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Cabinet Pays Tribute
To Imam Khomeini
TEHRAN, Aug. 30--President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and members of his cabinet early Wednesday paid tribute to the late founder of the Islamic Republic, Imam Khomeini.
The president, accompanied by Imam’s grandson, Hassan Khomeini, visited the mausoleum of the late Imam and his son Ahmad in southern Tehran, IRNA reported.
Ahmadinejad and his cabinet also visited the tombs of president Mohammad Ali Rajaei and his prime minister, Mohammad Javad Bahonar, who were both martyred in a bomb blast in the presidential office by the terrorist Mujahideen Khalq Organization on August 30, 1981.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of his visit to the Imam’s mausoleum, the Iranian president said his visit marks the renewal of his allegiance to the late Imam as well as the commitment toward the aspirations of the father of Islamic Revolution.
Addressing a meeting of senior executive, judicial and legislative officials, Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday stressed that continued development and progress calls for the three branches of government to work in harmony and solidarity.
“The government is doing its best to solve the country’s problems and give the people a better life in a prosperous Iran,“ he said.
Briefing the officials on the government’s economic policies--including its emphasis on a just society, he said fair distribution of facilities and resources was a top economic priority of his government.
As to the active diplomacy pursued by his administration, he said the power of enemies to create obstacles to the Iranian nation achieving its goals has been clipped.
“The Iranian nation is determined to succeed and threats or plots of enemies will not deter them,“ he said.
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’Iran’ Verdict Soon
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Jamal Karimi-Rad
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TEHRAN, Aug. 30--Justice Minister Jamal Karimi-Rad said on Wednesday Tehran Public Court’s Branch 1060 will soon decide the fate of the Persian daily ’Iran’.
He expressed hope that ’Iran’ will soon reopen, Mehr News Agency reported.
Karimi-Rad announced that no other court session will be held for ’Iran’ in future, except for announcing the verdict.
Judge Mohammad Saremi acquitted the daily’s managing director, Gholamhossein Eslamifard, during a hearing held in the presence of the Press Jury on Sunday.
Eslamifard’s defense attorney, Qahreman Shojaei, told ISNA that based on the Press Jury’s decision that Eslamifard was not guilty, Judge Saremi acquitted him.
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Khatami Will Visit US
WASHINGTON, Aug. 30--The United States, which is at loggerheads with Iran over Tehran’s nuclear plans, issued a visa on Tuesday to Iran’s former President Mohammad Khatami to visit the United States next week, the State Department said.
State Department Spokesman Tom Casey said the visa allowed Khatami to make a private visit that includes giving a speech at Washington’s National Cathedral next week and attending a UN conference in New York on Sept. 5 and 6, Reuters reported.
The Shiite Muslim cleric would be the most high-profile Iranian to visit Washington since the United States cut diplomatic ties when 52 Americans were being held hostage at the US Embassy in Tehran after the 1979 Islamic revolution.
“The visa for former President Khatami was issued approximately an hour ago and that (issuance of visa) is in keeping with the functions that he had outlined,“ Casey told reporters.
Khatami’s reformist government ceded power last year to current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Casey said there were no restrictions on Khatami’s travel while in the United States and that US visas were also granted to several members of his entourage.
He said there were no plans for US officials to meet with Khatami.
“This is an opportunity in part for former President Khatami to hear the concerns of the American people,“ Casey said. “He is going to get some tough questions.“
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Approach Toward Muslim States Constructive
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Sadeq Zibakalam
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TEHRAN, Aug. 30--A prominent professor said on Wednesday the government has a constructive approach toward the Muslim world and Arab countries.
Sadeq Zibakalam, Tehran University’s professor of political science, also told IRNA that Arab countries respect Iran more than before and have become more interested in its Islamic system.
However, he noted that the interest of Muslim countries in Iran has given rise to an anti-Iran attitude among European states.
Zibakalam also said that the government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has also had a positive performance in domestic politics, noting that the country’s political atmosphere has not changed.
