Wednesday, June 24, 2009
REZA PAHLAVI (رضا پهلوی):It seems somewhat unlikely that a resident of Potomac will be the next ruler of Iran. But Reza Pahlavi, son of the shah and the country's former crown prince, is not ruling out anything.
As Tehran's streets fill with death-to-the-dictator chants, Pahlavi went to the National Press Club yesterday and, in front of 17 television cameras, said he would serve if elected.
"My sole objective is to help my compatriots reach freedom," Pahlavi said. But if and when that happens, he went on, "I'd like to be able to be in my country one day, come behind such a podium, talk to my people and every other candidate . . . let the people decide."
Whatever the Iranian demonstrators are seeking, there is little evidence from their Twitter feeds that they are seeking the restoration of the monarchy -- and Pahlavi, who was a teenager getting flight training in Texas during the Islamic revolution, was shrewd enough not to propose it. "This is not about restitution of an institution," he said. But should a democratic Iran "choose to have me play a more prominent role," he added, "let that be their choice."
That will be for another day. Yesterday, the 48-year-old son of a dictator was merely voicing his hopes that what his countrymen have begun over the last 10 days will become a revolution. "However, I often don't use the word 'revolution,' because I think revolution has a very negative connotation in everybody's collective memory."
Particularly Pahlavi's. His family had lived a life of great extravagance until Ayatollah Khomenei deposed the shah in 1979, a year after Jimmy Carter hailed the monarch as "an island of stability." Even yesterday, the former crown prince was defensive about those days. "They had orders not to hit -- fire on people," he said of his father's troops, who, whatever their orders, managed to kill thousands.
The Pahlavi family's love of the ballot box also is somewhat recent; his father, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, was installed in a CIA coup in 1953 in place of Iran's democratically elected government. But the younger Pahlavi spoke yesterday of the good old days of his father's rein. Before he came out to speak, somebody fiddled with the Iranian flag behind him to reveal the pre-revolution lion symbol. Pahlavi talked about how, under his father, Iran would have had nuclear fuel and reactors by 1983. "The regime is responsible for us having lost that right, and only them," he said.
Still, there could be no doubting the former crown prince's passion. As he spoke of Iran's "cry for freedom and democracy," he was himself, within minutes, crying for his beloved country. "No one -- no one -- will benefit from closing his or her eyes to knives and cables cutting into faces of mouths, of our young and old," he said, and then, choking up, he took a sip of water. "Or from bullets piercing our beloved Neda," he went on, before a sob escaped his mouth at the mention of the girl shot in the protests. Some in the audience applauded to buy him time as he took out a handkerchief to wipe his face. Finally, gripping the lectern determinedly, he vowed that "a movement was born" that "will not rest until it achieves unfettered democracy and human rights in Iran."
The exiled prince accused Iran's supreme ruler of "an ugly moment of disrespect for both God and man," and he spoke, perhaps a bit prematurely, of "this sinking Titanic that the regime is." The Revolutionary Guard Corps, he claimed, is becoming sympathetic to the demonstrators. "This is well beyond elections now," the optimistic exile said. "The moment of truth has arrived in Iran." >>> Dana Milbank, Washington Post | Tuesday, June 23, 2009
NRC HANDELSBLAD INTERNATIONAL: Iran has shown that a regime that is not afraid to use violence against its own citizens can crush a protest even when it has broad popular support.
Iran's supreme leader, ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was categorical: the protests against the controversial outcome of the presidential election had to stop, he said in a speech after last Friday's prayer.
That was all the Revolutionary Guard and the Baseej street fighters needed. When supporters of opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi took to the streets again on Saturday, they were mercilessly bludgeoned into submission or even shot dead.
The Iranian authorities have acknowledged that at least ten people - "terrorists" they called them - were killed on Saturday. Unconfirmed reports suggest the real death toll may be higher.
For the powers that be in Iran, namely ayatollah Khamenei, who has the last word in the Islamic republic, and his protege Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the situation is crystal clear. The people have spoken - even if they disagree about what they said - and they have chosen Ahmadinejad over Mousavi with 63 to 34 percent. This result, Khamenei said in his speech, cannot be questioned.
And so anyone who disobeys the order of the supreme leader, can now be beaten off the street or arrested. The events of the past weekend show that a regime that is not afraid to use violence against its own citizens can indeed crush a protest - even when it has broad popular support. There are historic precedents in the region: in Syria in 1981, president Hafez al-Assad ordered the town of Hama bombed to quell a revolt by Islamic fundamentalists there. Thousands of people were killed, but the rebellion was crushed. >>> Carolien Roelants | Monday, June 22, 2009
BBC: A meeting between Israel's prime minister and a senior US envoy has been cancelled amid growing differences over settlement building in the West Bank.
Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot said the US put off the meeting in response to Benjamin Netanyahu's refusal to heed US demands to halt settlement activity.
But Mr Netanyahu's aides say it was the prime minister who cancelled Thursday's meeting with George Mitchell in Paris.
They said "more professional work" was needed, without adding further details.
Instead, Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak is now scheduled to travel to Washington on Monday to meet Mr Mitchell.
Mr Netanyahu has arrived in Paris from Rome, on his first trip to Europe since he took office.
He is promoting his hawkish line on Iran, seeking harsher sanctions over its nuclear programme.
US State Department officials confirmed that the bilateral talks in Paris had been postponed, but they did not explain why it was necessary for their envoy to see Mr Barak on Monday instead. >>> | Wednesday, June 24, 2009
ZEIT ONLINE: Das demokratische Schwert Internet ist zweischneidig: Öffentlichkeit ist für Proteste wichtig. Gleichzeitig bedeuten Fotos eine Gefahr für jene, die darauf zu sehen sind
Im Juni 2001 veröffentlichte die Berliner Polizei Fahndungsplakate, auf denen die Fotos von 85 Steinewerfern der Maikrawalle abgedruckt waren. Zum ersten Mal nutzte sie damit die Bilder, die Videoteams der Polizei während der Einsätze gedreht hatten, für eine öffentliche Ermittlung der Gefilmten. So erfolgreich war das Konzept, dass die Berliner Staatsanwaltschaft trotz Protesten seit dem jedes Jahr solche Plakate drucken lässt.
Auch im Internet hat die Berliner Polizei schon versucht, Fotos für die Fahndung zu finden. Doch wie wirksam und bedrohlich diese Idee tatsächlich ist, zeigt gerade die iranische Regierung. So groß ist die Flut der Fotos und Filme, die via Plattformen wie flickr oder YouTube in aller Welt verbreitet werden, dass sie eine gigantische Datenbank der Protestierer darstellen. Eine Datenbank, die einerseits die Brutalität des Regimes belegt, die Öffentlichkeit herstellt für die Proteste und Zusammenhalt erzeugt unter den Demonstranten. Die aber andererseits genauso gut dafür benutzt werden kann, Oppositionelle zu identifizieren und zu verfolgen.
"In staatlichen iranischen Medien werden Videos aus dem Netz gezeigt mit dem Aufruf: Wenn Sie diese Person kennen, melden Sie sich, sie ist ein Terrorist", sagt Anja Viohl von Reporter ohne Grenzen. Eingeblendet werde dazu die Nummer der Polizei. Auch im Netz selbst soll es "Steckbriefe" von Fotografierten geben, die entsprechende Seite aber ist derzeit nicht erreichbar. >>> Von Kai Biermann | Mittwoch, 24. Juni 2009
TAGES ANZEIGER: Die Unruhen im Iran haben Machthaber Ayatollah Khamenei ins Rampenlicht gerückt. Doch was macht ein Ayatollah genau? Und wie wird man das? Tagesanzeiger.ch /Newsnetz beantwortet die wichtigsten Fragen.
