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Turkey Ties Unaffected
Khatami Talks With Sezer, Erdogan
TEHRAN, Sept. 27--President Mohammad Khatami, in separate telephone conversations Sunday with his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, stressed continuation of cordial and historical relations between Tehran and Ankara.
"While I respect mutual relations between the two nations, I also have high regard for the decision taken by the Majlis and view my acceptance of such a decision as a token of democracy," Khatami added, IRNA reported.
He also said that the Iranian Parliament is keen to expand bilateral ties between the two countries and what has happened is a natural disagreement. He said the Majlis has not annulled the agreements signed between the two nations.
"While I defend my government's commitments, I am positive that a resolution between the government and Majlis will soon be thrashed out, following which the grounds will avail themselves for my trip to Turkey," he said.
Sezer said, "Your decision will not make a dent in the strong friendship between Iran and Turkey. We also regard these problems as natural. In our country there arise similar issues between the parliament and government which have to be dealt with in a democratic manner."
He also said Khatami is welcome to visit Turkey at any time in the future.
The Turkish prime minister expressed his country's interest in expansion of ties with Tehran, saying "Ankara is prepared to welcome Khatami in the near future."
The government Sunday postponed President Mohammad Khatami's visit to Turkey after the Iranian Parliament approved a bill to restrict operations of two Turkish companies in the Islamic Republic.
Khatami had planned to visit Turkey in the coming days, but Government Spokesman Abdollah Ramezanzadeh said Sunday the trip would not go ahead as long as the fate of a contract for airport construction and operation, and a deal with a Turkish Telecommunications Company has not been decided.
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Kidnapped Diplomat Freed
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TV grab taken from the Al-Arabiya news channel shows Iranian hostage Fereidoun Jahani, a diplomat kidnapped in Iraq two months ago, was freed and is safe in the Iranian embassy in Baghdad, the Iranian Foreign Ministry announced Sunday. (AFP Photo)
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TEHRAN, Sept. 27--An Iranian diplomat, who was kidnapped in Iraq in August, has been freed and is now at the Iranian Embassy in Baghdad, the satellite TV channel Al-Alam said Monday.
Fereidoun Jahani was abducted by a group calling itself Islamic Army in Iraq on August 4 on his way to Karbala from Baghdad, where he was to assume his consular duties, IRNA reported.
The release comes on the heels of a meeting between Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi and his Iraqi counterpart Hoshyar Zebari in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations' annual meeting, in which they discussed the matter.
Jahani's relatives on Monday were cited as having criticized officials for being 'lackadaisical' in following up his fate.
According to press reports, his father accused the Foreign Ministry of "providing no assistance" to establish the whereabouts of his son.
"More than 50 days have passed since the abduction of my son. While we have regularly kept in touch with Iran's Embassy in Iraq and the Foreign Ministry during this period, we have not been provided with any clear answer," the daily Kayhan quoted him as saying.
"This shows the officials are not following up the issue," he added.
According to Jahani's mother, cited by Kayhan, the diplomat's family wants to know "what group has kidnapped him and what are their demands for his release".
Jahani's wife, Saideh Tavassoli, also protested against what she called the Iranian officials' 'laxity' in following up his fate, according to the paper.
Iran said Sunday it has made all diplomatic efforts for the release of the diplomat.
"We have taken many measures for the release of Jahani and used all our diplomatic capacities," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said.
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Rafsanjani Stresses Iraqi Solidarity
TEHRAN, Sept. 27--State Expediency Council Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani here Sunday underlined the need for establishment of unity and solidarity among all Iraqi religious and national groups and tribes.
In a meeting with leader of Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) Masoud Barzani, Rafsanjani stressed that the Iraqi nation's enemies try to take advantage of disputes among different Iraqi groups in order to plunder the country's resources, IRNA reported.
He urged Washington to leave Iraq and let the Iraqi people administer their own country.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran is interested in preserving Iraqi national unity and territorial integrity as well as freedom of the Iraqi nation," he said, adding that Tehran will spare no efforts to that end.
The SEC chief stressed that holding a free election with the mass participation of the Iraqi people will help establish peace and stability in that war-torn country.
Briefing Rafsanjani on latest developments in his country, Barzani said if the occupiers acted upon articles of the statement issued at the end of the London Conference, they would not have faced such challenges and difficulties.
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Police Not to Buckle Under Political Pressure
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Brigadier Morteza Talaie
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TEHRAN, Sept 27--Tehran's Police Chief Brigadier Morteza Talaie confirmed activities of his forces would not be manipulated by politics of the two factions.
"The police will perform their legal duties, irrespective of the responses of political parties--approval or disapproval," he said in an interview with IRNA Tuesday.
Stating that actions carried out by the police during summer throughout the capital might have irked certain circles, he said public satisfaction is the main priority and that forms the basis of all police activities.
"We are confident of our stance and have all along expected unfavorable responses from certain groups," he said, noting that the police have to confront social maladies that have become a norm.
Brigadier Talaie noted that concrete and even forceful action needs to be taken to provide maximum security and safety to the citizens.
"Any improvement in police behavior should be accompanied by improvement in the cultural and ethical attitudes of the entire society," he said.
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Foreign Contract Bill Harmful
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Akbar Alami
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TEHRAN, Sept. 27--Majlis should not approve a double-urgency bill pertaining to foreign contracts since it is against the country's interests, a member of Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission said.
Akbar Alami also told IRNA that opponents cannot prove that Iran has breached its pledges even by spending millions of dollars for this purpose.
"However, approval of this bill will provide the opponents with what they had waited for a long time," he said.