“This is while many people believed that the country’s political atmosphere would become more tense. Hence, the government should receive a positive mark for its performance in the domestic political field,“ he said.
Commenting on the most important challenge faced by Iran with regard to foreign policy, Zibakalam said Iran’s nuclear dossier is the government’s most important problem.
“Iran has two options. One option is to continue with its nuclear activities without paying attention to the US and EU views. The other is to take other countries’ support or make its opponents adopt an impartial stance while insisting on uranium enrichment activities,“ he said.
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Foreign Policy Trend Surveyed
TEHRAN, Aug. 30--Diplomacy is a serious requirement of Iran’s foreign policy strategies, a lawmaker said on Wednesday.
Speaking on the occasion of Government Week (August 24-30), Reza Talaei-Nik, a member of Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, also outlined the performance of the foreign policy apparatus during the last Iranian year (ended March 20), IRNA reported.
Commenting on Iran’s nuclear case, he said the government has increased its diplomatic initiatives, as the visits of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Foreign Ministry officials remarkably increased last year.
“The government determination for political and diplomatic dynamism was eye-catching. However, its achievements were not desirable due to different challenges,“ he said, adding that the government has had a positive performance in influencing public opinion, particularly among Muslim communities.
Asked about ties with developing nations and eastern countries, Talaei-Nik said the current government removed one of the weaknesses of former governments by forging ties with such countries.
He, however, said the government should not ignore interactions with western countries, warning that an immoderate attitude toward the West or East will create problems.
Referring to President Ahmadinejad’s letters to US President George Bush and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the lawmaker said the two letters have had less impact on public opinions.
Talaei-Nik noted that the greater participation of Iranian officials and diplomats in international arenas had a constructive impact.
“Grounds have been prepared for promoting Iran’s status in regional developments and equations,“ he said, stressing that Iran should pay attention to ties with Middle Eastern and Southwest Asian nations.
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UN Talks Expected in Mid Sept.
UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 30--UN talks on Iran’s nuclear program are expected to take place in mid September, two weeks past a UN Security Council deadline for Tehran, Britain’s UN ambassador said on Tuesday.
The UN Security Council has given Iran until Thursday to suspend uranium enrichment and threatened to consider sanctions unless it does so.
Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry said the 15 council member-states would first need to assess a report to be delivered on Thursday on Iranian compliance from the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Vienna-based UN nuclear watchdog, Reuters reported.
“I would expect activities here to resume toward the middle of September,“ when governments would have “a clearer view of exactly how this should be carried forward,“ Jones Parry told reporters.
Mid September is also when presidents and foreign ministers from around the world come to the United Nations for the annual General Assembly session, which makes it probable discussions on Iran will take place then.
But diplomats said Greece, who will assume the rotating council presidency for September, had not set any date for Security Council talks on Iran.
Iran has insisted it would not suspend its nuclear activities, which it contends are for peaceful purposes, despite a package of energy and commercial incentives offered by Germany and the five permanent council members with veto power--the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China.
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Press Value
SHARQ: It is obvious press freedom and free journalism are among indicators of development and distinguishes between underdevelopment and development. The more a government is flexible toward the press, the more and better grounds will be paved for development of a society when its performance and other activities are under the watchful eyes of the print media. It is and should be natural for societies and nations to uphold the value of press freedom and the free flow of news and information as the instruments to help achieve decent levels of growth and development. Governments throughout the world owe their successes to the performance of their mass media. Governments should make appropriate use of the capabilities, potentials and opportunities that is made available by the media.
Youth Needs
KAYHAN: The annual ’Youth Week’ provides another opportunity for discussing the problems of the younger generation. It offers time for pause and thought and concentration on how to employ the tools of planning and social management to lift the quality of life of millions of youth. There are many countries in the world that consider higher populations and the increase in the number of the youth as a threat. They contemplate the larger number of young people as a liability because the young demand jobs and higher standard of living and welfare. Almost 60 percent of Iran’s population are said to be below 30 and the government bears the heavy responsibility of creating jobs for them and providing their needs. Young people need education, work, housing, a family, decent living conditions and social status.