Was ist ein Ayatollah? Ayatollah bedeutet «Zeichen Gottes» und ist ein hoher Rang in der Hierarchie der schiitischen Rechtsgelehrten. Im Iran gibt es rund zwei Dutzend Ayatollahs in der führenden Geistlichkeit, Machthaber Ali Khamenei ist auch einer. Die Schiiten glauben, der verschwundene zwölfte Imam – ein Nachfahre des Propheten Mohammed – werde als Retter wiederkehren. Bis dieser «Verborgene Imam» zurückkehrt, sind die islamischen Geistlichen sozusagen seine Stellvertreter. Die Aufgabe der Ayatollahs ist es nun, islamisches Recht zu interpretieren und auszulegen. Sie sind jedoch nicht unfehlbar, ihre Entscheidungen gelten nur zu Lebzeiten und könnten von den Nachfolgern revidiert werden.
Wie wird man Ayatollah? Anders als im Christentum sind die islamischen Geistlichen keine Priester mit Weihe, sondern Gelehrte. Ihr Studium besteht zu einem grossen Teil aus Rechtskunde. Im Laufe der Zeit, mit wachsendem Ansehen, steigen die Rechtsgelehrten die Hierarchieleiter hoch; und nach jahrzehntelangem Studium können sie sich Ehrentitel erwerben. Der erste nennt sich «Autorität des Islams und der Muslime», die nächste Stufe ist der Rang des Ayatollahs. Für die Vergabe dieser Würden gibt es jedoch keine Regeln: Der Geistliche wird von seinen Anhängern sogenannt, und die Anrede setzt sich durch oder nicht. Letztlich wird die Stellung eines Rechtsgelehrten bei den Schiiten von den Gläubigen bestimmt. Je mehr Anhänger er hat, desto einflussreicher ist er. >>> Von Claudio Habicht | Mittwoch, 24. Juni 2009
TIMES ONLINE: The United States is to appoint a new ambassador to Syria after a gap of four years, the strongest sign yet of President Obama’s desire to re-engage the pariah state and draw it away from the influence of Iran.
The move to a fully staffed embassy will be an important boost to Syria, which has suffered years of diplomatic isolation because of its strong trade and strategic ties with Iran.
The US Administration hopes that engaging with Damascus will encourage it to further pursue peace talks with Israel, most recently held under the previous Israeli Government of Ehud Olmert.
George Mitchell, the US Middle East envoy, has described Syria as playing and [sic] “integral role” in the peace process. Syria has called for America to act as mediator in any future direct talks between it and Israel, in which it is demanding a return of the Golan Heights, a strategic border plateau captured by Israel in 1967.
Syria is still under US sanctions over its support of Islamist insurgents crossing into Iraq to fight the US-backed Government there. Washington withdrew its last ambassador in 2005 after the assassination of the former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri, in which Syria was believed to have played a role.
The new Administration believes that wooing Syria back into the diplomatic fold may encourage it to withdraw its support to insurgents in Iraq, loosen its ties with Iran and prevent the flow of weapons from Iran to Hezbollah, the Shia militia that operates as a state-within-a-state inside Lebanon. The US also hopes that forging ties with the Syrian Government may put pressure on the Hamas leadership in exile in Damascus. >>> James Hider, Middle East Correspondent | Wednesday, June 24, 2009
YNET NEWS: Islam faces internal clash that may fundamentally change region
With the end of the cold war in late 1989, marked by the fall of the Berlin wall and the end of the bipolar world order, two major, yet contrasting, views of the paradigm to come were raised.
One view advocated "The End of History," whereby the world would be immune from ideological wars and future conflicts would be very limited, effectively posing no substantial threat to Western civilization. Others advocated the view that ethnically volatile regions previously viewed as stable satellite entities of the Soviet Union would inevitably erupt, leading to a "Clash of Civilizations."
Future historians will eventually conclude which thesis was more accurate, but today - with the pictures coming out of Iran and from other Middle East areas - it seems that Islam is more in clash with itself than it is with other civilizations.
"Moderates" are clashing with "Militants" in the Islamic world, as civilians who seek liberty, personal freedom, peace and prosperity clash with regimes that prop up the Islamic pillar of jihad.
We have recently witnessed a potentially fundamental shift in the region, with the election results in Lebanon and the yet-to-be-settled aftermath of the Iranian vote. This does not mean that we have reached "the end of history" but it does mean that change may be on its way. It would seem that people do indeed have the power. >>> Ophir Falk | Tuesday, June 23, 2009
MAIL Online: Shopping in Harrods last week, I came across a group of women wearing black burkhas, browsing the latest designs in the fashion department.
The irony of the situation was almost laughable. Here was a group of affluent women window shopping for designs that they would never once be able to wear in public.
Yet it's a sight that's becoming more and more commonplace. In hardline Muslim communities right across Britain, the burkha and hijab - the Muslim headscarf - are becoming the norm.
In the predominantly Muslim enclaves of Derby near my childhood home, you now see women hidden behind the full-length robe, their faces completely shielded from view. In London, I see an increasing number of young girls, aged four and five, being made to wear the hijab to school.
Shockingly, the Dickensian bone disease rickets has reemerged in the British Muslim community because women are not getting enough vital vitamin D from sunlight because they are being consigned to life under a shroud.
Thanks to fundamentalist Muslims and 'hate' preachers working in Britain, the veiling of women is suddenly all-pervasive and promoted as a basic religious right. We are led to believe that we must live with this in the name of 'tolerance'.
And yet, as a British Muslim woman, I abhor the practice and am calling on the Government to follow the lead of French President Nicolas Sarkozy and ban the burkha in our country.
The veil is simply a tool of oppression which is being used to alienate and control women under the guise of religious freedom.
My parents moved here from Kashmir in the 1960s. They brought with them their faith and their traditions - but they also understood that they were starting a new life in a country where Islam was not the main religion.
My mother has always worn traditional Kashmiri clothes - the salwar kameez, a long tunic worn over trousers, and the chador, which is like a pashmina worn around the neck or over the hair.
When she found work in England, she adapted her dress without making a fuss. She is still very much a traditional Muslim woman, but she swims in a normal swimming costume and jogs in a tracksuit.
I was born in this country, and my parents' greatest desire for me was that I would integrate and take advantage of the British education system.
They wanted me to make friends at school, and be able to take part in PE lessons - not feel alienated and cut off from my peers. So at home, I wore the salwar kameez, while at school I wore a wore a typical English school uniform.
Now, to some fundamentalists, that made us not proper Muslims. Really?
I have read the Koran. Nowhere in the Koran does it state that a woman's face and body must be covered in a layer of heavy black cloth. Instead, Muslim women should dress modestly, covering their arms and legs.
Many of my adult British Muslim friends cover their heads with a headscarf - and I have no problem with that.
The burkha is an entirely different matter. It is an imported Saudi Arabian tradition, and the growing number of women veiling their faces in Britain is a sign of creeping radicalisation, which is not just regressive, it is oppressive and downright dangerous.
