DATE=5/27/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=IRAN/PARLIAMENT (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-262876
BYLINE=LISA BRYANT
DATELINE=CAIRO
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Iran's first reformist-dominated parliament in
20 years has convened in Tehran. From Cairo, Lisa
Bryant reports that the opening ceremony Saturday
included an appeal by President Mohammed Khatami for
lawmakers to focus on economic reforms and social
justice.
TEXT: The first day of the parliament began with
strains of Iran's national anthem and verses from the
Koran. Later, President Khatami called on the new
parliamentarians to avoid artificial confrontation and
establish an atmosphere of trust during their four-
year term.
A statement by the nation's supreme Leader, Ali
Khameini, joined Mr. Khatami's appeal for the
parliament to work on shoring up Iran's ailing economy
and addressing its soaring unemployment problem.
Ayatollah Khamenei also warned the lawmakers about so-
called enemies of the country. These enemies, he
said, were spreading propaganda that the parliament
was against the spirit of Iran's 1979 Islamic
revolution.
Among the dignitaries attending the inaugural session
was former Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani. Mr.
Rafsanjani placed last in Tehran's parliamentary
elections. Later, he was bumped to 20th place, which
guaranteed him a seat in the new assembly. But in a
surprise move Thursday, Mr. Rafsanjani resigned his
seat. Conservatives had been expecting to nominate
him as a candidate for parliamentary speaker.
The opening of the parliament ends weeks of
uncertainty and conflict surrounding the composition
of the 290-seat assembly. About three-quarters of the
new lawmakers are moderates allied with President
Khatami.
Although reformists won a resounding victory in
February elections, others later faced a second round
of balloting. And Iran's conservative Guardian
Council delayed endorsing results of Tehran's
elections for three months, claiming the voting had
been riddled with (EDS: tainted by) fraud.
The next challenge facing moderate lawmakers will come
in the next few days, as the parliament elects a
speaker and a presiding board. Who is elected will
offer a clearer indication of the reformists'
strength.
Moreover, hard-liners still control key parts of the
government, including the judiciary and the security
forces. In what has been seen as a conservative
backlash, the hard-line Press Court has closed more
than a dozen reformist newspapers. The banned papers
include one published by President Khatami's brother,
Mohammed Reza Khatami.
Mr. Khatami is among the moderates who now dominate
Iran's new parliament. (Signed)
NEB/LB/ALW/JP
27-May-2000 08:48 AM EDT (27-May-2000 1248 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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