14 June 1999, Volume 2, Number 24
TEHRAN'S NEW MAYOR OUTLINES HIS PLANS.
Two days before he was sworn in as Tehran's new mayor on 8 June, Morteza Alviri described his immediate plans to the municipal council. He said he would campaign against air, sewage, and sound pollution, and would try to alleviate traffic congestion. Alluding to the imprisonment of his predecessor on corruption charges, Alviri promised to promote financial transparency. Alviri also suggested: "The mayor could transfer many welfare and development projects to the private sector. And the ground should be prepared in order to allow foreign and domestic investors to participate in the municipality," "Neshat" reported on 7 June. In his 7 June meeting with President Hojatoleslam Mohammad Khatami, Alviri "stressed the need for further contribution of the private sector, especially Iranians residing abroad, to measures to set up recreational and tourist facilities in Iran." On inauguration day, Alviri said "the current staff will continue in their capacities unless and until they request to be replaced or are incapable of carrying out their tasks."
Advice for Alviri came from former Mayor Gholamhossein Karbaschi, currently imprisoned on corruption charges, in a letter published in "Hamshahri" -- a newspaper affiliated with the Tehran municipality -- on 8 June. As spokesman for the municipal officials who had stayed on after his conviction, and presumably as secretary-general of the Executive of Construction Party, Karbaschi promised "their utmost cooperation." Karbaschi went on to promise: "The managerial structure of this great foundation...continues to remain in force, and the existing staff, who have remained steadfast in the implementation of their duties in the worst possible times, will be your ally and colleague." The letter urged completion of unfinished projects.
On 9 June, Alviri met with Expediency Council chairman Hojatoleslam Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, patron of the Executives of Construction Party. According to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), Alviri described the need for proper planning to deal with Tehran's problems, and "Rafsanjani said in reply that it was necessary to finish incomplete development projects in Tehran."
Coincidentally, "Keyhan International" warned Alviri that "the municipality became the arm of a certain political faction and its massive financial administrative resource were put at the disposal of a certain faction." Hojatoleslam Ali Movahedi-Savoji, who headed the Central Election Supervisory Board that oversaw the municipal council's election, expressed concern that because Alviri had led the Free Trade Zones organization he might want to undo the laws in Tehran, the ultraconservative "Jebheh" reported on 6 June. Movahedi-Savoji also repeated his long-standing complaint about the illegality of the council. (Bill Samii)
LEGISLATION ON ELECTIONS, PRESS, LABOR DIVIDES PARLIAMENT.
In recent weeks the Islamic Consultative Assembly began consideration of draft laws covering elections, the press, and labor. Each of them is generating controversy.
The election law will change the way candidates are chosen for the parliament. Currently, every 150,000 people equal one constituency. Under the new law, every province will constitute one constituency and citizens of the province will elect their representatives accordingly. The bill is backed by the Executives of Construction Party and the Islamic Iran Participation Party, "Tehran Times" reported on 7 June. Also, the law will have an impact on the Guardians Council's controversial role in approving candidates. Deputy Interior Minister Mostafa Tajzadeh said the new law should review any ambiguities, IRNA reported on 5 June. Interior Minister Abdolvahed Musavi Lari told the parliament that the bill proposes examining why a candidate is disqualified, rather than examining the candidate's competency, IRNA reported on 3 June.
A new press law has been proposed by conservatives in the parliament. According to the 7 June "Tehran Times," the law proposes that a complaint against a publication can be filed in an unlimited period. In other words, there is no statute of limitations. Also, there are no provisions for appealing Press Court rulings. A letter from the Press Association said "Tabling bills which are restrictive and which undermine freedom would not only not make the press [corps] law-abiding, but would place them under [a] monopoly by a few people and drive society towards samizdats and other methods," "Jomhuri-yi Islami" reported on 8 June. A similar sentiment was expressed by Tehran city councilor Saeed Hajjarian, "Resalat" reported on 9 June. The deputy minister of Islamic Culture and Guidance for press and publicity affairs, Shaban Shahidi, complained that the parliamentarians had formulated the new law without consulting him or planning properly, state radio reported on 8 June.