The burkha is an extreme practice. It is never right for a woman to hide behind a veil and shut herself off from people in the community. But it is particularly wrong in Britain, where it is alien to the mainstream culture for someone to walk around wearing a mask. >>> Saira Khan | Wednesday, June 24, 2009
THE TELEGRAPH: Muslim leaders in Britain have warned that President Nicolas Sarkozy's calls for the burqa to be banned in France risk fuelling hostility towards Islam.
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) said Mr Sarkozy's claim that the head-to-toe garments worn by Islamic women signify subservience were "patronising and offensive".
Its criticism comes after Mr Sarkozy used a policy speech on Monday to declare the burqa was "not welcome" in France.
In a move which threatens to reignite the debate over religious clothing in the country, Mr Sarkozy said: "The burqa is not a sign of religion, it is a sign of subservience.
"We cannot accept to have in our country women who are prisoners behind netting, cut off from all social life, deprived of identity."
The MCB reacted by calling on Mr Sarkozy to "desist from engaging in and promoting divisive politics" towards France's Muslim population.
Dr Reefat Drabu, assistant secretary general of the MCB, said in a statement: "It is patronising and offensive to suggest that those Muslim women who wear the burqa do so because of pressure or oppression by their male partners or guardians."
Speaking for the umbrella group of more than 500 Muslim organisations including mosques, charities and community groups, she added: "Such suggestions can legitimately be perceived as antagonistic towards Islam.
"Instead of taking a lead in promoting harmony and social cohesion amongst its people, the French President appears to be initiating a policy which is set to create fear and misunderstanding and may lead to Islamophobic reaction not just in France but in the rest of Europe too."
Mr Sarkozy's presidential address to a joint session of France's two houses of parliament stood in stark contrast to comments made by US President Barack Obama earlier this month. Muslim leaders condemn Sarkozy over burqa ban >>> Murray Wardrop | Wednesday, June 24, 2009
L’EXPRESS.fr: Après avoir dénoncé l'ingérence occidentale dans le mouvement anti-Ahmadinejad, Téhéran cible Londres, promu ennemi numéro un du régime.
Aux grandes heures de la Révolution islamique, en 1979, l'ayatollah Khomeini dénonçait le "Grand Satan" américain. Si la rhétorique n'a pas évolué, la cible est mouvante. Désormais, son successeur Ali Khamenei s'emporte contre l'"Angleterre diabolique". Dans son prêche à l'Université de Téhéran, le 19 juin, le Guide suprême s'en est ouvertement pris au gouvernement britannique, qu'il accuse de téléguider les manifestations.
"Ils montrent leur vraie hostilité envers l'Etat islamique iranien, et le plus mauvais d'eux est le gouvernement britannique", s'est-il offusqué. Dans l'assistance, les "Marg bar Ingles" [mort à l'Angleterre, ndlr] ont vite résonné dans une clameur. Dans un élan de conspirationnisme décati, il a renchéri: "[Ce sont] des loups affamés en embuscade, prêts à retirer le masque diplomatique de leur visage. Ne négligez pas ces gens-là!".
Talion diplomatique
Loin d'être une surprise, cette escalade verbale ne fait que raviver des plaies toujours ouvertes entre les deux pays. Depuis plus de 50 ans, l'Iran et le Royaume-Uni nourrissent un ressentiment partagé. De la lutte pour le contrôle du pétrole à la fatwa lancée par Khomeini contre Salman Rushdie, leurs relations bilatérales sont au mieux exécrables, au pire inexistantes.
Comme un écho à la "chasse aux bouc-émissaires étrangers" que déplore le Guardian, le régime a commencé à expulser en début de semaine les sujets de sa Majesté un peu trop entreprenants à son goût. >>> Par Olivier Tesquet | Mardi 23 Juin 2009
THE TELEGRAPH: The British National Party has been ordered to accept members from ethnic minorities and employ black and Asian staff or face prosecution.
In a letter from the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Nick Griffin, the BNP leader, was told that he had less than a month to provide written undertakings that the party would abide by race relations legislation.
John Wadham, legal director of the Commission, said that the watchdog was concerned that the BNP's constitution and membership criteria could be in breach of the law.
Party membership was said by the Commission to be restricted to those with white skin and a small number of other ethnic groups.
In a statement, the watchdog added: "This exclusion is contrary to the Race Relations Act which the party is legally obliged to comply with.
The Commission therefore thinks that the BNP may have acted, and be acting, illegally."
There were further concerns over the requirement on new staff to be party members, and fears that elected BNP representatives would be unwilling to provide help and support to non-white constituents.
If the BNP does not provide written undertakings by July 20 that it will make the changes required by the Commission voluntarily, then the watchdog said that it would apply for a legal injunction which would compel them to comply.
Any breach of a court order would be a criminal offence and leave the party's leaders open to prosecution. >>> Rosa Prince, Political Correspondent | Tuesday, June 23, 2009
BNP NEWS: BNP Membership: Nick Griffin Rejects Equalities Commission ‘PR Stunt’
The Equalities Commission hysteria over British National Party membership is nothing but a PR stunt which has no legal grounding whatsoever, said BNP leader Nick Griffin MEP.
Reacting to the news that the Equality and Human Rights Commission, headed up by black arch-racist Trevor Phillips, had written to the BNP demanding that it change its membership and employment criteria, Mr Griffin said it was obvious that the whole thing was just a publicity stunt engineered by the far left and Labour Party front organisations.
“It is all a bit of liberal hysteria couched in legal terms,” Mr Griffin told BNP News. “The fact that the letter was served on us through the mass media shows that it is actually not legal in intent at all.”
Mr Griffin said the BNP was an exempted organisation under Section 25 and Section 26 of the Race Relations Act which allow for exclusive ethnic organisations with a membership of 50 or more. “The BNP has never been in breach of any of the provisions of the law in terms of its membership and Mr Phillips knows this to be the case,” he said. >>> | Tuesday, June 23, 2009
THE TELEGRAPH: Iranian security officials have begun pulling down posters of Neda Agha Soltan, the young woman who has become the face of the country's pro-democracy uprising after her death in Tehran was captured on video.
Relatives said images of Neda Agha Soltan, 27, who has been described as Iran's "Angel of Freedom" after she was apparently shot dead on Saturday, had been targeted by plain-clothed officials.
They had removed any material commemorating the 27-year-old student that had been erected near her home by sympathisers in the Iranian capital.
Miss Agha Soltan was shot in the chest after she joined a protest near Azadi (Freedom) Square. Within hours an Iranian exile in Europe had posted pictures shot on mobile phones online and the scenes have been viewed by millions since.
Relatives said the authorities had insisted Miss Agha Soltan was buried in a cemetery plot reserved for slain "rioters" and that attempts to hold memorial services had been banned. >>> Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent | Tuesday, June 23, 2009
THE TELEGRAPH: The Iranian football players who wore green wristbands to protest against the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have reportedly been banned from the team for life.
A pro-government newspaper reported they had been "retired" from the national team after several members wore green tape on their wrists in a World Cup qualifier against South Korea in Seoul.
Other newspapers said the players were retiring voluntarily, reportedly because of their age, but at least one suggested they were forced out. >>> | Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
THE NEW YORK TIMES: WASHINGTON — President Obama harshly condemned the Iranian crackdown against demonstrations on Tuesday, declaring the rest of the world “appalled and outraged” and dismissing what he called “patently false and absurd” accusations that the United States instigated the protests.
