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Call for Holding Competitive Presidential Poll
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President Mohammad Khatami and Majlis Speaker Gholamali Haddad-Adel are seen in the second joint meeting between the government and Majlis in Tehran on Wednesday. (ISNA Photo)
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TEHRAN, Dec. 3--President Mohammad Khatami late on Wednesday reminded Iranian lawmakers of the need for holding competitive elections, where eligible groups of all political hue get an even chance in the next presidential race, tentatively slated for May 2005.
Stressing the public demand for the rule of law and a civil society, Khatami told the parliament session that Iran stands at another historical juncture, namely the elections, and conditions for a massive participation of the people must be prepared to hold a lively election, IRNA reported.
"We must learn how to compete in being diverse and plural, and must not mistake competition for fighting. The thinking that only one preference rules the society and that unity should be sought within such an ideology is both impossible and unfavorable," he said.
The president stressed that it is impossible to realize democracy and meet people's demands in a totalitarian culture where self-centeredness, isolationism and opposition to pluralism prevail.
"To realize the will of the people and their objectives, there is no other way than maintaining unity," he said, citing the sensitive political situation facing the country.
Khatami reiterated the need for creating conditions where all groups and political parties loyal to the system and the constitution can call on the people to participate in the polls and hold a lively election.
This was followed by the speeches of lawmakers here Wednesday which focused on the latest domestic developments as well as budgetary issues.
Vice Chairman of Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Mohammad Nabi Roudaki called for an increase in defense and security budgets.
Health Commission Chairman Omidvar Rezaei sought a reduction in treatment fees, better medical services, more attention to credits needed by the Welfare and Social Affairs Ministry and establishment of a comprehensive health database.
Mines and Industry Commission Chairman Seyyed Hassan Hashemi said withdrawing money from the Foreign Exchange Reserve Fund to provide facilities to major industries and exporters could be channeled to support investors. Development Commission Chairman Ali Akbar Aqaei reiterated the need to complete key national development projects and to pay more attention to the roads and transportation sector.
Economic Commission Vice Chairman Mohammad Khoshchehreh reminded the president that presently the manufacturing sector is facing heavy pressure and so are government employees.
MP Gholamhossein Mozaffari criticized the frequent withdrawal of money from the Foreign Exchange Reserve Fund as an unwise and inexpert move.
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Two Bloggers Released
TEHRAN, Dec. 3--Two bloggers arrested for working with certain Internet sites were released late on Wednesday.
Omid Memarian and Shahram Rafizadeh were freed from Evin Prison on a bail of 50 million rials each, ISNA reported.
Both the web loggers were arrested on October 10 while at work and their computers and documents confiscated.
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Voter Turnout Signifies Political Development
TEHRAN, Dec. 3--Interior minister said on Thursday that paying heed to voter turnout in general elections is a symbol of political development.
Addressing the closing ceremony of the Exhibition on Achievements of the Interior Ministry, Abdolvahed Mousavi Lari asserted that many discussions in early 1999 created contradictions between economic and political developments.
"Development can be achieved by considering political development as the basis," he stressed.
Noting that hostility, and not rivalry, is prevalent in the political field, Lari said the Political Parties Charter, which was recently distributed among political parties, contained ethics of political rivalry.
"The total number of political parties in 1999 were 38 and this has increased to 200 nationwide," he noted.
Lari pointed out that political development cannot be restricted to a certain region.
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Reformists Should Safeguard Republicanism
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Mehdi Karroubi
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TEHRAN, Dec. 3--Former Majlis Speaker Mehdi Karroubi on Thursday called on reformists to safeguard the republican nature of the system.
Addressing the third nationwide meeting of Mardomsalari (Democracy) Party, Karroubi said Islam is deeply rooted in Iran and no danger threatens it, but what is vulnerable is the republicanism of the system, IRNA reported.
"Islam protects the people's social rights and they support Islam. The government should present the lofty principles of Islam to the people in a way they like best," he said.
Karroubi, who is also the secretary-general of Assembly of Combatant Clerics (ACC), stressed that the high public turnout in the upcoming presidential elections is the only way to save the republican feature of the system.
The 9th presidential election is slated for May 2005 and the future president will take office in August.
Karroubi called on all parties to avoid factionalism and strengthen their solidarity.
Talking to reporters on the meeting's sidelines, Karroubi said he would soon announce his decision about the 9th presidential election candidacy, stating that he has not yet made up his mind.
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UN Appreciates Support for Iraq Security
TEHRAN, Dec. 3--UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Representative Ashraf Jahangir Qazi here on Thursday thanked Iran for supporting efforts to restore peace and security to Iraq.
In a meeting with Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi, Qazi hailed Iran's initiative to hold the Conference of the Interior Ministers of Iraq's Neighboring Countries which was attended by eight countries, IRNA reported.
Also welcoming the final communique of the conference and the guidelines offered by President Mohammad Khatami in his keynote address to the conference, Qazi welcomed Iran's cooperation with the UN agencies regarding Iraq. He said the UN is striving to hold timely elections in Iraq.
Kharrazi stressed the pivotal role of the UN in establishing peace and stability in Iraq, stating that Iran is ready for all cooperation with the UN in connection with Iraq.
Qazi was in Tehran to attend the conference of Iraq's neighbors.
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Abtahi Defends Online Journalism
Old Guard Running Youthful Society
TEHRAN, Dec. 3--Political motivations rather than moral and social concerns are behind legal prosecutions and arrest of online journalists, said a presidential advisor.
Seyyed Mohammad Ali Abtahi also told ISNA on Friday that today's generation is far more advanced than the last generation.
"Differences between the two generations emanate from their dissimilar attitudes and views toward the world," he said.
