JULY 2005
>>> 1995-present Archive
 HUNGER
STRIKE
And
Ganji decides to die
Whatever happens next I have no doubt: Ganji never dies
Sa'id Farzaneh
Ganji has been in the news and in front of the conscious of many
Iranians as well as leading international politicians and personalities,
world public opinion and human rights advocates for many days to
remember now. Scanning Iranian media pages, however, demonstrates
the Islamic regime's absolute determination of pretence of no big
deal. The latest statement from the head of Iran's judiciary is
based on the argument that Ganji has not been helping his own predicament
during his temporary release and with his outspoken statements
openly questioning the absolute rule of the clerical leader, Ayattolah
Khamenei.
 NUKES
Difficult
customers
Iran's nuclear negotiation strategy under the new conservative
administration
Meir Javedanfar
Levels of concern reached new highs when suddenly Iran said that
the EU 3 countries of UK, France and Germany have until tomorrow
August 1 st to submit their security, political and economic proposals
to the Iranian government. This piece will be concluded by answering
the most important question of all: will Iran under the conservatives
continue with the talks or will it ultimately break off with negotiations
to continue with its nuclear program?
 MOSSADEGH
Chand
deedaar
Observing Mossadegh in private and public
Parviz Khatibi
Introduction by Ramin Kamran
 WOMEN
Non-Mahram
This outdated self appointed obsessive model cannot be applied
to today's modern world
Jahanshah Rashidian
Hijab in its different forms had begun to disappear with the adoption
of Western culture, but the Islamic regime in Iran gave it new
life in recent decades. It has also been refreshed by the continued
postponement in the resolution of Palestinian conflicts, arrogant
hegemonic American foreign policies in its absolute support for
the aggressive policies of Israel in its occupation of "Islamic
territories", demographic realities, economic problems, corrupt
dictators and total lack of democracy in the Islamic world. While
the Islamic hijab has become for some women a voluntary rejection
of the new world, for the majority it remains still a forced acceptance
of the old world.
 OPINION
Mullahs
3 - USA 0
Latest score in the Middle East
Jalil Bahar
Even if you despise Iran's ruling clerics, you have to admire
their survival skills, and sheer political brilliance. If the war
was designed to promote democracy in the region -- via setting
examples in Afghanistan and Iraq - well the results are patently
poor. The Saudis, Egyptians, and Jordanians have not really done
anything of substance ... any change has been cosmetic. And Iran's
mullahs are firmly in control in Iran. Bush now has as much credibility
in promoting democracy as he had after telling the world that Iraq
has weapons of mass destruction. Bush would have been just as happy
to oust Saddam with a military coup, and in fact the CIA had tried
that approach several times during his father's presidency.
 MEDIA
The
Persian Pleasure Principle
Human rights scholar or harlequin romance writer?
Samira Mohyeddin
Recently, Micheal Ignatieff, Canadian author, broadcaster, and
director of the Carr Centre for Human Rights Policy at the Kennedy
School of Government at Harvard University, was invited to Iran
by an Iranian NGO known as the Cultural Research Bureau, to lecture
on human rights and democracy. On July 17, 2005, Ignatieff wrote
a lengthy editorial about his experiences in Iran for the New
York Times Magazine. Instead of asking: “What do democracy
and human rights mean in an Islamic society”, Ignatieff asks: “Can
democracy and human rights make any headway at all in a society
deeply divided between the rich and the poor, included and excluded,
educated and uneducated?”
 MEDIA
Guessing
games
Presidential elections and the media
Kamran Talattof
Moreover, it is perhaps possible only in Iran for the government's
mass media inside as well as for its opponents outside to both
pronounce victory after an election. The government's media declared
victory saying that 60 to 63 percent of the nearly 45 million eligible
Iranians voted. The LA-based TV and Radio stations similarly declared
victory saying that most eligible voters did not participate. The
oppositional media refused to understand that the fate of the Iranian
people would not be determined through voting or boycotting, that
it would depend on how deep the discourse of reform and modernity
penetrated Iranian society.
 RADIO
Faraazhaa
va foroodhaa
Highs and lows of Dr. Holakouee's popular radio show
Fariba Moghadam
 BERLIN
Shekastkhordegaane
baaziye siyaasi
Looking back at the reaction against Akbar Ganji at the Berlin
conference
Shahla Sharaf
 STRUGGLE
Standing
tall
I cannot but admire Akbar Ganji for the fact that he is standing
so solemnly in face of dictatorship
Azad R
Amidst this dismal hopelessness and political setbacks, a man
like Ganji is standing tall and calling us back into fight for
the basics rights that are so rooted now within our last 150 years
of constitutional history. To finalize democracy and rule of law
in our country, it takes colossal scarifications and yes lots of
luck and historical will and struggle. Nothing comes free. Freedom
is not given but taken.