The MP from Tabriz opined that President Mohammad Khatami's cancellation of his visit to Turkey in protest to the Majlis bill prevents damaging Iran's credibility.
"The Guardians Council will negatively react to this Majlis decision. Conditioning the signing of contracts to Majlis approval is tantamount to breaching these contracts," he said.
Alami noted that approval of this bill not only damages Iran's political reputation, it makes foreigners lose confidence in Iran's sincerity toward its commitments.
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Gov't to Guarantee Security of Tourists
TEHRAN, Sept. 27--A key council on Saturday approved macro policies for cultural heritage and tourism, an advisor to Iran's Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization said.
"Based on these policies the government is obliged to guarantee security of foreign tourists," Gholamhosein Takaffoli told Cultural Heritage News Agency.
He further said that according to the first clause of these policies, all Iranians should protect and introduce Iran's cultural, natural and historical heritage.
"The second clause of these policies reiterate the inherent value of Iran's cultural heritage at the national and international levels for enhancing Iran's cultural identity," he said.
Takaffoli noted that the third clause of these policies reiterate enhancement of public culture with regard to cultural heritage and tourism by making use of educational, cultural and media potentials.
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Salamati Elected Reformist Council's Chief
TEHRAN, Sept. 27--Mohammad Salamati was elected rotating chairman of the Coordinating Council of the Second Khordad Front Sunday.
Members of the Coordinating Council' Presiding Board are elected once every three months.
Salamati, who is also secretary-general of the Islamic Revolution's Mujahideen Organization, told IRNA that Seyyed Hadi Khamenei, representative of the Assembly of Followers of Imam's Path, was elected the council's vice chairman, and Hosein Kamali, representative of Islamic Labor Party, was elected the council's secretary.
Commenting on a report by a seven-member committee to follow up Mir Hosein Mousavi's likely candidacy in next year's presidential election, Salamati said it was decided that the committee should convince Mousavi to stand in the presidential election.
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Sadr Appointed Presidential Advisor
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Mohammad Sadr
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TEHRAN, Sept. 26--President Mohammad Khatami in a decree issued here Sunday appointed Mohammad Sadr as his new advisor, according to the Presidential office.
According to IRNA, Sadr had formerly served as deputy foreign minister for
Arab-African affairs.
The decree noted Mohammad Sadr's valuable services as deputy foreign minister.
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Ideal
DONYA-YE EQTESAD: Philosophy behind the formation of political parties is creating a competitive atmosphere where different parties can take part in a healthy rivalry. Moreover, political parties should avoid engaging in violent activities that are typically deemed as harmful to other entities. Furthermore, the main function of political parties is narrowing the political rift by focusing on common aspects and transforming threats into opportunities. With regard to the economic role of political parties, it could be asserted that political parties are duty-bound to improve the people's economic conditions through tackling their everyday problems. It seems that the most ideal method for coordinating decision-making processes is through using democratic means.
Impeachment
MARDOMSALARI: Impeachment of Roads and Transportation Minister Ahmad Khorram was a heated topic of discussion last week. However, most sections of the print media focused on this subject whether Khorram would be impeached in an open or closed Majlis session. Reformers and some conservatives have objected to the manner in which Khorram's impeachment motion has been launched. The point is that even the fundamentalist members of the parliament have objected to the issue of establishment of a seven-member committee to hold talks with Khorram about his impeachment. At any rate, many people are of the opinion that Khorram's impeachment would be held in a closed Majlis session.
Controversial
HAMVATAN: Political personalities and people have reacted differently to the Majlis double-urgency bill according to which the government should seek the parliament's approval for signing contracts with foreign companies. Proponents of the controversial bill claim that the bill aims to regulate Iran's contracts with foreign companies. On the other hand, opponents of the bill believe that it is disgraceful because in the long run it makes foreign companies reluctant to invest in national developmental projects. Majlis and government should try to settle their differences urgently as unprecedented political developments are taking place in the country.
Scapegoat
AFARINESH: Iran's nuclear dossier is presently in a critical stage, as Iran's spokesman at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in a recent interview said that IAEA would most probably refer Iran's nuclear dossier to the UN Security Council. Although a number of parameters are involved in Iran's case, no one can deny the negligence on behalf of the Iranian side. It seems that the team responsible for following up on Iran's case in IAEA was not successful. This is while the members of this team have been trying to blame the whole system for the no progress made in relation to the dossier.
Weakness
AFTAB-E YAZD: Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi recently commented on the issue of different viewpoints among Iranian politicians. His comments are worth further consideration. Asefi recalled that the prevalence of different viewpoints indicates that everyone can freely express whatever he or she wants and that the atmosphere of pluralism prevails. However, everyone knows that lack of coordination among officials is a weakness and not a source of strength. Asefi made his remarks at the time when the renowned Iranian philosopher and academic, Abdolkarim Soroush, was beaten up in the holy city of Qom while delivering a speech. It is exactly for the lack of coordination among officialdom that foreigners have permitted themselves to comment on our internal affairs.
Watchful
HAMSHAHRI: Iraq's Prime Minister Iyad Allawi in his recent tour of US and Europe has been trying to portray that Iraq's conditions have considerably improved after the US invasion of that country in March, 2003. This is while Allawi is not even that popular inside Iraq. One important point is that since the Iraqi government cannot act independently from the US, its policies vis-ˆ-vis the banned Iranian opposition group, Mujahideen Khalq Organization (MKO), are exactly the same as Washington's. Hence, as the US is currently using MKO as a tool against the Islamic system, Iran should be very careful in expanding ties with Iraq.
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