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Identification
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Published by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA)
Address:
Iran Cultural & Press Institute, #212 Khorramshahr Avenue Tehran/Iran
Managing Director: Mohammad T. Roghaniha
Executive Editor: Amin Sabooni
Editorial Dept. Tel: 8755761-2
Editorial Dept. Fax: 8761869
Advertising Dept. Tel: 8753119, 8757702, 8733764
Internet Address:
www.iran-daily.com
E-mail Address:
iran-daily@iran-daily.com
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Friendship Dam Symbolizes Tehran-Ashkhabad Solidarity
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Friendship Dam is located on the northwesterly Harir-Roud river in the Germab mountain range, 250 kilometers east of the Iranian city of Mashhad and 80 kilometers south of Sarakhs. (Fars News Photo)
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SARAKHS, North Khorasan, April 12--President Mohammad Khatami and his Turkmen counterpart Saparmurat Niyazov inaugurated Friendship Dam on the joint border in northeastern Iran on Tuesday.
Speaking during the inauguration ceremony, President Khatami referred to Friendship Dam as manifestation of solidarity and amity between Iran and Turkmenistan, and said the two sides enjoy excellent relations that should be a model of coexistence among all countries, IRNA reported.
“What goes into operation today is not a simple dam, but the manifestation of deeply-rooted ties between the two nations that are now experiencing development and independence,“ he said.
“As soon as the dam becomes operational, its positive impacts on protection of environment and promotion of agriculture will become obvious.“
The president noted that of the 85 dams constructed in the country, only 13 of them date back to the pre-revolution period.
Khatami also said Iran and Turkmenistan can experience development in a better and inexpensive manner, if they were to continue their close cooperation.
The Turkmen president, for his part, expressed satisfaction with the inauguration of the dam and hoped to witness all-out expansion of cooperation between the two countries.
At the end of the ceremony, the two presidents signed a communique on the occasion.
A number of high-ranking officials from both sides attended the ceremony.
The dam, located on Iran-Turkmenistan border, has been constructed as a joint venture between the two states at a cost of $168 million.
The dam’s water will be equally shared by Iran and Turkmenistan.
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Bush, Sharon Discuss Iran
US Says Opposed to Expansion of Settlements
CRAWFORD, USA, April 12--US President George W. Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon here on Monday discussed diplomatic efforts to defuse a nuclear dispute with Iran, according to White House Spokesman Scott McClellan.
“The president talked about diplomatic efforts by the Europeans to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons and they talked about their shared concern about Iran’s intentions with their nuclear program,“ said McClellan, AFP reported.
The spokesman denied Bush and Sharon had discussed the possibility of a preemptive military strike by Israel, aimed at ensuring Iran does not acquire atomic weapons.
“The discussion focused on the diplomatic efforts that are ongoing right now by the Europeans,“ he told reporters. “There wasn’t a discussion about what you’re bringing up.“
Meanwhile, Israeli radio reported Tuesday that Ariel Sharon’s military attachˇ presented aerial photos of Iranian nuclear installations during the Israeli prime minister’s summit with US President George W. Bush.
General Yoav Gallan, who accompanied Sharon to Monday’s talks at Bush’s Texas ranch, presented the photos as well as information gathered by the Israeli intelligence services on Tehran’s nuclear program.
The radio, which did not give details on how the photos were taken, said the images proved that the Iranian nuclear program was at a “very advanced“ stage.
Israel itself has never publicly acknowledged that it maintains a nuclear arsenal but foreign experts say it has between 100 and 200 nuclear warheads.
Israel’s hopes of cementing its hold over parts of the West Bank in exchange for withdrawing from Gaza were dented after US President George W. Bush warned Prime Minister Ariel Sharon against pursuing his plan to expand a major settlement.