 DEMOCRACY
Tying-up
loose ends
Aftabeh, democracy and terrorism
Guive Mirfendereski
Just like “aftabeh” has no relation to the word “aftab” --
democracy has no relation to good government, it only seems that
way. Lately, there is a lot of talk about spreading democracy in
the Middle East, as if it is some kind of jam. The President of
the United States is on the record as saying that the spreading
of liberty and freedom, presumably fair elections and market economy,
is the antidote to the appeal and spread of “terrorism.” Wrong!
The brand of democracy that Bush and his sidekick Rice espouse
tends to produce chaos and disintegration.
 DIASPORA
Deeper
pain
Americans often comment, “Aren’t you lucky?” We
nod out of sheer politeness, but why is it that deep down we
don’t feel so lucky?
Zohreh Khazai Ghahremani
It offers little help to remind ourselves of all the people around
the world who would give their right arm to change places with
any one of us in America. There’s that deep melancholy in
our eyes and tears ready to be released at the strum of a ‘Tar’,
the lyrics of a sad song or for all that we have left behind. Indeed
we are a nation of sufferers who, regardless of the comfort offered
us, at times fold inside ourselves in search of the sad memories
and find sorrows that we should have left behind and only through
such a remembrance do we feel whole.
 CHARITIES
Please
help me
I may have to flee to Cancun this year to escape my humdrum
existence, and they want money?
Alidad Vassigh
Here's a piece of advice: political problems, like war, civil
war or evil dictatorships cause people to flee (that's the "RE-FU-GEE
PROBLEM," to say it Dr. Evil style). So if the United Nations
is unable or disinclined to address political problems, as it seems
to be in Sudan for example because state sovereignty is inviolable,
then it should not ask for more money. Let's just see if that Annan
can get Mr. Ganji out of jail: let's just see what the modern-day,
secularist equivalent of a saint is willing and ableto do. It will
say so much about the august body he represents. Aid-shmaid: aid
my butt, Kofi!
 POINT
We
need a fox
In other words one should never fasten one's sword out in
the open
Arash Sayedi
The frustration and sheer anger of an ever growing segment of
the population directed towards the current destructive mindsets
has roots partly in the realisation that superficial change of
governments and constitutions may not be enough to break us free
of the terrible affliction that currently plagues our society;
and since the quality of the physical reality around us will only
be as worthwhile as the quality of our thoughts and philosophies,
then I am afraid they may be somewhat right in their assumption.
The most common mistake, however, made in anger and haste by some
of our brethren, and one that I myself am no less guilty of, is
the direct and open attacks made on current religious mindsets.
 PRISONERS
Wasting
away in Evin
The UN must work to free political prisoners NOW
Amir Nasiri
It was three years ago, when I called Kobi my stepmother
and found out that her brother Dr Hossein Ghazian was arrested
by revolutionary guards and sent to prison. I actually remember
that day very well. It was cold and rainy; when you looked outside
the window, you felt a sense of suffocation. Dark clouds had invaded
the blue sky. When I heard Kobi's voice at the other end, it was
shaky and she sounded very angry. I also felt upset and angry,
but helpless. She said her brother was working with Abbas Abdi
and several others to gather statistical data for polling they
were doing, in order to find out if Iranian people would prefer
to renew relations with United States.
 FRANK
Give
it up comrade
Ganji should go home, down a huge chelo-kabab with gigantic
onions, relax, take a shower, have great sex and apply for Canadian
citizenship
Siamack Baniameri
While Ganji, in his letter, goes on describing a
60s -style psychedelic, perfect, pass-the-joint-around-dude utopian
society where there is perfect democracy and we all live in perfect
harmony, he has forgotten a few things: A democracy is made for
those who are willing and ready to embrace it not for people who
are out to screw each other at any chance they get, who hate law
and order, who are dictators by culture and custom, who lie and
cheat with ease, who have no respect for others' space or opinion,
who settle a traffic accident with a good fistfight and who are
corrupt and easily bought. We have serious problems here folks
and lack of democracy is not one of them.
 TERRORISM
Only
the beginning
War on terror far from over
Keyvan Sepehri
Many people were under that impression that by taking
the battleground to Iraq and Afghanistan, Western cities will be
safer and more secure. But they were totally wrong. Since the start
of the war on terror, the U.S.-led coalition has always been trying
to defeat Al-Qaeda international terror network and bring their
master minds to justice. But to date, the outcome has been disastrous
and out of control. Since the war started, terrorist organizations
have become more sophisticated, organized and they have spread
out their attacks even to the heart of Europe.