In his sharpest and most expansive comments on the crisis in Tehran since the June 12 elections that the opposition called rigged, Mr. Obama deplored the violence that has killed some protesters, including a young woman whose death was captured on a video that has been played around the world.
“While this loss is raw and painful,” the president said, “we also know this: those who stand up for justice are always on the right side of history.” >>> Jeff Zeleny and Peter Baker | Tuesday, June 23, 2009
ASSOCIATED PRESS: ROME — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the courage of Iranian protesters on Tuesday and called the Tehran authorities the greatest threat to peace.
During his first European visit since being elected, Netanyahu also said he briefed Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi on his peace plan, which calls for a demilitarized Palestinian state alongside Israel.
Berlusconi endorsed the plan, saying a demilitarized Palestinian state was "absolutely necessary." But he urged Netanyahu to send "significant signals" to stop construction of settlements, which he called an obstacle to peace.
Both leaders stressed their warm bilateral ties, with Netanyahu calling Berlusconi a "great friend" of Israel.
Italy is perhaps Israel's greatest ally in Europe, but at the same time is Iran's No. 1 European trading partner, accounting for some 26 percent of total import-export trade between EU countries and Tehran.
Last year alone, Italian imports from Iran amounted to euro4.1 billion ($5.73 billion) and Italian exports amounted to euro1.8 billion, according to the Italy-Iranian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Berlusconi said Tuesday that Italy's economic ties to Tehran had always had the blessing of Israel and the United States, and would continue as long as Washington approved. >>> Steve Weizman | Tuesday, June 23, 2009
THE GUARDIAN: Gordon Brown announces move to parliament after Tehran's 'unjustified' expulsion of two UK diplomats
Britain has ordered the expulsion of two Iranian diplomats, in tit-for-tat response to the expulsion of two British diplomats from Tehran yesterday.
The Iranian government said it was throwing out the two Britons, who have not been named, for "activities incompatible with their diplomatic status" – a claim Gordon Brown described as "unjustified".
This morning, the Iranian ambassador to London, Rasoul Movahedian Attar, was summoned to be informed of Britain's response by the permanent under-secretary at the Foreign Office, Sir Peter Ricketts. The Iranian diplomats, who have also not been identified, have been given a week to leave the country.
"I am disappointed that Iran has placed us in this position but we will continue to seek good relations with Iran and to call for the regime to respect the human rights and democratic freedoms of the Iranian people," Brown told the House of Commons.
The prime minister said Britain expected Iran to "meet its obligations to the international community", and said "the onus is on Iran to show the Iranian people" that the presidential elections this month were credible.
A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "The government of Iran is seeking to blame the UK and other outsiders for what is an Iranian reaction to an Iranian issue. This has a potential impact on our staff's safety and is unacceptable." >>> Julian Borger, diplomatic editor | Tuesday, 23, 2009
TIME: Thirty years after his father was overthrown by a popular uprising, the former crown prince of Iran has a unique perspective on the demonstrations gripping Iran these days. On Monday, at a Washington press conference, Reza Pahlavi, the onetime heir to the peacock throne, condemned Iran's controversial presidential election of June 12 as "an ugly moment of disrespect for both God and man" and called on the Tehran regime to allow for "freedom, democracy, human rights [and] the right to choose." Pahlavi believes that the situation in Iran has eroded dramatically, charging that the issues go "well beyond election. This is about the sanctity of the ballot box and the legitimacy of the regime as a whole."
It was the first public appearance since the protests in Iran for the man who was once next in line to be Shah. Speaking with nearly unaccented English, the graduate of the University of Southern California seemed proud to support the movement that is "already invested with the blood of my brave countrymen." Confident that the opposition will succeed, he believes that the upheaval "will not rest until it achieves unfettered democracy and human rights in Iran." >>> By Sophia Yan | Monday, June 22, 2009
TELEGRAPH BLOGS – James Delingpole: Almost every idea that ever came out of France has been bad for America, from the structuralist philosophical gibberish which has poisoned US academe to the grotesquely over-regulated tax and spend socialism which is now ruining the US economy. But if there's one area where the French do get it SO right it's in their uncompromising approach to Islam. President Sarkozy once again showed the way yesterday when in a presidential address to France's two houses of parliament, he said the burqa is not welcome in his country and should be banned.
As he rightly went on to say the full-body garment which makes women in Afghanistan look like a cross between a prison cell and a walking tent is "not a sign of religion" but a "sign of subservience." He added: "We cannot have in our country women who are prisoners behind netting, cut off from all social ife, deprived of identity."
Compare and contrast, the appalling cultural appeasement of President Obama's speech in Cairo on June 4 when he boasted that the United States prized freedom of religion and would not "tell people what to wear." And there was I thinking it was the French who were supposed to be the surrender monkeys, not the Americans.
Was there ever greater proof that, where the great clash of civilisations is concerned, President Obama is turning out to be the Islamists' useful idiot par excellence?
Does Barack Hussein Obama really not understand that supposed "freedom" he is granting US Muslim women to wear the veil is in fact the most surefire way of guaranteeing their continued subservience to their men folk and their failure to integrate with the broader society?
It's for precisely this reason - would that the rest of Europe had the courage! - that France bans religious head coverings in state schools. France understands, as so many in the pusillanimous, multi-culti West do not, that female Muslim girls of school age need protecting from the heavy pressure put on them by male relatives to wear the veil. Banning the veil in French schools is not the sign of an oppressive state taking away religious freedom. It is a rare example of a government setting a moral example and standing up for freedom: a girl's freedom to choose whether she wants to spend the rest of her life in a kind of religious apartheid or whether she wants to integrate more closely with the host culture. >>> James Delingpole | Tuesday, June 23, 2009
THE TELEGRAPH: A man identifying himself as the boyfriend of the 'Angel of Freedom' whose grisly death in Iran's post-election protests was captured on video and posted on YouTube has said that she only wanted democracy and freedom for the people of Iran.
In the video, Neda Agha Soltan, is lying on the ground as blood appears to flow from her mouth and nose. Her apparent last moments spread around the world on YouTube, Facebook, blogs and Twitter, turning her into an icon in the clash between Iran's cleric-led government and protesters.
"She only ever said that she wanted one thing, she wanted democracy and freedom for the people of Iran," Caspian Makan said.
Makan, a 37-year-old photojournalist in Tehran, said he met the 27-year-old music student several months ago on a trip outside the country. Foreign media are banned from covering the demonstrations and the authenticity of the video cannot be verified.
Makan provided photographs of himself with a woman he identified as Soltan and also had her as a friend on his Facebook page and said he had intended to marry her. "I still feel her, I still talk to her," he said.
Makan said that they had argued in the days before her death about her decision to attend the protests, which were part of the self-described "green wave" movement that claims hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stole his June 12 re-election.
He said he had asked her not to go out for fear she would be arrested or shot. "I tried to dissuade her from going out in the streets because I'd seen in my work as a journalist that, unfortunately, there are a lot of merciless behaviours," Makan said. >>> | Tuesday, June 23, 2009
THE TELEGRAPH: Iran Elections: Video of 'Angel of Freedom's' Death Will Haunt the Iranian Regime
Neda Agha Soltan’s importance is that her death has vividly demonstrated how far the Iranian regime stands in violation of its own values, writes Damien McElroy.