The third law deals with labor affairs. On 8 June parliament approved a bill--by a margin of 107 to 93--which exempts firms with three employees or fewer from Iran's labor laws for six years. Current laws make it very difficult to fire anybody, and the new law, in light of Iran's 14-20 percent unemployment, is very unpopular with labor organizations. An article in the 13 May "Khordad" suggested that workers would not be so worried if the Social Security Organization functioned properly and provided proper benefits.
It is hoped that the new law will make Iran more attractive to foreign investors, but President Khatami's administration, which is close to the Islamic Labor Party, opposed it. Labor and Social Affairs Minister Hossein Kamali, a leader of the Islamic Labor Party, said "[the law] means anarchy. It belongs to pre-industrial capitalism," Reuters reported on 8 June. In an interview with "Iran" newspaper, Kamali said the new law would just bring chaos to small businesses.
Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, parliamentarian from Rasht, persuaded his colleagues on 9 June to postpone implementation of the labor law for six months. This has prompted debate among parliamentarians, according to RFE/RL's Persian Service. They wonder how it is that the press law can be drafted so quickly and with no debate, while the labor law passed only after much consideration and even after that passage was suspended. Furthermore, there is great irritation that the administration's proposal to amend election laws was drafted nine months ago but still has not been considered by the parliament. (Bill Samii)
KHATAMI APPEALS TO CONSERVATIVE RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY.
President Khatami is working to expand his base of support beyond youth, women, intellectuals, and foreigners. Two recent speeches suggest that he is appealing to the conservative religious community.
Two days after Khatami commemorated the second anniversary of his election, he traveled to Qom, one of Iran's two most religiously significant cities (Mashhad being the other). The trip to Qom was very important because Iran is a theocratic state, and the Supreme Leader derives legitimacy from and is chosen by other clerics. Secondly, much of what occurs in modern Iran, such as the closure of newspapers and imprisonment of intellectuals, is done in the name of protecting Islam.
Also, the seminaries in Qom are potentially powerful political players. During the 1997 election, for example, there was much discussion about which candidate would receive endorsements from the Qom Theological Lecturers Association (Jameh-yi Mudarisin-i Howzeh-yi Elmiyeh-yi Qom) and the Qom Theological Seminaries (Howzeh-yi Elmiyeh-yi Qom). Initially, the bodies refused to endorse anybody. After an embarrassing public debate, the seminaries endorsed the losing conservative candidate, Hojatoleslam Ali Akbar Nateq-Nuri.
Khatami's speech on 25 May at Qom's Hazrat Masumeh Shrine was designed to appeal to the clerics and to send them a clear message. Throughout it he emphasized religion's importance as the basis for Iran's "independence, freedom, and national sovereignty." Khatami said clerics must defend religion by responding to the younger generation's needs and answering their questions. Religious scholars can "defend religiosity in today's world" by combining the achievements of great ulama with modern needs.
The president said "religion has been the secret of our success, in the same way as the clerical foundation has," but "the failure of the clergy to understand the present time can also initiate our downfall." He warned: "What is important is that society should not become isolated from religion and clergy. The esteemed spiritual leaders should also equip themselves so they can respond to society's problems and its needs today and tomorrow." Khatami reiterated young people's importance and clerics need to "understand the present time."
Khatami then emphasized the importance of acting within a constitutional framework, saying: "This is our constitution. If we want Islam, we must support the constitution. ... anybody who wants freedom, a civil society, Islam [and] jurisprudence should, to all intents and purposes, defend the constitution."
The day after making this speech, Khatami met with a number of the most senior clerics and sources of emulation: Grand Ayatollahs Mohammad Fazel Movahedi-Lankarani, Yusef Janati-Sanei, Abdol-Karim Musavi-Ardabili, Mohammad Hussein Vahid-Khorasani, Lotfollah Safi-Golpayegani, Mohammad Taqi Behjat, Nasser Makarem-Shirazi, Musa Shobeiri-Zanjani, and Hussein Nuri-Hamedani. In one meeting, "Iran Vij" reported on 29 May, Khatami advised alertness so people will not tear down religion. In another, he said "We must all try to prevent possible mistakes being laid at Islam's and the clergy's feet."