 OPINION
New
breed of looters
The only upside of this outcome is that if ever the rotten
Islamic establishment finds itself the target of liberating precision
guided missiles, the bleeding heart "change from within" crowd
will whine less about collateral damage
Omid Parsi
The catastrophic result of the recent election in Iran should
put the nail in the coffin of the "change from within" dogma.
Whatever change has occurred, is the exact opposite of what the
proponents of "change from within" had crossed their
fingers for. The selection of the chief executioner and terrorist
Ahmadinejad to president clearly confirms the fact that more than
a quarter century of institutionalized terror and looting by Islamist
thugs has bent the desperate Iranian masses so far out of shape
that their hope for social equity and justice has mutated to none
other than a rat race of Islamic piety or pretence to suck up for
handouts from the national oil loot.
 DEBATE
They
know best
This Iranian women's conference was more chaotic and verbally
abusive than ever
Golbarg Bashi
I do hope that open-minded women will start coming back to this
conference, and 'teach' a thing or two about the realities of the
world, and how we need to have dialogue to achieve the change we
all want. Or we should start an objective and democratically orientated
Iranian Women's Conference which might draw fewer people but will
be far more democratic and fruitful? I propose to all who are supporters
of this kind of project to urge the Iranian Women's Studies Foundation
board to reform! Or we’ll have to break away and start afresh
which is a tragedy.
 IRANIANS
All
Iranian Denial Syndrome
At this rate it won't be long before we will witness in Iran
what happened to Yugoslavia
Matt Bina unedited
The fact of the matter is, this disease is just like AIDS but
with different words comprising this acronym, it stands for All
Iranian Denial Syndrome (AIDS), and we don't know how to treat
it. And as long as we don't acknowledge the disease, fixing the
symptoms won't cure anything! Sometimes I feel that we don't really
want to cure ourselves and we rather live with this disease until
death. After all if we get rid of its crippling "Me-Manship" no
sorry it's "Me-and-only-Me-Manship" symptoms, what will
we do with ourselves all day and all year? Year after year! What
will keep us busy and occupy us? And don't you know it ... there
is a method to this madness!
 IDEAS
Nomadic
abstracts
Modern nomad's journey through different postings, stations,
contracts, or through the myriad refugee camps, prisons and relay
posts
Reza Fiyouzat
As this modern nomad is forced about the globe, he or she sees
clearly that borders are highly selective (hence, random, arbitrary),
and almost non-existent for capital and the moneyed. The modern
nomads see just as clearly that the First World moneyed peoples
who come to visit with armies, rudely help themselves to others’ lands
and resources with no shame at all, while preaching the sanctity
of sovereignty for their own lands. The modern nomad is the first
to point out the similarities between methods used by his own local
dictator in rising to power and those used by George W. Bush in
his rise to power.
 LONDON
Bloodshed
on all sides
In order to have a hope of achieving peace, at least discuss
what the deeper-rooted motives of the bombers might be
Shappi Khorsandi
All I’m saying is that if you happen to grow up in a country
that’s been kicked around since time immemorial like a football
in the Premier league of world domination, you may feel more than
a little disempowered as you watch family and friends die around
you. You may find yourself in the position of feeling stronger
kinship with Osama Bin Laden than men who have killed tens of thousands
of your civilian population, given you a curfew, a show election
and told you that you are now living in a democracy. Is this not
a way to swell the ranks of Al-Queda? Is it out of the realm of
possibility? I expect the usual polite answers on postcards.
 IDEAS
Secularism
now
We must always respect the values that pay attention to humanity
irrespective of nationality, race, gender or religion
Homa Arjomand
Long before September 11, mass scale terror and intimidation was
enforced by Islamists resulting in a Middle East that was transformed
into an immense human tragedy. In Iran, during Rafsanjani's presidency,
thousands of political prisoners were executed in 1988. And the
West kept quite. During his recent shameful election campaign,
the West did its best to provide him with good publicity, even
though he was wanted in Germany as a provoker of terrorism. This
is one example of the ongoing intimidation which occurs outside
North America without the awareness of global citizens.
 UNIFORM
Az
maa behtaraan
From the police, to doctors, to clerics... what's with the
uniform?