The video of a woman dying in the streets of Tehran is a historic turning point that will haunt the Iranian regime for as long as it remains unreconstructed.
That governments should not turn guns on its own people is a universal truth of powerful force. Twenty years on from the great convulsion against Communism in 1989, the world is shaped by that principle. Those states that did not, like Poland, have been transformed into mostly free democracies. Those that did, like China, have for all the gloss, merely postponed a process of historic reckoning.
What doubles the impact of the image for Iran is the hold that martyrdom - death for a cause - has exerted on the national imagination. The blood that defines the seconds of mobile phone footage that shows Neda Agha Soltan losing her life is central to the character of the Iranian nation. >>> Damien McElroy | Tuesday, June 23, 2009
TIMES ONLINE: Iranian Authorities Scramble to Negate Neda Soltan 'Martyrdom'
The Iranian authorities have ordered the family of a student shot dead in Tehran to take down mourning posters as they struggle to stop her becoming the rallying point for protests against the presidential election.
Neda Salehi Agha Soltan, 26, was killed as she watched a pro-democracy protest, and mobile phone footage of her last moments have become a worldwide symbol of Iran's turmoil.
The authorities had already banned a public funeral or wake and have prevented gatherings in her name while the state-controlled media has not mentioned Miss Soltan's death.
Today it was reported that they had also told her family to take down the black mourning banners outside their home in the Tehran suburbs to prevent it becoming a place of pilgrimage. They were also told they could not hold a memorial service at a mosque.
Nevertheless posters of Miss Soltan's face have started to appear all over Tehran.
The attempted crackdown came as friends present as Miss Soltan died came forward to detail what happened.
Hamid Panahi, her friend and music teacher, told the Los Angeles Times how Miss Soltan was shot as they and two others were making their way to a demonstration in Freedom Square in central Tehran. Their car became stuck in traffic on Karegar Street and they got out for some air.
Mr Panahi said that he heard a distant crack and saw Miss Soltan instantly collapse to the ground.
"We were stuck in traffic and we got out and stood to watch and, without her throwing a rock or anything, they shot her," he said. "It was just one bullet."
He later heard other witnesses claiming that the gunman was not a police officer but one of a group of plainclothes officials or Basiji militia.
He recalled watching in horror as blood came out of her chest and then began to bubble from her nose and mouth - footage that bystanders captured on their mobile phones and posted on the internet, where she has become a global phenomenon.
Mr Panahi said that Neda's last words before she slipped into unconsciousness were: "I'm burning! I'm burning!" >>> Jenny Booth | Tuesday, June 23, 2009
CNN: Fighting Tears, Shah's Son Calls Crisis a 'Moment of Truth'
WASHINGTON -- The son of the former shah of Iran called Monday for solidarity against Iran's Islamic regime, warning that the democratic movement born out of the election crisis might not succeed without international support.
"The moment of truth has arrived," Reza Shah Pahlavi said at Washington's National Press Club. "The people of Iran need to know who stands with them."
Pahlavi has lived in exile since 1979, when his father, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, was overthrown during the Islamic Revolution. Under the shah's regime, Iran saw nationalization of its oil and a strong movement toward modernization. Still, his secular programs and recognition of Israel cost him the support of the country's Shiite clergy, sparking clashes with the religious right and others who resented his pro-West views.
The son now lives in the United States with his family, where he spends much of his time talking about the Islamic regime in Iran.
During his remarks, he broke into tears when he spoke of "bullets piercing our beloved Neda," a woman killed Saturday by Iranian police at a protest in Tehran, whose death has become a rallying cry among demonstrators in Iran.
The Iranian regime, he said, was a "sinking Titanic" that might not survive the demands for democracy and human rights reverberating through the country.
Citing anecdotes from people inside the Iranian establishment, Pahlavi said he had heard that security forces have begun to distance themselves from the regime.
"It has already started," he said, citing reports that members of the security forces have gone home after their shifts ended and changed into plain clothes to join the protesters.
"Many, many elements within the security forces, within the Revolutionary Guard, are showing discontent," Pahlavi said. "There is an amazing reflection that is happening. ... This is a movement that has blown out of proportion." >>> By Elise Labott, CNN State Department Producer | Monday, June 22, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
FOX NEWS: The law allows the regulatory Food and Drug Administration to reduce nicotine in tobacco products, ban candy flavorings and block labels such "low tar" and "light."
President Obama on Monday signed a landmark anti-smoking bill which he said will reduce the number of children who take up smoking and ultimately save American lives.
The bill would give the federal government unprecedented authority to regulate tobacco. The law allows the regulatory Food and Drug Administration to reduce nicotine in tobacco products, ban candy flavorings and block labels such "low tar" and "light." Tobacco companies also will be required to cover their cartons with large graphic warnings.
"Today ... the decades-long effort to protect our children from the harmful effects of tobacco has emerged victorious. Today change has come to Washington," Obama said.
The law, called the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, won't let the FDA ban nicotine or tobacco outright, but the agency will be able to regulate the contents of tobacco products, make public their ingredients and prohibit marketing campaigns, especially those geared toward children.
"It is a law that will save American lives and make Americans healthy," Obama said, calling it a "victory for bipartisanship" as well as a victory for health care reform.
The president said the legislation should reduce some of the billions the nation spends on treating tobacco-related illnesses, "the leading cause of preventable death in the United States."
Anti-smoking advocates looked forward to the bill after years of attempts to tame an industry so fundamental to the U.S. that carved tobacco leaves adorn some parts of the Capitol.
Opponents from tobacco-growing states argued that the FDA has proven through a series of food safety failures that it's not up to the job. They also said that instead of unrealistically trying to get smokers to quit or to prevent others from starting, lawmakers should ensure that people have other options, like smokeless tobacco.
As president, George W. Bush opposed the legislation and threatened a veto after it passed the House last year. The Obama administration, by contrast, had issued a statement declaring strong support for the measure.
Obama talked about his own struggles breaking a cigarette habit Monday, noting that he picked up smoking at an early age.
"I know how difficult it can be to break this habit," Obama said. [Source: Fox News] | Monday, June 22, 2009
FOX NEWS: President Wants You to Kick Habit; But Stuggles Himself as a Smoker
Twice in as many weeks, President Obama has spoken out about the evils of smoking and heralded efforts to prevent kids from picking up the habit, but as far as the American public knows, Mr. Obama has yet to kick his own smoking habit.Mr. Obama didn't use either occasion - last week applauding the Congress for passing the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act or today at the Rose Garden bill signing -- to acknowledge and use his own habit as an example to the American public.
"I was one of these teenagers," Mr. Obama mentioned as he alluded to his past in his remarks today, "and so I know how difficult it can be to break this habit when it's been with you for a long time." But that was the only reference to his own experience.
Inquiring minds want to know - is the President still a smoker?
"I think the president has, on any number of occasions, discussed the struggle that the vice of smoking -- what that's -- what that's done to him and that he struggles with it every day. I don't, honestly, see the need to get a whole lot more specific than the fact that it's a continuing struggle," explained press secretary Robert Gibbs. [Source: FoxNews] | Monday, June 22, 2009
Comment here >>>
VOICE OF AMERICA: International criticism of Iran's handling of a disputed presidential vote and subsequent protests is mounting, after Iranian media reported the arrest of former President Hashemi Rafsanjani's eldest daughter.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel added her voice to a growing chorus of Western leaders demanding respect for civil liberties in Iran.