Abtahi lamented the fact that an aged management is running the affairs of an energetic and youthful society. "Apparently, the old management is not willing to step down," he said.
The presidential advisor also said that online reporting is an effective means for promoting the language, culture and history of a nation.
"This specific strata has a crucial role in strengthening the national spirit and bringing social classes closer," he said.
Abtahi said the practice can help reduce social offenses by effectively filling youth's leisure time.
"I myself am a blogger and write in my weblog freely without committing self-censorship," he said.
Disputing remarks that blogging is degrading to a cleric, Abtahi said he wouldn't agree with it because working online brings you closer to the people of various backgrounds.
"In fact, I think, losing touch with the masses harms clergy the most," he said.
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No Independent ICP Candidate
TABRIZ, East Azarbaijan, Dec. 3--Islamic Coalition Party (ICP) will not name any independent candidate for the upcoming presidential elections, said the party's secretary-general, Mohammad Nabi Habibi, here on Thursday.
Habibi told reporters, "This does not mean ICP will not have a specific candidate; rather its favorite candidate would not be the one opposed to the ongoing fundamentalist trends in the country's political scene."
He said his party would support the candidate proposed by the fundamentalist groups and factions.
The ICP chief added that what's of importance for his party is high public turnout in the May 2005 presidential elections.
Habibi said stiff competition among the candidates campaigning within the framework of the law and ideals of the Islamic Revolution would guarantee high voter turnout.
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IAEA Resolution
ABRAR: International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors eventually issued its resolution on Iran's nuclear dossier. IAEA's resolution gave a new dimension to Iran-European Union talks. The most important advantage of the resolution was that cooperation between Iran and IAEA would continue and that IAEA would supervise Iran's nuclear activities. Since the US has not gained what it wanted from the resolution, it can essentially be considered as an achievement for Iran. Washington tried hard to take Iran's nuclear dossier to the United Nations Security Council. However, both Iran and the European Union did their best to have Iran's nuclear dossier settled within the IAEA. It seems that Tel Aviv and Washington will not remain silent and they will spare no efforts to create problems for Iran.
Mismanagement
AFARINESH: The majority of people believe that the most important problem facing the society at present is mismanagement at different levels. The phenomenon of mismanagement can be detected in the majority of ministries, companies, factories and institutions of the country. Hence, a strategy that should be taken into account is paying attention to the issue of sound management. The bottom line is that we need to adopt a scientific model for management if we are to witness our managerial modus operandi improve. Furthermore, performance of managers should be assessed on the basis of this model.
Recession
DONYA-YE EQTESAD: Iran's housing industry has been facing recession in the past several years. Moreover, solutions proposed by experts for overcoming this recession have not worked out. It seems that the government should maintain its distance from traditional methods in order for the housing industry to pick up. The government should think of ways of appealing to potential investors in the housing sector. Moreover, the government should stop its monopoly in this sector. Another problem, which deserves a mention here, is the absence of a logical relationship between supply and demand in the housing market.
Not Forgotten
IRAN: When the Sixth Majlis was reviewing a bill pertaining to withdrawing money from the Hard Currency Reserve Fund, a conservative lawmaker insisted that this fund should not be used only for compensating budgetary deficit. The same lawmaker, who belonged to the minority faction at that time, is now a member of the Seventh Majlis majority faction. Surprisingly enough, this person has now become a staunch supporter of withdrawing from Hard Currency Reserve Fund as if he totally forgot about his previous stance. Nevertheless, the people have not forgotten those individuals who spoke in favor of economic welfare and criticized the Sixth Majlis for paying too much attention to political development.
Consensus
TOSEH: Although fundamentalists have already introduced their favorite candidates for the next presidential election, reformers have not yet reached a consensus on their favorite nominee or nominees for the vital event. Of course, the majority of reformers realize that they should reach an agreement over one single candidate. If reformers took a glance at their defeats and weaknesses in the past eight years, they would come to know the importance of having consensus over one particular candidate at this juncture. Meanwhile, there are presently rumors regarding the massive disqualification of reformers by the Guardians Council in the coming months. If these rumors are true, then a conscious mind is bound to think that the GC has deviated from its normal course of action.
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'New' Human Rights
By Hossein Pouya
Relations between Iran and Canada over the past year reveal upheavals that led to new and unheard of renderings of the concept of human rights.
One such upheaval came to the fore when the Canadian government reacted irresponsibly to the murder of an Iranian national, Keyvan Tabesh, in Port Moody.
The Canadian government also decided that it could politicize judicial considerations under the pretext of maintaining its judicial independence. This is while if a similar incident had occurred elsewhere, the Canadian government would have provoked international sentiments and conveyed that human rights have been violated.
If injustice and violation of human rights are viewed as an insult to the Canadian people then why is it that the religious minorities of Canada are mistreated? Why did the Canadian statesmen resort to demagoguery in the case of Tabesh? Doesn't the concept of justice have a universal meaning? Is it that this concept is interpreted differently in different hemispheres? Haven't human beings reached common understanding on notions such as murder, justice and democracy?
Perhaps it is possible that Tabesh's dossier, which was attended to in closed sessions and in the absence of his family's attorney at a research institute affiliated to the police and not even in a court, could be revived and pursued in a non-political manner.
It seems that the Canadian government, which has stuck to a particular interpretation of murder and justice, does not intend to uphold the rights of Canadians. This attitude is contemptuous of the Canadian people and their ideals, as justifying the murder of someone like Tabesh by the Canadian police can never conceal the truth.
It is high time the Iranian Foreign Ministry strongly follows up on the case of Tabesh and other Iranian nationals whose rights have been violated by the Canadian government more closely. The ministry should notify the world public opinion of the carelessness of the Canadian government.
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