Shahriar Zahedi
 DISSENT
Against
the grain
Aggressive interruption of unpopular views
Peyvand Khorsandi
On Friday the MP George Galloway was in the BBC Newsnight studio
to explain a statement he had made about the terrorist attacks
on Londoners who, according to him, had "paid the price" of
Britain's role in Iraq. The presenter, Gavin Elser, barely let
him speak so I wrote in to complain: Dear Gavin...
 MOJAHEDIN
Rude
news
Many consider the MKO a nuisance at best and traitors at worst
Rosa Faiz
Anybody who has been in the Iranian opposition movement for any
length of time knows fully well that the 'size issue' is one thing
that the Mojahedin themselves make a great deal out of. So, any
chance we get, we have to remind them and their supporters that
size, though important in forcing one's way through the crowds,
is only one among many issues that bestows legitimacy on a political
organization claiming to have people's interests at heart.
 IDEAS
Political
Islam in the heart of secular Europe
Secular values of 18th century enlightenment are slowly being
replaced
Maryam Namazie
It is no longer only in places like Neka, Argu, or
Basra where political Islam and religious rule are wreaking havoc
but also in the very heart of the secular west and Europe albeit
in different and more subtle ways but outrageous nonetheless. Here
in Europe the Islamists are 'more civilised'. They demand the 'right'
to veil for women and children in France when in the Middle East
they impose compulsory veiling by throwing acid in the faces of
those who refuse and resist. In Britain, they cry racism and Islamophobia
against anyone who speaks out against Islam and its political movement,
whilst in Iran and its likes they hang 'apostates' and 'Kafirs'
from trees and cranes.
PERSIAN
GULF
Necessity & nostalgia
Book review
Guive Mirfendereski
In his book Iran, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, Bin Salman
harkens to a less complicated era in Persian Gulf politics when
the foreign minister of an Arab country like Kuwait could refer
publicly to “the Persian Gulf” (p. 103) and a British
scholar did not have to abandon his own precedent in order to please
a particular fad, benefactor or audience (p. 171, titles of J.B.
Kelly’s works). This is not to say that the term Gulf in
the vernacular is an absurdity, which it is not. In their internal
conversations, the British civil servants uttered the term as an
intimate label for a region that shaped their common narrative
and experience.
LIFE
Collective
crime
When a society decides to execute a person, every member
of the society becomes a murderer
Ahmad Nikoobin
IRANIANS
Too
smart for ourselves
When it comes to being experts, nothing escapes the
critical eyes of the smart Persian
Zohreh Khazai Ghahremani
TERRORISM
It's
been war for sometime
Snap shot of my experiences on the day bombs struck
London
H Behzadi
POLITICS
The
Banana-free Republic of Dr. Ahmadinejad
Ahmadinejad showcased his small house in a poor neighborhood
of Tehran and flaunted his earthy manners, grooming,
and even his ugliness, as the stigmata of a long suffering
servant of the people
Ahmad Sadri
TERROR
This
is war
No one is immune to the insane havoc that has been
created by our leaders and those faceless cowards who
attacked London
Shappi Khorsandi
ASSASSIN
Baazbiniye
yek estentaaghiyeh
A personality study of Nasseredin Shah's assassin,
Mirza Reza Kermani and the political fall out
Tooraj Amini
OPINION
Angoshte
Buddha
An evaluation at the end of the Khatami era
Dariush Sajjadi
ANALYSIS
A
rude wake up call
Meet the new president
Reza Fiyouzat
DEMOCRACY
Iran
is not Tehran
Significant change will only come when there is a
significant change in thinking pattern of the voters,
especially in the provinces
Mahin Bahrami
PRESIDENT
Teer-e
khalaas
Consolidation of the IRI will only help the democracy
movement
Hassan Massali
PRESIDENT
Joojeh
faashistaa
Little fascists hatch their egss
Hassan Behgar
KURDISTAN
One
step further
A Kurdish thought on 4th of July
Kamal H. Artin
PRESIDENT
Mahmoud
Let's give this "Kaveh Ahangar" a chance
Shahriar Zahedi
ENGELISA
Salad
Shirazi
While many of us spent the entire last year arguing if
Ms. Aghdashlou is prettier or Googoosh guess what happened?
The British team won again!
Farrokh A. Ashtiani
PREDICTION
Beginning
of the end
I am happy for Ahmadinejad's victory because I believe
it is the beginning of the end of a quarter century of tyranny
and mayhem in Iran
Mahmoud Ghaffari
VISION
The
voice of the revolution
It is not surprising that the leader of the Islamic Republic
lacks the courage to admit that the poor and unemployed have
decided that they have no hope under the plutocracy of the
mullahs
Reza Bayegan
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