Some of the clerics expressed concern about what appears in the press in the name of freedom, "Javan" reported on 31 May, while others worried about the separation of Islam and government. After speaking with Khatami, the senior clerics seemed pleased. Musavi-Tabrizi said the president reassured him, "Sobh-i Imruz" reported on 31 May, and his questions were answered.
The success of Khatami's trip was indicated most eloquently by the Rasht Friday Prayer leader, Ayatollah Sadeq Ehsanbakhsh. He said, according to the 29 May "Iran Daily:" "During his recent visit to Qom, the president clarified his viewpoints at his meeting with the clerics. These points must be observed by all."
While the trip to Qom had the personal touch and addressed the senior clergy's political and intellectual concerns, an 8 June speech by Khatami probably did a great deal more to reassure them. In an address thanking benefactors of the Endowments and Charitable Affairs Organization, Khatami urged revival and promotion of the waqf (endowment) tradition. He then said it was essential to provide "necessary facilities and privileges for the benefactors," IRNA reported.
Like any good politician, Khatami attended to local issues while in Qom, such as the inauguration of several development projects, including the Kianoush soft drink plant and the Laleh Mehregan blanket factory. The Shalefchegan trade zone and a water treatment plant that will supply 25 villages were launched, too, Qom Governor General Qorban Ali Saadat told IRNA. Saadat believes such projects will create 10,000 jobs.
Khatami also discussed these local topics in his 25 May speech. He admitted that the infrastructure has not kept pace with population growth and promised to resolve the problems, "even by borrowing money from abroad." (Bill Samii)
FURTHER DISQUIET IN RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY.
While President Mohammad Khatami was "commenting on the importance of the role played by the ulama and the clergymen from seminaries," "Neshat" daily reported on 27 May, there was a disturbance in the audience. A spectator displayed a photograph of regime critic Ayatollah Hussein Ali Montazeri, who is under house arrest. The newspaper reported that "after a few moments, the person was attacked and beaten up by two plainclothes officers ... then arrested and taken away."
Unhappiness over the disruption of Ayatollah Yusef Janati-Sanei's lecture over his condemnation of the judiciary (see "RFE/RL Iran Report," 7 June 1999) continues. According to "Iran" on 7 June and the English-language "Iran Daily" on 8 June, the Kumayl Association of Qom blamed "the adherents of monopolism" for the attack, and it said "such people think of themselves as the only supporters of the Islamic system." (Bill Samii)
KHATAMI, REYSHAHRI CONCUR ON GUARDIANS COUNCIL.
Either to reassure the religious establishment while making a point about the limit of its power, or because of his own ideological and theocratic values, relatively moderate President Khatami spoke out in favor of the Guardians Council during his 25 May speech in Qom. In an interview published the day before, hardliner Hojatoleslam Mohammad Mohammadi Reyshahri also spoke favorably about the Guardians Council.
While Reyshahri's comments are what might have been expected, Khatami's may inflame the debate about "advisory supervision"--the determining of the eligibility of candidates for elected office--which recently re-entered political discourse in Iran.
In mid-May, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said anybody questioning this role of the Guardians Council intends to undermine the system (see "RFE/RL Iran Report," 24 May 1999). His sentiments seemed to put the stamp of finality on what had become a heated discussion. The Assembly of Experts, which is the only body entitled to dismiss the Supreme Leader, supported this view, "Tehran Times" reported on 24 May.
In Qom, Khatami said the constitution is "the principal foundation of the Islamic Republic." And the constitution stipulates that the Guardians Council must confirm the validity of any law and its compatibility with Islam. By specifying what the Guardians Council is constitutionally entitled to do, Khatami was implying what the Guardians Council cannot do.