A summit between the two leaders at Bush’s Texas ranch on Monday, which was meant to emphasize their close alliance, ended up exposing some of their divisions amid a row over Sharon’s scheme to expand a settlement cutting off the rest of the West Bank from Arab east Beit-ul-Moqaddas.
“I told the prime minister of my concern that Israel not undertake any activity that contravenes its roadmap obligations or prejudices final status negotiations,“ Bush said.
“Therefore, Israel should remove unauthorized outposts and meet its roadmap obligations regarding settlements in the West Bank,“ he said, later driving the point home: “The roadmap clearly says no expansion of settlements.“
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Majlis Authorizes Conditional Abortion
TEHRAN, April 12--Majlis on Tuesday passed a legislation authorizing abortion for health reasons by adopting strict measures against any abuse.
Majlis has dared to debate such a controversial law for the first time in the past 26 years, IRNA reported.
The growing need for abortion when the life of mother is at risk or the infant developing abnormalities formed the basis of the Majlis approval.
The legislation was passed by 127 votes in favor.
As per the law, three specialists should recommend the abortion and the Forensic Department should confirm the need for abortion in addition to a formal request from the couple.
Majlis tasked the Ministry of Health with formulating an action plan for the legislation and the action plan should be approved by the cabinet.
The legislation has envisaged punishment for any violation.
Those opposed to the legislation said history has shown disabled people who became eminent personalities and the legislation will open the way for abuse.
However, defenders of the bill said the law will save families from being exposed to financial burden of raising invalid children when medical examinations reveal problematic fetus in advance.
IRNA’s health correspondent said abortion for medical reasons both to save mother or to stop the growth of an abnormal fetus is being performed and the legislation would be helpful in removing difficulties in this respect.
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Thousands Flee Indonesian Volcanic Fallout
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Bukit Sileh villagers carry their belongings to take refuge while smoke spews out from Mt. Talang in Solok district of Indonesia's West Sumatra Island, April 12. (Reuters Photo)
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MOUNT TALANG, Indonesia, April 12--A volcano spewed into life Tuesday on Indonesia’s disaster-blighted Sumatra Island, spreading new panic after the recent tsunami and earthquakes and driving thousands of people from their homes.
Mount Talang, 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of Sumatra’s coastal Padang city began pumping out volcanic ash shortly before dawn, prompting scientists to urge people to move away from the fallout zone, AFP reported.
More than 20,000 people have been evacuated from the volcano’s slope, the Antara news agency quoted local official Bustamar saying.
It said the volcano’s status had been raised to ’beware’, one rung below full-blown eruption.
Vulcanologist Gede Suwantika described Talang’s activity as ’serious’, saying there was a risk of molten magma and clouds of super-heated gas that burn everything in their path.
“This is what I worry, that this activity will be followed by a larger eruption that is magnetic in nature,“ he said.
An AFP photographer at the 2,599-meter (8,680 foot) volcano said a narrow road leading to the mountain was clogged by people deserting the area, which was shrouded in thick fog.
The volcano’s activity comes just two days after the city of Padang was gripped with fear following a powerful 6.7 magnitude quake that caused only minor damage but revived memories of last year’s deadly Indian Ocean tsunami.
A massive earthquake struck off the southwest coast of Sumatra on March 28, killing more than 600 people on the offshore islands of Nias and Simeulue--most of the victims crushed by collapsing concrete structures.
On December 26 last year, a 9.3-magnitude shockwave from the same geological fault-line unleashed tsunamis that destroyed vast tracts of coast in Sumatra’s westernmost Aceh region and left more than 160,000 dead or missing.
Talang has had at least four major eruptions, all in the 19th century, and three smaller eruptions in 1981, 2001 and 2003.
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IRIB Publicity For Candidates Illegal
TEHRAN, April 12--An official said the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) cannot legally advertise for presidential candidates.
According to IRNA, Director General of Interior Ministry’s Public Relations Office Jahanbakhsh was responding Tuesday to a recent letter by IRIB commenting on the remarks of Deputy Interior Minister Morteza Moballegh in the TV program “Until Elections“.