"Human rights and citizens' rights are inseparable, and that is why Germany stands behind the people, and peaceful demonstrations in Iran, who want to make use of their freedom of speech and who want to gather peacefully. I, therefore, demand that Iran's leaders allow peaceful demonstrations, allow free reporting of events, stop the use of violence against demonstrators and free imprisoned people."
Ms. Merkel urged a full recount of Iran's contested presidential vote. Official results showed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad winning re-election in a landslide.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki denounced Western criticism as "treacherous" and "unjust," and accused foreign governments of fomenting unrest in his country. Responding, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said he "categorically" rejects any suggestion that foreign countries are manipulating protesters in Iran.
Meanwhile, authorities in Tehran say they have arrested Faezeh Hashemi - the eldest daughter of former President Rafsanjani. Last week, Hashemi was seen addressing supporters of presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, who alleges massive fraud in the June 12 ballot and is calling for a new election. >>> By Michael Bowman, Washington | Monday, June 22, 2009
CNN: Fighting Tears, Shah's Son Calls Crisis a 'Moment of Truth'
WASHINGTON -- The son of the former shah of Iran called Monday for solidarity against Iran's Islamic regime, warning that the democratic movement born out of the election crisis might not succeed without international support.
"The moment of truth has arrived," Reza Shah Pahlavi said at Washington's National Press Club. "The people of Iran need to know who stands with them."
Pahlavi has lived in exile since 1979, when his father, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, was overthrown during the Islamic Revolution. Under the shah's regime, Iran saw nationalization of its oil and a strong movement toward modernization. Still, his secular programs and recognition of Israel cost him the support of the country's Shiite clergy, sparking clashes with the religious right and others who resented his pro-West views.
The son now lives in the United States with his family, where he spends much of his time talking about the Islamic regime in Iran.
During his remarks, he broke into tears when he spoke of "bullets piercing our beloved Neda," a woman killed Saturday by Iranian police at a protest in Tehran, whose death has become a rallying cry among demonstrators in Iran.
The Iranian regime, he said, was a "sinking Titanic" that might not survive the demands for democracy and human rights reverberating through the country.
Citing anecdotes from people inside the Iranian establishment, Pahlavi said he had heard that security forces have begun to distance themselves from the regime.
"It has already started," he said, citing reports that members of the security forces have gone home after their shifts ended and changed into plain clothes to join the protesters.
"Many, many elements within the security forces, within the Revolutionary Guard, are showing discontent," Pahlavi said. "There is an amazing reflection that is happening. ... This is a movement that has blown out of proportion." >>> By Elise Labott, CNN State Department Producer | Monday, June 22, 2009
THE TELEGRAPH: Iran's regime has issued a ban on memorials for a young woman whose death has become the focal point of protests against the clerical regime.
Neda Agha Soltan, 27, was dubbed the Angel of Freedom after a video which appeared to show her being shot by a government sniper was posted on the internet.
Graphic scenes show Neda – her name means "the call" – walking with her father among demonstrators, then separately when she was shot as well as attempts to save her life.
Online posters of the woman covered in blood quickly emerged, included one modelled on a prominent image of Barack Obama during the last US presidential campaign.
Some online posts speculated the image would rank alongside that of the unnamed man standing in front of a tank in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989 and the summary execution of a Vietnamese Communist prisoner by Colonel Nugyen Ngoc Loan in 1968.
Footage was posted on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook and was viewed by tens of thousands. Messages of sympathy and outrage flooded the internet following the posting of the videos.
The Iranian authorities have now sent out a circular to mosques banning collective prayers for the woman. [Source: The Telegraph] | Monday, June 22, 2009
BBC: Iranian riot police have fired tear gas to break up a new opposition rally in the centre of the capital Tehran, hours after a stern warning to protesters.
Some 1,000 people had gathered on Haft-e Tir Square despite the warning from Iran's Revolutionary Guards against holding unapproved rallies.
Reports say the police were reinforced by Basij militiamen wielding clubs.
The Guards, an elite armed force, vowed to crack down on new street protests over the presidential election results.
On Friday Ayatollah Ali Khamenei banned protests, prompting street violence in which at least 10 people died.
Severe reporting restrictions placed on the BBC and other foreign media in Iran mean protest reports cannot be verified independently. >>> | Monday, June 22, 2009
THE TELEGRAPH: President Nicolas Sarkozy has said that the Islamic burqa is 'not welcome' in France.
In a speech at the Palace of Versailles, Mr Sarkozy said that the head-to-toe Islamic garment for women was not a symbol of religion but a sign of subservience for women.
"The burka is not a sign of religion, it is a sign of subservience," he told members of both parliamentary houses gathered for his speech.
He added: "It will not be welcome on the territory of the French republic."
His comments follow an appeal last week by 65 French MPs for a parliamentary commission to examine whether Muslim women who cover themselves fully in public undermine the secular tradition in France as well as women's rights. >>> By The Telegraph’s Foreign Staff and Agencies in Paris | Monday, June 22, 2009
LE FIGARO - Extrait: LA BURQA, NON GRATA DANS LA RÉPUBLIQUE
S'exprimant sur la polémique qui a enflammé la classe politique française, le président de la République a estimé que la burqa soulevait un «problème de dignité et de respect de la femme». «Ce n'est pas un signe religieux, c'est un signe d'asservissement (…) Elle ne sera pas la bienvenue sur le territoire de la République française», a-t-il tranché. Il reviendra au Parlement de se prononcer sur l'opportunité d'un texte de loi. [Source: Le Figaro] | Julie Connan (lefigaro.fr) Lundi 22 Juin 2009
TAGES ANZEIGER: Sarkozy: «Burkas sind ein Zeichen der Unterdrückung»
In einer Grundsatzrede vor dem Parlament schlug der französische Präsident Nicolas Sarkozy ein Verbot des Ganzkörper-Schleiers für Frauen vor. Von der Opposition erntet er Kritik.
Zu den grossen Krisenherden der Welt nahm Sarkozy in seiner Rede nicht Stellung. Dafür sagte er den Burkas in Frankreich den Kampf an. Die Burkas seien ein Zeichen der Unterwerfung und Unterdrückung der Frau, sagte der französische Staatspräsident. Muslimische Frauen verdecken sich mit einer Burka nicht nur Körper und Haar, sondern auch Gesicht und Augen.
«Wir können nicht zulassen, dass es in unserem Land hinter einem Gitter gefangene Frauen gibt, die vom sozialen Leben ausgeschlossen und jeder Identität beraubt sind», sagte Sarkozy. Das Parlament solle die Burka auf französischem Staatsgebiet verbieten. «Das ist die beste Art vorzugehen.» Sarkozys Vorschlag kommt an einem Tag, an dem er noch am Morgen den Emir des Wüstenstaats Katar, Scheich Hamad Bin Khalifa al-Thani, empfangen hatte. >>> oku/sda | Montag, 22. Juni 2009
BBC: French Balls!
Since this was the first time in almost one and a half centuries that a French president had been allowed to address parliament, President Nicolas Sarkozy's speech was already on course to ruffle a few feathers.
The Greens and Communists refused to attend and the Socialists left early, claiming the venue for the address - the Chateau of Versailles, which was home to King Louis XIV - smacked of monarchy and a thirst for power.
But it was the French leader's attack on the burka that really caused a stir.