Defenders of the Guardians Council's role in vetting candidates cite constitutional Article 99, but in fact this makes no mention of approving candidates, it only addresses supervising elections.
Reyshahri said "the principal task [of the Guardians Council] is to safeguard the Islamic nature of the Islamic Republic system," "Jomhuri-yi Islami" reported on 24 May. The "vital instrument" for doing this is supervising elections. "If you deprive the Guardians Council of that instrument then you will expose the system to grave dangers." According to Reyshahri, "Article 99 of the constitution explicitly endorses the consultative supervision."
Ayatollah Mohammad Abai-Khorasani, secretary of the Qom Association of Seminary Students and Lecturers (Majmae-yi Mudarisin Va Muhaqiqin-i Howzeh-yi Elmieh-yi Qom) thinks otherwise, according to the relatively liberal "Arya" on 26 May. He said the Guardians Council must judge elections, not the competence of individuals. By judging candidates, the Guardians Council takes electoral power from the people, Abai-Khorasani opined.
Mohammad Reza Bahonar, a member of the parliament's presiding board, also disagrees with Reyshahri. Speaking to a student gathering at Isfahan's Malek Ashtar Technical University, Bahonar said "supervision is meaningless in the absence of interference," IRNA reported on 1 June.
The Guardians Council's role in approving candidates will continue to be debated. And the contentiousness of the issue will increase as the countdown to the spring 2000 parliamentary elections continues. (Bill Samii)
IRAN VIEWS KASHMIR CONFLICT WITH CONCERN.
The conflict in Kashmir, having entered its third week, has the potential to escalate into a major conflict between nuclear powers on Iran's doorstep. Indian artillery and aircraft assaults against what New Delhi calls insurgent positions in Kashmir last month have been accompanied by incendiary commentary. New Delhi says some 200 guerrillas, mostly Afghan mercenaries and Pakistan regular army troops, have been killed, as have 50 Indian soldiers. Pakistan and the militants, meanwhile, have shot down three Indian aircraft.
Iranian leadership figures recognize the potential danger of this conflict. Just days after hostilities commenced, for example, Ayatollah Abdullah Vaez-Javadi-Amoli preached restraint at the Qom Friday Prayers sermon. On 28 May he said: "Unfortunately the situation in Kashmir between Pakistan and India is going to bring chaos to the region. I hope that they are going to find their senses. I pray that they will not turn this safe region into an area of insecurity." Also, Iran's commercial interests would be ill-served by a conflict.
Iran might thus appear to be a possible intermediary. But so far, neither Pakistan nor India, nor Iran itself, have shown enthusiasm for anything other than UN intervention. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, for example, wrote to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to request reinforcement of the UN Observer Mission in Kashmir and to initiate a dialog between the two countries, AP reported on 30 May. The English-language daily "Iran News" also urged UN mediation because it believed the Indian and Pakistani governments started the conflict to distract the public from domestic problems.
The warring parties probably do not see Iran as a neutral party. From the Indian perspective, there will be concern that Iran is biased on religious grounds: Iran is the current chairman of the Organization of the Islamic Conference; and many Pakistani Shia look to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as a source of emulation. Also, the two countries are cooperating on a refinery project in Baluchistan.
Pakistan, meanwhile, realizes that Iran resents its support of the Afghan Taliban. Also, Tehran is unhappy with Islamabad's failure to punish the killers of Iranian nationals by zealots from the Sunni Sipah-i Sahaba Pakistan (SSP).
Also, India has greater commercial potential for Iran. "The Hindu" daily reported on 25 May that India is considering gas pipelines from the Caspian Sea and Central Asia through Iran, and it also was considering use of Bandar Abbas. In February, Kharrazi visited New Delhi to discuss medical, railway, telecommunications, agricultural, and satellite cooperation. He also discussed political issues with his counterpart, Jaswant Singh. At that time, Singh emphasized his country's interest in gas exploration, IRNA reported on 23 February.
