devious objectives.". They accused Sistani of conspiring with the Mohammad Taqi Khoi, the late son of the late Ayatollah, of confiscating 528 million pounds sterling from the Khoi Foundation and using one-fifth of that amount for his own purposes, with the encouragement of the MOIS. "We want to know what you have done with the money," the students asked. "Since you have accepted this money, we believe you will use this money to promote the Islamic Republic and the Islamic Republic agents."
"Mr. Sistani, you are now 62-years old," the students wrote. "You yourself would confess that there are many other ayatollahs more qualified than yourself to become a source of imitation. So don't you think this is a plot by the regime and by the associates of Ayatollah Khoi to achieve the anti-freedom and anti-human objectives of the regime. You have traveled one hundred years overnight. What is the meaning of this?"
"Before it is too late, let us warn you now: these people will use you and abuse you, and will use your lack of will power to turn you into a political tool against the authentic Shiite clergy in Qom and Najaf. [
The students echoed accusations heard among opposition clergy that the current regime has become "anti-Islamic" since the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. "They are using the MOIS to get rid of young people, freedom fighters, women, and the authentic clergy, torturing them and in some cases killing them." The students accused former MOIS minister Ayatollah Mohammad Reyshari of spearheading the purge of the clergy, and berated Sistani for supporting his candidacy to become the next president of the IRI.
"It is a shame that you, Ayatollah Sistani, would give a public declaration supporting Mr. Reyshari." The students also claimed that Sistani gave Reyshari - who now serves as head of the Special Court of the Clergy (which has relentlessly pursued followers of Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Shirazi in Qom), 15 million toumans to help his Presidential campaign.
Dear Ayatollah Sistani, you should have thought twice about the background of Ayatollah Reyshari before giving him such a glowing letter of commendation.... This is a disgrace to all Iran-loving people."
Calling it "a political trade," the students warned Sistani that in the end he would win the permanent curse of the Iranian people" for his support of Reyshari and the IRI. [Open letter signed by the Students of Qom Howzeh, dated 2nd Rabi'a 1417]
Former Culture and Islamic Guidance minister Mohammed Khatami, a "liberal" who is close to outgoing president Hashemi-Rafsanjani, has won key endorsements in recent days from Rafsanjani allies and from key religious figures.
The "G-6" group, also known as the Servants of Reconstruction, met last Friday to formulate their election strategy, and emerged from the meeting with a consensus opinion to back Khatami as their best option for blocking the election of Majlis speaker Nateq-Nouri, a cultural conservative and outspoken critic of the U.S. presence in the Middle East.
G6 members are Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Governor Mohsen Nurbakhsh, Vice President for Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Ataollah Mohajerani, Head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization Reza Amrollahi, Tehran Mayor Gholam Hussein Karbaschi, Vice President for Executive Affairs Mohammad Hashemi and the Head of Physical Education Organization Mustafa Hashemi Taba.
"Except Mr. Hashemi (brother of President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani) all other participants at the Friday meeting agreed that all-out support should be given to Khatami who is in the race as an independent candidate," a source close to the group told Iran News in Tehran. "Hashemi wants the G6 to have its own candidate," the source said.
The other five members of the G6 had pinned all their hopes on First Vice President Hassan Habibi, the paper reported, who had turned down their request. The group did not consult with Rafsanjani prior to making their decision to back Khatami, the source said. [Iran News 3/9].
A less candid - but no less important - endorsement of Khatami's candidacy was offered by Hog. Ali Akbar Mohtashemi, following a memorial service attended by top leaders of the radical Majma-e Rouhanioun (Combatant Clerics Association). Mohtashemi called Khatami's candidacy "fortunate" and "favorable," then added: ""If the economic policies are based on social and economic justice, those executing them cannot be capitalists and supporters of capitalism and the serfdom." He also noted that the future president must appoint a foreign minister who "must not be one of the supporters of the policies of the West or U.S. in international affairs," an apparent stab at Majlis deputy and former deputy foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Larijani, who is said to be positioning himself for the job [Salam 3/8]
Other members of the Majma's central council are Hojj Tavassoli, Mehdi Karrubi, Mohammad Mousavi Khoiniha.
