Ahmad Shirzad

ISFAHAN, Dec. 12-A prominent activist said on Sunday the freedom to criticize and toleration of dissident voices are the most important achievements of President Khatami's reformist government.
Speaking late on Sunday to members of Isfahan University's Students Islamic Association, a member of Islamic Iran Participation Front (IIPF), Ahmad Shirzad, said the number of political parties representing diverse political ideologies is unprecedented in Iran's history.
As to reasons behind the failure of reformists to garner votes in the last two elections, he said the mass disqualification of reformist candidates by the Guardians Council deprived reformists of an equal chance to compete in the polls.
"Following the elections, studies by the Interior Ministry revealed reformists were barred from fielding candidates in at least 140 electoral constituencies," he said, adding that a recent opinion poll indicate two-thirds of the population back reforms.
The IIPF member also said the level of political awareness of the Iranian society is currently very high.
"People know what they want and who to direct their expectations to," he said.
Noting that according to a poll 60 percent of Iranians are against privatization, Shirzad said traditionally Iranians hold the government responsible for everything related to national affairs and so attribute all shortcomings to the ruling establishment.
"This attitude has created a wide gap between the rulers and the ruled," he concluded.

TEHRAN, Dec. 12--Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), Hassan Rohani, said here on Sunday Iran is a member of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Committee and will take part in its next meeting.
Talking to reporters at Mehrabad International Airport prior to his departure for Brussels at the head of a delegation to the crucial Iran-EU talks, Rohani said he will hold talks with the foreign ministers of Germany, France and Britain, namely Joschka Fischer, Michel Barnier and Jack Straw, on Monday.
ÒThe negotiations will be held at three levels,Ó he said, adding that he and his accompanying delegation will be attending the ministerial meeting.
He noted that the EU high representative Javier Solana is also scheduled to participate in the meeting.
ÒThe second meeting will be that of the steering committee,Ó Rohani said, adding that Iranian negotiators who participated in the Paris talks, along with some new members, will represent Iran in the talks.
He further said the European team that attended the Paris negotiations will also participate.
Rohani announced that three working groups on political and security issues, technology and cooperation, as well as nuclear issues, will also be convened.
As to the resolution of the International Atomic Energy AgencyÕs Board of Governors on Iran's nuclear activities on November 25, he said although the resolution has been the best ever issued by the board, Tehran is still not satisfied with certain wordings.
The SNSC secretary said the steering committee is due to meet again within three months to receive progress reports from the working groups and move ahead with projects and measures that can be implemented in advance of a full long-term agreement.
Rohani stressed that the positive outcome and success of the talks will benefit the two sides as well as the entire region, noting that the failure of negotiations will also be felt by all.
"We will continue the talks if we feel that they are progressing," he said, adding that in case they reach a dead-end, Tehran will cease talks.

Ali Younesi

ZAHEDAN,
Sistan-Baluchestan,
Dec. 12--Minister of Intelligence Ali Younesi said perpetrators of criminal acts are enemies of peace and civil society.
Talking to reporters in this southeastern city on Sunday, Younesi vowed that his ministry will confront such criminal elements firmly, IRNA reported.
Referring to the recent discovery of compact discs in this city to sow discord among Sunnis and Shiites, he said those behind this cowardly move were certainly enemies of peace and civil society.
The minister stressed the relative peace and stability enjoyed by the entire country and said the opening of a stock exchange market in Zahedan and the progress achieved by the province has been largely due to the security prevailing in the region.
Younesi further said that his ministry is cooperating with neighboring countries to uproot all causes of insecurity which mainly emanates from across Iran's borders.

