I R A N D E M O C R A C Y W A T C H DNI's online newsletter ******************************************************************** Issue 1 Friday May 9, 1996 ******************************************************************** Contents: 1. unconfirmed reports about Ms. Akhavan, Esfahan's MP 2. "Red line" Drawn by Ali Khameneyi 3. Report from Jonbeshe Mosalmanan Mobarez in Tabriz 4. Soroush to Give Speech at Tehran University ______________________________________________________________________ unconfirmed reports about Ms. Akhavan, Esfahan's MP being killed Some remarks about the elections in the Esfahan area May 8, 1996 M.K reports: I heard a similar rumor some time ago that Ms. Akhavan had been injured severely in a car accident. I have not been able to verify its validity. The information I have is as follows: 1. Mr. Kamran (?) Akhavan is an MP in the current Parliament, but his candidacy was not approved for the next term. 2. Ms. Akhavan's (Mr. Akhavan's wife) candidacy was approved for the next term but she had not been active in the politcial arena despite her accomplishments in other fields (as a university professor). 3. Despite the fact she was not a recognized political figure, she was the only candidate who was elected in the first round. The other candidates (two women among them) were to be decided in the next round. The only way I can interpret this is that people were protesting the approval process and the "showra-ye negahban" by voting so overwhelmingly for a relatively unknown candidate. Of course the fact that she is an accomplished person also contributed to the number of votes, but I don't believe that was the only factor. 4. Then the election was nullified by the Guardian Council for some bogus reason. "_Some candidates_ violated the ban on campaign activities by advertising too close to voting stations;" this was the claim for cancellation of the elections. Interstingly most of the 8 cities in which elections were nullified are around Esfahan. - Esfahan itself - Khomeini-shahr (aka Homayoun-shahr) about 20 Km. from Esfahan - Najaf-abad about 25 km. from Esfahan - Meimeh about 60 km. from Esfahan - Naien about 150 km. from Esfahan (belongs to Yazd prov.) - Malayer about 150 km. from Esfahan (belongs to Hamadan prov.) (the above geographic info is based on my memory and not verified) It is interesting because these areas, due to the religious atmosphere, have traditionally been providing the most support for IRI (during the war, etc.) Also intersting is that the candidates with most votes in these cities were disproportionately female. I hope it means that the suppressive attitude of IRI toward women especially has not been as effective as they might have expected. Another point is that the division between Rafsanjanites and conservative clerics is not as clear outside Tehran. While there are candidates with clear affiliations, most candidates are somewhere in the middle or pretend to be in the middle. M. K. ______________________________________________________________________________ "Red Line" Drawn by Ali Khameneyi May 8, 1996 Khameneyi attacked "degar andish" newspapers in his long talk during a gathering of the press corps. He asked them not to cross the "red line," which will not be tolerated. To clarify his statement, he referred to the "red line" in the USA during the "Cold War". The red line: Do not talk about "basijies". Do not talk about "enqelAb". Do not talk about "nezAm". Do not talk about "Islam". He encouraged people to criticize "dowlat" and not Islam. He did not clarify that Islam meant "rulings of Khomeini and Seyed Ali Khameneyi". He also did not give a reason for harassing other Mullas who give different explanations about Islam. A. A. ______________________________________________________________________________ Tabriz and Elections: The Conflict Continues ... May 9, 1996 This morning I spoke with a member of Jonbeshe Mosalmanan Mobarez in Tabriz. He stated that: A) Dr. Chehregani, a leading candidate during the first round of competition for the Fifth Majlis has been released from prison. Mounting pressure by Dr. Chehregani's supporters forced the authorities to free him and all the detained students. Dr. Chehregani has released a statement stating that he had not withdrawn from the campaign, and he will fight to the end. He thinks that he could win if there was a fair election. Dr. Chehregani continues his efforts to revive and preserve Azerbaijani culture and language. B) Five candidates of Tabriz who won high votes during the first round of election, have charged authorities with mishandling the election. They have released statements complaining of widespread cheating and harassment by Ruhaniyat Mobarez during the second round of election. Sobhanallahi and Mrs. Ahvar are among the signatories. Dr. Sarukhani declined to sign the letter. C) MPs have filed for "estizAh" against the Minister of Interior Affairs, Besharati. They have charged the Ministry with discrimination against candidates who had registered for election. D) Tabriz is generally quiet. A. Abdi ________________________________________________________________________ May 9, 1996 Sourosh's speech at Amir Kabir University Dr. Soroush is scheduled to give a speech at Amir Kabir University on Sunday May 19, 1996. Ansar Hezbollah has threatened to disrupt the meeting again. In a related news, there is astrong rumor floating in Tehran that the Tudeh Party has infiltrated the Asnsar Hezbollah in an effort to create a campaign to discredit IRI further. It is said that the rumor is so strong that the Ansar Hezbollahies are being checked. Ansar Hezbollah [100 participants] held a demonstration around the technical school of the Amir Kabir University on Wedenesday May 8, 1996. Some of their slogans were: "Ba Moshte Mokam mizanad een mellat bar dehane doshmane Rohaniat" "Ma Peiroveh Zahraeem- Bad Hejab Nemikhaheem" "Anjomane DeenNama [Anjomane Eslami] een Aghaze Nabard Ast" "Hezbollah Beedar Ast - As Secular Beezar Ast" "Roshanfekre DeenNama - GhalamBeDaste Mozdoor" One of the Hezbollahies had said:"Afrad Monafegh va Monharefee dar in Daneshgah Mashghoole Tahseel Hastand keh dar sourate Edamehe towtehe khod dar hameen daneshgah beh dare Mojazat Aveezan Khahand shod". Kourosh P. ************************************************************************** Democracy network of Iran newsletter dni@glue.umd.edu http://www.algonet.se/~farhad/dni/index.htm Fax number: USA: attention DNI- 718-863-2775 Fax number: Sweden: 46-8-530-686-15 To subscribe send a message to majordomo@glue.umd.edu The body of the message should be "subscribe spi" DNI is an Internet-based group which advocates democracy and pluralism in Iran. ************************************************************************** ----- End Included Message -----