He expressed his strong distaste for the head-to-toe Islamic veil, calling it not a sign of religion but a sign of subservience.
"It will not be welcome on French soil," he said." We cannot accept, in our country, women imprisoned behind a mesh, cut off from society, deprived of all identity. That is not the French republic's idea of women's dignity."
President Sarkozy's comments have not come out of the blue.
They are in response to a call last week by a group of 65 cross-party MPs, led by the Communist Andre Gerin, who wants a parliamentary commission set up to investigate the spread of the burka in France.
They want to see whether such a spread is indicative of a radicalisation of Islam, whether women are being forced to cover themselves or are doing so voluntarily, and whether wearing the burka undermines French secularism.
Mr Gerin believes the burka "amounts to a breach of individual freedom on our national territory".
Because, if the mention of monarchy triggers warning bells in France, the mention of religion triggers much louder ones.
Ban in schools
The concept of secularism or "laicite" is sacred in France.
The separation of church and state is jealously guarded by everyone from school teachers to government ministers - and the constitution states the republic "does not recognise, subsidise or renumerate any religious body".
It underpinned the French Revolution, and has been a basic tenet of the country's progressive thought since the 18th century when French Enlightenment thinkers like Voltaire, Diderot and Montesquieu regarded religion as divisive, benighted and intolerant.
It was this same concept that was invoked five years ago to ban conspicuous signs of religion - including Islamic headscarves - from schools.
That decision sparked controversy and debate across Europe, with critics claiming it stigmatised Muslims at a time when France needed to be stepping up its fight against rife discrimination in the job market, which had caused so many youths of Muslim origin to feel forgotten by French society.
This latest call for a potential ban of the burka has prompted the head of the French Council for the Muslim Religion to warn MPs they risk stigmatising Muslims again. Sarkozy Stirs French Burka Debate >>> By Emma Jane Kirby, BBC News, Paris | Monday, June 22, 2009
LOS ANGELES TIMES: Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi has accused Western nations and media of supporting violent protests in an attempt to create anarchy and split apart the Islamic Republic.
The BBC and Voice of America “are the mouthpiece of their government's public diplomacy," Qashqavi said during a press conference today. "They have two guidelines regarding Iran. One is to intensify ethnic and racial rifts within Iran and secondly to disintegrate the Iranian territories."
He added: "Any contact with these channels, under any pretext or in any form, means contacting the enemy of the Iranian nation. How can they say they are unbiased when their TV channel is like a war headquarters and in fact they are blatantly commanding riots? Therefore their claims are absolutely wrong. Their governments have ratified decisions so that they can act in this way."
Iranian authorities have become increasingly agitated at what they claim is Western meddling. Britain and the U.S. have denied such accusations, but years of ill will between Washington and Iran are playing like background music as Tehran appears a city divided between reformist protesters and government-backed militias.
And as the power struggle inside Iran's political class appeared to intensify, with reformist and conservative leaders exchanging sharp statements that blamed each other for last week's deadly street violence, authorities announced irregularities that could affect 3 million votes in 50 cities. >>> Jeffrey Fleishman in Cairo | Monday, June 22, 2009
TELEGRAPH PHOTOS: To the gallery >>>
CNN: TEHRAN, Iran -- Iranian protesters who "disturb the peace and stand up to security forces" will be considered a threat to the regime and will be met with a strong response, the country's Revolutionary Guard warned Monday.
"The guardians of the Islamic revolution and the courageous Basiji together with the security forces following the orders of the supreme leader and following him unquestioningly, are determined to act strongly to return peace and tranquility to society ... and to clean the country of these plotters and hooligans," the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said in a statement, according to Iran's state-run news agency, IRNA.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard is directly under the control of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and enforces the government's Islamic codes and morality. It was initially created to protect the leaders of the revolution, but over the years, it has broadened its scope. With more than 200,000 members, it is tasked with overseeing the country's crucial interests, including guarding its oil fields and missile arsenals.
The Basiji is a volunteer paramilitary force that takes orders from the Revolutionary Guard. It plays the role of de facto morality police and is often summoned to crack down on protests. It is unknown how large the force is, though estimates are in the millions.
At least 19 people were killed in clashes in Tehran on Saturday as Iranians took to the streets to protest the results of the June 12 presidential election, according to hospital sources.
Iranian-funded Press TV confirmed 13 fatalities, while unconfirmed reports put the number as high as 150. Tehran's prosecutor general's office said it has launched an investigation into the killings.
The station also said police arrested 457 people Saturday who vandalized property.
A statement purportedly from opposition leader Mir Hossein Moussavi on Sunday called on Iranians to "exercise self control" during protests in Tehran while still supporting their right to demonstrate against the government and the results of the election.
"The country belongs to you. The revolution and the system is your heritage," said the statement attributed to Moussavi posted on his Web site. "Protesting against lies and cheating is your right. Be hopeful about regaining your rights. Do not allow anyone who tries to make you lose hope and frighten you make you lose your temper." >>> | Monday, June 22, 2009
THE TELEGRAPH: Iran's Basij Force: The Shock Troops Terrorising Protesters
Protesters marching the streets of Tehran feared one thing more than any other: a sudden attack by the plain-clothed toughs of the Islamic Basij militia.
Armed with sticks, motorbike chains, knives and axes, the more extreme members have long been used as shock troops by the regime to cow demonstrators with brutal displays of violence.
Mounted on motorbikes, the militia's standard strategy is to charge the crowd, one man driving and another riding pillion using a truncheon to lash out at stragglers.
They have also been sent to raid university campuses, breaking bones and smashing up dormitories.
The movement - its name is Persian for "mobilisation" - began as a sort of volunteer Dad's Army, comprising old men and young boys fired with zeal during the Iran-Iraq war.
Under the command of the Revolutionary Guards, they would charge blindly across minefields with plastic keys, symbolising the martyr's entry to paradise, strung round their necks.
Officially, the Basij today number some five million: but only a fraction of its cadres are thought to be active.
Many joined simply for the benefits membership confers: an easier route to university or increased chances of promotion in government jobs.
In contrast, the armed men prowling the streets last week are a hard core, totally committed to the Supreme Leader and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. >>> By Angus McDowall | Sunday, June 21, 2009
BBC: Iran Guards Vow Protest Crackdown
Iran's Revolutionary Guards have threatened to crack down on any new street protests against the results of the country's presidential election.
In a statement, the guards vowed to react in a "revolutionary" way to suppress unauthorised demonstrations.
Reports are coming in that at least 1,000 demonstrators have gathered in a square in the centre of Tehran.
On Friday Ayatollah Ali Khamenei banned protests, prompting street violence in which at least 10 people died.
The capital has seen rallies both against and in support of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
'Revolutionary confrontation'
The Revolutionary Guards, Iran's elite security force, have close ties to the country's supreme leader.
In a statement posted on their website, they said their troops would break up street protests and force protesters from the streets.
"Be prepared for a resolution and revolutionary confrontation with the Guards, Basij [pro-government militia] and other security forces and disciplinary forces," they said.
"The Guards will firmly confront in a revolutionary way rioters and those who violate the law," they added. >>> | Monday, June 22, 2009
TIMES ONLINE: Gordon Brown insisted today that the Government had “left no stone unturned” in trying to secure the release of British hostages in Iraq, fending off criticism over its handling of the saga.
The bodies of two of the five captives were handed over to the Iraqi authorities this weekend, but the father of one of those still missing hit out at the way the Foreign and Commonwealth Office had dealt with the issue.