In a major speech to students at Sharif University in Tehran, Khatami honed his liberal image, calling for legalizing political parties and for the expression of "differences of opinion." He also dangled a carrot to the United States, recalling George Bush's statement during his inaugural speech in Jan. 1989. "If good will is displayed toward the revolution... the road for talks and understanding on the basis of any type of belief will be open to all."
But Khatami's most extraordinary admission was made almost parenthetically, when asked about the forthcoming elections. "This is the first time there will be a major competition in the presidential elections," he said. "In the past, because of the crises and sensitivities that existed, there was a consensus of views on the president." [Ettelaat 2/26]
Let's see how he phrases that if he is defeated...
The arrest of hundreds of striking Iranian oil workers last month has led to quiet but persistent international protests. The Committee for the Defense of the Iranian People's Rights in London, an advocacy group supported by Labor Party parliamentarians and British trade unions, has accused the regime of torturing and killing two of the oil workers - 52-year old Hussein Kamali, and 38-year Gholam Barzegar. As many as 300 oil workers were arrested, the group said, and many others have been tortured in jail and face execution.
In a parallel move, the group claimed the regime secretly hanged fourteen other people on February 21 for participating in an anti-government demonstration in Islamshahr, an industrial suburb south of Tehran. Among those executed were Keyvan Shakeri, 32, Mehrdad Moghaddam, 35, Ali Reza Majdi, 36, and Farhad Ghaem, 37. All four were labor movement activists who had previously been jailed from 1983-1989.
"The Islamic government attempts to keep these executions secret and does not permit any press coverage," the CODIR statement said. "It is only after the will and belongings of those executed are handed over to their relatives that their fate is known." [CODIR statement 3/7]. In a
International protests against the repression of the oil workers strike have continued, spearheaded Canada's giant Postal Union, Ontario's Public Service Union, and France's Force Ouvrière. Other union organizations in the Netherlands, Norway, Australia, Japan, the United States, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Britain and Germany have sent letters to the Islamic authorities in Iran, protesting the harsh treatment of the Iranian oil workers who were arrested during a Feb. 16 demonstration that was broken up by Islamic Guards special anti-riot forces.
In a letter to the outgoing president Hashemi Rafsanjani, Marc Blondel, General Secretary of the Socialist-led Force Ouvrière in France, expressed his "strongest protest" against the "brutality" with which a peaceful demonstration by the oil workers in Tehran had been crushed and calls on him for the release of the arrested workers and the freedom of strikes.
Though the right of strike is officially recognized by the Islamic Constitution of Iran, but the leaders have ruled it out as being against Islam's interests. [IPS 3/6]
No matter who wins the upcoming presidential elections in Iran, Lebanon's Hezbollah movement expects Tehran will continue to fund its social and "ideological" activities.
In an interview with the independent LBC television network in Lebanon, that was rebroadcast by the official Islamic Republic News Agency on March 7, Hezbollah secretary-general Seyed Hassan Nasrallah said that the IRI "will not change its policy of supporting the Lebanese people and the Palestine ideology, no matter who wins the election."
Asked whether the Islamic Republic policy would undergo any change under a Nateq-Nouri or Khatami presidency, Nasrallah said both would "undoubtedly support Hezbollah and the resistance movement engaged in defense against the Zionist entity [Israel]." [IRNA 3/7]
Former Mujahidin-e Khalq member Ali Farasati left Paris for Tehran on Feb. 21, in a curious bid for the presidency which has been sanctioned by the rulers of the Islamic Republic, who granted him permission not only to return to Iran but to maintain highly visible contacts with the foreign press.
As a former commander of the MEK's Katyusha Unit, Farasati participated in several bloody attacks against the Iranian army. "What now puzzles most Iranians is how a man who should have been arrested on his arrival in Tehran and executed immediately is treated so nicely by one of the harshest and inhuman of the Governments?" the Paris-based opposition news agency, IPS, wondered.
Since returning to Tehran, Mr. Farasati has met with leading members of the Iranian Freedom Movement, including Naser Minachi and Ezzatollah Sahabi, who is also a Presidential candidate. He has also given interviews to foreign correspondents in Tehran, as well as to the Farsi-language services of VOA and others, in he has spoken of "widening the constructive dialogue" and "putting an end to the cycle of violence" inside Iran.