Privatization
DONYA-YE EQTESAD: Privatization means ceding of some responsibilities of the public sector to the non-government sector. From a political-economic view, privatization means letting the private sector take over and do the job more efficiently when compared to the bloated state sectors. Efficiency of private enterprise can be attributed partly to the fact that people who work there have more motivation and initiative in comparison to government employees. Transparency in the privatization process will certainly help better evaluate the government’s policies on issues related to downsizing and doing more with less. Studies conducted by different bodies have found out there exist contradictions about what the government had predicted in the much-publicized campaign to privatize the economy.
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From: Pwelch@swfla.rr.com To: Iran-daily@iran-daily.com Subject: US War Crimes Date: Sunday, August 27, 2006 12:42 AM
George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Condoleezza Rice, Ashcroft, Carl Rove, Alberto Gonzalez and others should be charged immediately with war crimes against humanity, genocide of innocent civilians, treason, aggression against the US Constitution and hundreds of other charges. These people should all be arrested, imprisoned and prosecuted at the ICC in The Hague.
A report on United States’ war crimes against Iraq, sent to the Commission of Inquiry for the International War Crimes Tribunal by Ramsey Clark and others, is presented below:
1. The United States engaged in a pattern of conduct beginning in or before 1989 intended to lead Iraq into provocations justifying US military action against Iraq and permanent US military domination of the Persian Gulf.
2. President Bush from August 2, 1990, intended and acted to prevent any interference with his plan to destroy Iraq economically and militarily.
3. President Bush ordered the destruction of facilities essential to civilian life and economic productivity throughout Iraq.
4. The United States intentionally bombed and destroyed civilian life, commercial and business districts, schools, hospitals, mosques, churches, shelters, residential areas, historical sites, private vehicles and civilian government offices.
5. The United States intentionally bombed indiscriminately throughout Iraq.
6. The United States intentionally bombed and destroyed Iraqi military personnel, used excessive force, killed soldiers seeking to surrender and in disorganized individual flight, often unarmed and far from any combat zones and randomly and wantonly killed Iraqi soldiers and destroyed materiel after the ceasefire.
7. The United States used prohibited weapons capable of mass destruction and inflicting indiscriminate death and unnecessary suffering against both military and civilian targets.
8. The United States intentionally attacked installations in Iraq containing dangerous substances and forces.
9. President Bush ordered US forces to invade Panama, resulting in the deaths of 1,000 to 4,000 Panamanians and the destruction of thousands of private dwellings, public buildings and commercial structures.
10. President Bush obstructed justice and corrupted United Nations functions as a means of securing power to commit crimes against peace and war crimes.
11. President Bush usurped the constitutional power of Congress as a means of securing power to commit crimes against peace, war crimes and other high crimes.
12. The United States waged war on the environment.
13. The US invaded and occupied parts of Iraq without authority in order to increase division and hostility within Iraq.
14. President Bush intentionally deprived the Iraqi people of essential medicines, potable water, food and other necessities.
15. The United States continued its assault on Iraq after the ceasefire, invading and occupying areas at will.
16. The United States has violated and condoned violations of human rights, civil liberties and the US Bill of Rights in the United States, in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere to achieve its purpose of military domination.
17. The United States, having destroyed Iraq’s economic base, demands reparations which will permanently impoverish Iraq and threaten its people with famine and epidemic.
18. President Bush systematically manipulated, controlled, directed, misinformed and restricted press and media coverage to obtain constant support in the media for his military and political goals.
19. The United States has by force secured a permanent military presence in the Persian Gulf, the control of its oil resources and geopolitical domination of the Arabian Peninsula and Persian Gulf.
Paul Welch,
Miami, USA
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