Graeme Moore, who is anxiously awaiting news of the fate of his son, Peter, an IT consultant, told GMTV: “They haven’t done anything. They should have been straight in directing negotiations right from the beginning.”
He also dismissed David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, as "a waste of space". >>> Philippe Naughton | Monday, June 22, 2009
YNET NEWS: US president seeking instant Mideast solutions that show his ignorance
When I read that President Obama will call for normalization of ties between the Arab world and Israel at the early stages of his “peace plan,” I shrugged. Yet when I read that he intends to settle the Palestinian refugees in the Arab states they currently live in, and grant them monetary compensation, I was amused.
These are pipe dreams, just like the “Arab democracy” vision of his predecessor that collapsed loudly and brought disaster to the region. This is a rookie plan of an intern who believes that the Israeli-Arab conflict can be resolved with a quick and arrogant gesture. It is clear that whoever came up with this plan lacks understanding of the history, demography, and mostly the fears of the region.
Arab states will never renounce their demand to send back Palestinian refugees to Palestine, that is, to the State of Israel, and some of them, maybe, to the Palestinian Authority. Why? Because these are holy issues.
These refugees define the aspirations of the Arab world, its politics, and its article of faith; this is something that one does not renounce. The demand for returning the refugees is the only common denominator connecting Hizbullah and the Christians in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Iran, and it’s worth more than gold.
The Arab political establishment wishes to realize the “right of return” not for the sake of the Palestinians, heaven forbid, who are hated in most Arab States, but rather, in order to weaken Israel, destroy it from within, and sink it in the sea of returning Palestinians.
For the Arab world, this is not about the fate of the “Palestinians,” but rather, the fate of the “Palestinian problem,” and these are two separate issues: They hate the Palestinians, but admire the Palestinian problem. They hate the refugees, but admire their right of return. The Arab states have not been maintaining the refugee problem for more than 60 years in order to renounce it. >>> Guy Bechor | Monday, June 22, 2009
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: The Iranian regime has developed, with the assistance of European telecommunications companies, one of the world's most sophisticated mechanisms for controlling and censoring the Internet, allowing it to examine the content of individual online communications on a massive scale.
Interviews with technology experts in Iran and outside the country say Iranian efforts at monitoring Internet information go well beyond blocking access to Web sites or severing Internet connections.
Instead, in confronting the political turmoil that has consumed the country this past week, the Iranian government appears to be engaging in a practice often called deep packet inspection, which enables authorities to not only block communication but to monitor it to gather information about individuals, as well as alter it for disinformation purposes, according to these experts.
The monitoring capability was provided, at least in part, by a joint venture of Siemens AG, the German conglomerate, and Nokia Corp., the Finnish cellphone company, in the second half of 2008, Ben Roome, a spokesman for the joint venture, confirmed.
The "monitoring center," installed within the government's telecom monopoly, was part of a larger contract with Iran that included mobile-phone networking technology, Mr. Roome said.
"If you sell networks, you also, intrinsically, sell the capability to intercept any communication that runs over them," said Mr. Roome.
The sale of the equipment to Iran by the joint venture, called Nokia Siemens Networks, was previously reported last year by the editor of an Austrian information-technology Web site called Futurezone.
The Iranian government had experimented with the equipment for brief periods in recent months, but it had not been used extensively, and therefore its capabilities weren't fully displayed -- until during the recent unrest, the Internet experts interviewed said.
"We didn't know they could do this much," said a network engineer in Tehran. "Now we know they have powerful things that allow them to do very complex tracking on the network." >>> By Christopher Rhoads in New York and Loretta Chao in Beijing | Monday, June 22, 2009
YNET NEWS: Prime Minister Netanyahu tells German newspaper he has 'no doubt' Iran's citizens would choose a different government if allowed to vote freely. Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman calls Netanyahu's previous comments on Iran 'provocation'
Peaceful relations between Israel and Iran would be possible if new leadership took power in Tehran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview with German newspaper Bild published on Monday.
"There is no conflict between the Iranian people and the people of Israel and under a different regime the friendly relations that prevailed in the past could be restored," Netanyahu told German daily Bild.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was officially re-elected in a June 12 vote that the opposition has denounced as a fraud, and that has provoked the most violent unrest in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution which ousted the US-backed shah.
Iran has accused the West and its media of playing a role in fomenting unrest.
Netanyahu said he had "no doubt" that Iran's citizens would choose a different government if allowed to vote freely.
"I think the true nature of the Iranian regime has been unmasked," he told Bild. "What we have seen in Iran is a powerful desire on the part of the Iranian people to be free." >>> Dudi Cohen | Monday, June 22, 2009
MAIL Online: One of Radio 2's most popular religious presenters has launched a stinging attack on the BBC suggesting the broadcaster is biased against Christianity.
Don Maclean, 66, who hosted Good Morning Sunday for 16 years, said the broadcaster was 'keen' on programmes that attack the Christian church.
He said programming chiefs were keen to take a 'negative angle at every opportunity' in a way they do not with other faiths like Islam.
Mr Maclean said programmes about Anglicanism on the BBC always discuss gay clergy and for Catholicism they always mention paedophiles.
The presenter, who was replaced on the Radio 2 show in 2006 by Aled Jones, claimed the broadcaster was trying to 'secularise the country'.
He admitted that he was dismayed that the BBC recently appointed Aaqil Ahmed, a Muslim, as its new head of religious programming. The BBC supports Islam and attacks Christianity, claims Radio 2 stalwart Don Maclean >>> Paul Revoir | Monday, June 22, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
REUTERS: TEHRAN - Iran has decided to expel the BBC's correspondent in Tehran over the broadcaster's coverage of this month's election, an Iranian official said on Sunday, and a semi-official news agency said Jon Leyne had 24 hours to leave.
The BBC confirmed Leyne, its permanent correspondent in Tehran, has been asked to leave, adding "The BBC office remains open."
An official at the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, which deals with foreign media, said Leyne had been told of the expulsion decision.
The official did not give details, but state radio cited the "distortion of news regarding the Islamic Republic of Iran and particularly news pertaining to the election."
The BBC in turn has accused the authorities of interfering with its broadcasts.
The semi-official Fars News Agency, which said Leyne must leave within 24 hours, also said he was accused of "dispatching fabricated news and reports" and "ignoring neutrality in news.."
He was also accused of "supporting rioters and trampling the Iranian nation's rights," Fars said. >>> Reporting by Hashem Kalantari and Fredrik Dahl; editing by Matthew Jones | Sunday, June 21, 2009
TIMES ONLINE: Iran and Britain in Diplomatic Stand-off as Protest Death Toll Rises
Britain and Iran moved towards a full-blown diplomatic crisis today as David Miliband rejected claims that the Government was stirring protests against the disputed re-election of president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Within hours of confirmation that the BBC correspondent Jon Leyn had been ordered to leave Tehran, Iran’s foreign minister rebuked Britain for raising questions about voting irregularities.
As the death toll from clashes between demonstrators and security forces continued to rise, Manouchehr Mottaki told diplomats: “Great Britain has plotted against the presidential election for more than two years. We witnessed an influx of people before the election. Elements linked to the British secret service were flying in in droves.”
His comments come after Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused “the evil British government” on Friday of interfering last weekend's election. >>> Jeremy Griffin | Sunday, June 21, 2009
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