IPS speculates that his apparent immunity may be a ploy by the MOIS to attract to him the remaining supporters of the MEK inside Iran as a prelude to crushing the movement once and for all. [IPS 3/6]
Ezatollah Sahabi, the former head of the Budget and Planning Organizing, declared his candidacy for the presidency on March 2. Sahabi, who is close to Dr. Ebrahim Yazdi and his Liberation Movement of Iran (LMI), is currently the editor in chief of Iran-e Farda monthly magazine and is considered a "moderate" opponent of the regime who has kept his criticism within the bounds tolerated by the intelligence services.
On March 6, Yazdi joined him and also declared his candidacy. In its international wire, IRNA carried Yazdi's statement which criticized the government for "ignoring the rights of the political groups envisaged in the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran."
Yazdi's statement kept carefully within the bounds of "tolerated" opposition. "The political groups and independent parties who are against the performance of the government but [are] loyal to the system of the Islamic republic of Iran and committed to the constitution are deprived of the least facilities to run for the elections.'' [IRNA 3/6]
IRNA also mentioned the candidacy of Heshmatollah Tabarzadi, who heads the National Union of the Islamic Student Associations. Tabazadi became famous last year for publishing investigative reports into the finances of the Bonyad-e Mostazafan and the Rafsanjan Pistachio collective, run by the family of President Hashemi-Rafsanjani, which angered the authorities and got his publication, Payam-e Daneshjou (Voice of the Students) banned. [FDI Newswires 5/26/96, 6/10/96, 7/8/96, etc.)
Since February, an organization calling itself "Honest members of the Liberation Movement of Iran" has begun contacting Iranian exile newspapers and foreign news organizations, claiming that it is a spin-off of Ebrahim Yazdi's LMI.
Many of the group's statements, signed "The Separatists/LMI" have criticized Yazdi for "non-democratic behavior" and "authoritarian leadership."
However, FDI sources in Tehran believe that the organization may have been created lock stock and barrel by MOIS, to discredit Dr. Yazdi in the coming Presidential elections.
The official Islamic Republic News Agency and major Tehran dailies are giving prominent play to a new report from the National Association of Manufacturers to the U.S. Congress, which calls for the administration to abandon economic sanctions as a tool of U.S. foreign policy.
The NAM report claims that 61 laws and executive orders aimed at changing the behavior of 35 countries, including Iran, have cost the United States up to $790 billion in potential exports. [IRNA 3/8; Tehran dailies 3/9]
The NAM has made similar claims in the past in its efforts to get the administration to lift export controls on high technology, and has been criticized by economic forecasters for using dubious techniques to arrive at spectacular figures.
The MOIS claims it has arrested fifty spies in northwest Iran, according to Tehran press reports on March 3 quoted by Radio Israel's Farsi service. The newspapers, quoting an MOIS spokesman, said those arrested were "members of six different opposition groups" but did not name them or provide any allegations of what their "espionage" activities might have been. [Kol Israel 3/3]
Swedish Foreign Minister Lena Hjelm-Wallen has called on Tehran to allow jailed dissident Faraj Sarkuhi to travel to Stockholm. "I encourage the Iranian government not to prevent Sarkuhi from accepting an offer to lecture at Stockholm's school of journalism," she said during parliamentary questions on Feb. 27. No date has been set for such a lecture.
Western nations have asked Iran to cast light on the fate of Sarkuhi, who was arrested by the Iranian secret service in late January as he tried to illegally leave Iran for Sweden, where he has a brother who lives as a political refugee.
Hjelm-Wallen said that she hoped that the European Union's "collective weight" would influence the Iranian regime, noting that "the United States' attempt at an isolationist policy has not been positive. "We have entered a period where we must examine the situation and not exclude any method, but we mustn't do something just to ease our conscience unless it changes something for the Iranian people," she said. [IPS 2/27]
President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's wife, Efat Mar'ashi inaugurated a two-day exhibition of women's handicraft in Tehran on March 8, which is International Women's Day.
"While celebrating this day, the women of the world regardless of their religion, color, race etc., should also put the achievements of the women's movement, initiated by the United Nations in 1975, under scrutiny," Rafsanjani's advisor on women's affairs, Shahla Habibi said. She was careful to hedge her remarks with the traditional excoriation of Western "cultural onslaught." Also addressing the meeting was the only female mayor in Tehran, Zahra Saderazam Nouri, who encouraged Iranian women to work "within the framework of women's international establishments," which have almost universally condemned the treatment of women under the Islamic Republic. [Iran News 3/9]