During Norouz holidays, the IRIB broadcast a program named “Until Elections“ in which several presidential aspirants participated.
“Apart from the real incentive for the people in charge of the TV program, the claim that the program did not publicize (any likely nominees) does not resolve the problems. The point is that when a candidate in a special TV program explains his viewpoints and plans, it is a blatant case of publicity,“ he said.
Khanjani stressed that publicizing people under the angles considered.
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Egypt Under Unexpected Pressure
CAIRO, Egypt, April 12--The Egyptian government has come under pressure from one of its own human rights groups over allegations of torture and calls for the lifting of the 24-year-old state of emergency.
The National Supreme Council for Human Rights, appointed by the government last year and subsidized by it, corroborated widespread allegations that government security forces engage in widespread torture of detainees, AFP reported.
In its first annual report, the NSCHR called for a “rapid end to the state of emergency“ to permit participation in the constitutional referendum, the presidential election and parliamentary elections “in a neutral and secure atmosphere within the framework of common law“.
President Hosni Mubarak recently called for a constitutional amendment to allow for a direct presidential election. The country is to elect a new president in September and a new parliament later in the year.
Government sources have already hinted that the state of emergency, imposed after the 1981 assassination of Mubarak’s predecessor, Anwar Sadat, could be lifted for the elections.
The law gives the president sweeping military powers and prohibits the holding of demonstrations outside of university campuses.
“Egypt and the Arab world are going through a very delicate phase in security matters because of the propagation of violence and terrorism, but these phenomena should be combated within the framework of common law,“ said the report.
Independent human rights groups have long claimed that security forces and prison officials engage in torture, hanging people by their arms or legs, beating them or using electrical shocks.
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Building Legitimacy
By R. Jalali
National solidarity and public participation in state affairs in democratic systems are considered among the most important instruments of national power and prowess.
Unity and active role of the people in various affairs, as well as endurable interaction of these two concepts contributes to the very foundations of national might.
Although the legitimacy of a ruling system is among the main pillars of national might, it is in itself dependant upon the existence or absence of national solidarity and the concept of public participation in state affairs.
The general assumption is that people’s votes form the very foundation of legitimacy and the government that takes power with the majority of votes enjoys respect and real authority.
Needless to say, this legitimacy is an initial verification, or rather a sort of license for entering the arena, while the legitimacy of a political system is manifested in the votes of the public.
Legitimacy, as opposed to loyalty, means the level of trust of the people in their government and the latter’s competence in managing their affairs and handling power. The indisputable fact remains that power can be exercised over the masses through free elections, which in turn demands relying on free public participation in political affairs.
Therefore, without national solidarity, absence of meaningful public participation in state affairs, and in the final analysis, loss of free and fair elections, the notion of national might is meaningless.
Amid this, the major consideration is how people develop trust in the government’s policies and plans. Moreover, it should be clear to what extent a government’s aims and objectives are compatible with public demands.
Another point is political harmony and unity of purpose among the officialdom. When the spirit of national solidarity is absent, and the people are unable or unwilling to participate in state affairs, the subject of political unity simply becomes irrelevant. Hence, legitimacy of a government is reflected in the overall sociopolitical attitude of the people and the votes that they cast in general elections.
When a government is indifferent to and unacquainted with legitimate public demands, the public will naturally become disheartened with the status quo. If the legitimacy of a government declines, the socioeconomic behavior of the people is also negatively affected.
When the people lose hope and trust in a government that has come to power on the strength of popular will and a strong mandate, they tend to compensate the deficit and their lost share of power through undesirable and unhelpful attitude. Under the conditions, economic productivity takes a beating and in the process national solidarity is seriously dented.
When free elections do not exist, what prevails is the frustration and psychological reaction of the people that ultimately results in the decline of patriotism and intellectual forces.
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