ETTELA’AT: Another meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) ended without issuing any resolution about Iran’s nuclear activities. On the first day of the meeting (on Thursday) IAEA’s Board of Governors thanked the inspection team and Iran for their fruitful cooperation on Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities. It is quite evident from the prevalent atmosphere of the IAEA meeting that the member-states of the European Union have shifted their previous harsh stance vis-ˆ-vis Iran’s nuclear activities to a more moderate one. Another indisputable fact is that the US President George W. Bush has lost his popularity at the home front to a great extent over war in Iraq and the death of American soldiers in the Arab country. Hence, there seems to exist no more room for further maneuvering of the West over Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities.

AFTAB-E YAZD: Recent statements of the head of the presidential office, Gholamhossein Elham, show that the dilemma of selecting an oil minister will not be easily resolved. These statements were made after Majlis refrained from giving vote of confidence to the third nominee for the key post, Mohsen Tasalloti. It can be implied from Elham’s statements that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has still another three months to nominate his fourth candidate for the sensitive post. This is while according to Article 135 of the constitution, the chief executive has only three months to finalize the case of his proposed ministers. An important point that has to be mentioned here is that further delays in appointment of the new oil minister will adversely affect the national economy.

HAYAT-E NOU: The library of Tehran University’s College of Law and Political Science caught fire two weeks ago. A total of 8,000 books were destroyed in the tragic incident. Interestingly enough, the night before Tehran University’s library caught fire, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) reported on the reasons for shortage of books in the country and the fact that not many citizens have the habit of reading books. Meanwhile, Tehran Fire Department announced that the library was not equipped with any fire extinguishing facilities. It is quite evident that Tehran Municipality is the only organization that is responsible for equipping public places with fire extinguishers. However, it seems that TM merely spends great sums of money on advertising.

Dear Iran Daily,
I am writing with regard to a line in the following article titled, “Pyramid Companies Corrupt“ from Nov. 22. The line in question I would like to address is: “Referring to the Canadian government’s initiative to push for an anti-Iran resolution at the United Nations, the spokesman said Ottawa, which is one of the world’s top violators of human rights, has raised anti-Iran allegations to distort Iran’s image.“
Every country at times exceeds and to some degree violates human rights, but anyone with a knowledge of governments around the world would not put Canada as a violator of human rights that occurs in a systematic and legally sanctioned manner. Dozens of countries in Africa, North Korea, Middle East, and South and Latin America, have histories past and present of systematic human rights violations--denial of freedom of association, thought, religious practice, sexual orientation, and right to legal representation.
Yes, Canada’s treatment of its Native population, the forced removal of native children from their families into “residential schools“ from the 1920’s to 1970’s, the racist policies against native populations regarding their land, etc. is a horrible history that is in my opinion a human rights violation. And, yes, there are other incidents that occur on a smaller, more individual, level such as the two known prisoners being held by the Canadian government without trial under the suspicion of terrorist activities.
But Canada has a democratic charter of rights that asserts the freedom and protection for all to practice religion, cultural identities, sexual preference, etc. It is the most ethnically diverse city in the world with over 60% of its population originating from non-European white backgrounds. Immigrants by the hundreds of thousands move to Canada every year precisely because they are tired of living in fear (and or poverty) in dictatorships, right-wing states or police-states such as North Korea.
In fact, the province of Ontario recently considered allowing ’Sharia’ law for its Muslim citizens that would function in tandem with Canadian law. Which other countries in the West would permit or even entertain such an idea? In cities in this country from Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal to Calgary, mosques, churches and synagogues sit side by side. It is a country of tolerance, acceptance and freedom. Yes, the Canadian government--specifically with regard to the Kazemi case--may be perceived as “distorting Iran’s image“. That is a matter of interpretation.
Iran is a great country that has indeed been vilified and demonized by western media--often incorrectly. I believe Iran provides the potential model for many Islamic countries in its attempts to balance Islamic faith with a modern democratically-oriented political and civil structure.
Canada’s reaction to the Kazemi case, as any concerned government would be, is sadness and concern over a fact that a woman could be beaten and die in police custody. It is a human tragedy that injures the sanctity of human life. If an Iranian citizen in Canada was beaten and dies in police custody--Iran and the rest of world should be outraged and press hard for complete disclosure and transparency in getting an explanation.
To say Canada is a top violator of human rights is completely wrong. Tens of thousands of people are imprisoned without trial in China, North Korea and many other countries in the world, along with a couple of thousand in the USA’s new post 9/11 system. Women are denied rights in many countries around the world, with minorities killed and massacred (read: Rwanda, Congo, etc.). Everything must be placed within a contextual scale.
Please remember that Canada’s government and its people did not support George Bush’s invasion of Iraq. Before the invasion, 200,000-300,000 people in Montreal marched for weeks in the streets protesting the coming invasion of Iraq. Government ministers in Canada have called Bush a ’moron’ and ’idiot’ in interviews. I do not know of any other government members in western countries being so honest.
I hope these words provide some reflection and thought. Anyway, I would hope more people could see and learn more about Iran as it is most certainly one of the great civilizations of the world.
I came across Iran Daily from the site Iranchamber.com which provides information and links to much about Iran. One last thing: pictures of Tehran are very impressive--the metro, buildings, etc. In fact, photographs of Tehran with the mountains in the background look very much like images of Vancouver, British Columbia--a city I have lived in also.
Darcey Nichols
Montreal, Canada