TEHRAN, Dec. 12--Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said on Sunday Iran and the three European countries are going to set the framework for future nuclear activities during a new round of talks in Brussels on Monday.
Addressing his weekly news conference, Asefi said the foreign ministers of Germany, France and Britain and Iran will decide which programs should be prioritized in their talks to reach common ground, IRNA reported.
He said working groups composed of members from both sides will be formed by next week and practical steps would be taken to resolve the pending issues after tomorrow's meeting.
Asefi further explained that three teams formed in Iran, namely the political team supervised by Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi, the technical team under the supervision of the minister of industries as well as the nuclear team headed by the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, are currently working on the issue.
He disclosed that Iran also plans to hold talks with other European and non-European countries, including Italy, Japan, China, Malaysia and South Africa.
On Iran's refusal to participate in the US-initiated conference dubbed `Forum for the Future' which commenced in Rabat on Saturday, the spokesman said Tehran is of the opinion that any plan concerning the region which was imposed from the outside would not solve its problems.
Asked about reports of the sentencing of a number of Al-Qaeda fugitives in Iran, the spokesman said a few Iranian sympathizers of the group have been tried and sentenced in Iran.
Replying to a question concerning the allegation of spying against two persons in Egypt, one of whom was an Iranian national, he said there are no documents that prove the allegations and described the whole thing as a preplanned scenario against Iran.
Asefi said he was not surprised to hear of the allegations because he thought now that the nuclear issue has been settled through the wise strategies of Iranian authorities, the enemies would pursue other ways to pressure Iran.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Dec. 12--Deputy Foreign Minister for International Affairs Gholamali Khoshrou conferred with Malaysian Foreign Minister Hamid Albar here on Saturday and discussed bilateral relations, as well as regional and international issues.
In the meeting, Khoshrou praised the positions of Malaysia and the Non-Aligned Movement regarding Iran's nuclear issue, IRNA reported.
He said recent negotiations between Iran and Europe have also been discussed.
Khoshrou added that they reviewed developments in Iraq and Afghanistan as well.
Albar, for his part, said Malaysia has always insisted on Iran's right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy and praised Iran's cooperation with IAEA.
Khoshrou, who arrived in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday to participate in a meeting of OIC member-states, left here late on Saturday.

TEHRAN, Dec. 12--A war disabled, Mohammad Rajabi-Sani, who died in a Karaj prison had been tortured so that he could not be identified, an MP from Tabriz claimed.
Eshrat Shayeq also told Fars News Agency on Saturday that she has called on Justice Minister Esmail Shushtari to clarify the death of the war disabled.
"His son identified his father from a mark on his ear. Although the victim used to take psychological pills, prison wardens prevented him from taking the same," she said. Shayeq noted that a Majlis probe into the judiciary's performance will clarify everything.
Meanwhile, Tehran Justice Department in a communiquŽ criticized the manner in which the media covered the court proceedings of Rajabi-Sani who was convicted after being tried on a personal complaint.
Tehran Justice Department rejected all rumors pertaining to the prison's refusal to give him his pills.

TEHRAN, Dec. 12--Majlis Speaker Gholamali Haddad-Adel here on Saturday called for a more active role of Russia in the region.
In a meeting with Russian Federation Council Chairman Sergei Mironov, the Majlis speaker referred to the cooperation of Iran and Russia to establish peace and stability in Afghanistan and Tajikistan.
"We welcome a more active role of Russia in the region and are ready to help in this regard," he said.
Commenting on the interference of western countries in Ukraine's domestic affairs, he said, "This and other similar events in Yugoslavia and Georgia prove that the West is not committed to international norms."
He added that despite democratic and humanitarian gestures of the West, they continue to follow colonialist policies.
On Tehran-Moscow relations, Hadded-Adel said promotion of bilateral ties will bolster mutual interests and promote stability in region.
ÒInternational and regional conditions necessitate the continuation of consultations between the two countriesÕ senior officials," he said.
The speaker noted that Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant is a symbol of technical cooperation between the two countries.
Mironov expressed satisfaction about his visit to Iran and said the aim of his trip is to promote parliamentary relations.
Referring to the role of parliaments in the two countries, he emphasized the support of Russian Federation Council for mutual political, economic and cultural cooperation.
He said the positions of Iran and Russia with regard to international issues, especially efforts to establish peace in the region as well as the campaign against terrorism, are very close and called for greater coordination in these areas.
ÒTehran and Moscow are working out technical details of an agreement to bring a nuclear power plant in the Iranian port city of Bushehr on line in 2006,Ó he said.
Mironov, who arrived in Tehran on Saturday for a one-day visit, stressed Iran's right to peaceful nuclear technology in the framework of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, of which the country is a signatory.