Several Tehran dailies have seen the Kashmir conflict as another opportunity to criticize the West. "Kayhan International" editorialized on 27 May that because "NATO attacked the Indian ambassador's residence in Belgrade," this led to Indian air raids in Pakistan, so the UN should act rather than allowing the precedent set by NATO to continue. Three days later, "Kayhan International" criticized more explicitly: "India, a big Asian power, has decided to follow in Washington's footsteps." (Bill Samii)
IRAN'S KHARRAZI VISITS GEORGIA.
On 10-12 June Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi was in Tbilisi to sign a Memorandum of Understanding on joint counter-narcotics efforts with his Georgian and Armenian counterparts, Irakli Menagarishvili and Vardan Oskanyan. The UN Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention, on signing the MOU, will provide funding. This is timely because on 27 May Tbilisi's "Kavkasia-Press" reported the arrest of two Iranian citizens for trying to sell opium they had smuggled into Georgia.
Kharrazi also participated in bilateral meetings with other Georgian officials, such as President Eduard Shevardnadze and parliamentary speaker Zurab Zhvania. Kharrazi and Shevardnadze, according to IRNA, "agreed that Iran and Georgia should collaborate ... in the area of trade and sciences in the future."
In fact, they already do. According to a 1997 Georgian state chancellery document, Iran bought $36,000 in Georgian nuclear reactor components. In March 1996 "Science" magazine reported that university representatives from Iran were successfully recruiting Georgian scientists and physicists by playing on Georgia's underemployment. Physicists at Tbilisi State University were offered $1,000 a month for one or two year contracts, according to scientist Tamaz Butkhuzi. Temuri Yakobashvili, Americas desk officer at the Georgian Foreign Ministry and himself a former physicist, stated that at least 30 Georgian scientists were working in the Iranian nuclear industry by July 1997. This was confirmed by academician Giorgi Kharadze, director of Georgia's Institute of Physics.
Georgia also supplies Iran with ferro-manganese, chemicals, minerals, and agricultural chemicals. Kharrazi and his Georgian counterparts also discussed transportation issues, IRNA reported. The proposal that Georgia join the Armenian-Greek-Iranian trilateral economic cooperation was also considered. Greece's Deputy Foreign Minister Grigoris Niotis said "Tbilisi's adherence to cooperation with Yerevan, Athens, and Tehran would be most desirable and Greece is trying to interest Georgia in this question," Yerevan's "Yerkir" newspaper reported in mid-May.
Georgia's close relations with Iran and Armenia may seem odd, considering the other countries to which it is close. On 22 May Shevardnadze met with Israel's then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss oil pipelines and increased economic cooperation. And at the end of February, Shevardnadze, Menagarishvili, Defense Minister Davit Tevsadze, and Aslan Abashidze, leader of the autonomous Ajaria Oblast, met with their Turkish counterparts in Ankara and Istanbul to discuss pipelines, telecommunications, rail transport, reconstruction of the Batumi airport, and joint security issues. (Bill Samii)
MYKONOS ASSASSIN TO BE RELEASED?
Referring to the release on bail of German businessman Helmut Hoffer, sentenced to death in Tehran for having premarital sex with a Muslim woman, the Munich newspaper "Sueddeutsche Zeitung" asked on 12 April: "How much did German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's chief of staff Bodo Hombach pay ... What did the chancellor's chief string-puller promise in return?" A possible answer came in the 7 June "Berliner Morgenpost." The daily reported that when Hombach was in Tehran recently it was agreed that in exchange for Hofer's freedom, Germany will release Iranian national Kazem Darabi, who is serving a life sentence for his role in the assassination of Iranian dissidents in Berlin's Mykonos restaurant in September 1992. Although Darabi was convicted, warrants are still outstanding for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, former President Hojatoleslam Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, former Intelligence Minister Ali Akbar Fallahian-Khuzestani, and former Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati, who allegedly ordered the killings. On 8 June, however, the German Chancellor's Office denied the report that Darabi would be released, although "Lebanese citizen Amin" had been, Cologne's government-funded Deutschlandefunk radio reported. (Bill Samii)
Compiled by A. William Samii.
Copyright (c) 2002. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org
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