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Rumi
Protests
Now what?
Three possibilities following the student protests
By Mark J. Gasiorowski
July 15, 1999
The Iranian
I think Ayatollah Khamenei certainly cannot sit back and play on the
dissatisfaction that has emerged. Even if the student demonstrators are
crushed in the next few days, Khamenei and the conservatives now have a
major problem on their hands. If they do not make major concessions to
the students' demands, the unrest that we have seen in the last few days
will almost certainly reemerge, and it may well spread beyond the universities.
If so, the conservatives will be forced to rely increasingly on repression,
transforming the populist Islamic regime that has existed since the revolution
into an Islamic dictatorship. This may work in the short term, but in the
long term I believe it is simply not viable. Iran is not China, and the
Tienanmen Square approach just will not work there ... GO
TO FEATURE
Also
see pro-Khamenei photos
Outlook
Why?
One of the more interesting aspects of the recent uphival in Iran is
the reaction of the moderates who pulled their support from the students
once their protests got angrier. Here's a letter from a student to the
editor of the daily Neshat criticizing the editor for accusing the students
of being "illogical" ... FULL
TEXT
Thanks to Laleh Khalili
Remembering one of the students killed at the dorms
Tehran, (Neshat) - Ezzatollah Ebrahim-Nezhad was one of the students
killed at the Tehran University dorms last week. He was a friend of the
poet Ali Salehi, and a bit of a poet himself... a gentle soul ... FULL TEXT
Serious
A young, educated, Iranian girl needs your help. She is in the middle
of a divorce because her husband and mother-in-law abuse her constantly.
The judge has ruled in her favor. At the moment she works part-time as
a cashier. She needs a room in someone's house for couple of months until
she can find a full time job. She can pay about $100- $150 rent and can
help with the household. She is in Silver Spring, Maryland, but if someone
offers her a job and room she can move. If anyone can help please contact
me ASAP.
Thank you
Simin Habinian
Email shabib@erols.com
More Letters
* Two steps back
Sepehr Sohrab writes: We are born
as Iranians not by our own choice. However what we do as Iranians is (our
choice). As much as we are proud of our culture, let us make sure by our
deeds and not rhetoric about the past, we preserve what we have inherited.
How great is Iran depends on how Iranians present it.
With all the events going on in Iran these days it seem we are in competition
with the Taleban ["The
spark"]. The policy of one step forward, two steps back, leaves
us with losing even what we had. And losing lives is always backward, specially
when the subject is: "FREEDOM TO EXPRESS".
* Helping MKO types
G.H. Razi writes: Perhaps President
Khatami thought that he had no other choice in the circumstances, and I
certainly wish him the best since he may still be the last hope for a relatively
peaceful transition to a more tolerable political system in Iran.
Incidentally, I have never criticized him openly and have urged other
nationalists and moderates who may pay any attention to me not to do so
either. But his present position and predicament and the students' mood
may result in their further alienation and tendency toward radicalism and
support for the likes of the MKO.
I still hope otherwise and think that there may be time to take some
meaningful remedial steps. But they require courage and a significant amount
of risk taking ... FULL
TEXT
* Who's there to lead?
Ardeshir Derazdast writes:
Question is, does the West want to remove the Islamic Republic? Would they
gain by removing them? And if they do, who is to replace them? Few hundred
or thousand student demonstrators could not do anything if they don't have
any support behind them. Is there anyone to lead them?
We should not expect a revoluion or a change with six days of riots,
if no one is there for them, to lead them to organize them. Today is not
1978. The Shah had to go and they brought Khomeini out of nowhere, and
made him a god. A man who could not even speak proper Farsi and all his
sentences were backwards just like his regime, became a supreme leader
and god of the Iranians, and removed the Shah with all that power ... FULL
TEXT
* Rallies: Gatherings in U.S. in support
of student movement
- Houston: Saturday July 17, 4-7 pm, Old Market Park Junction
of Travis and congress (downtown). Information: (713) 266-6688
- New York: Tuesday July 20, from 9-11 am, United Nations.
- London: Friday July 16, 3 pm, Iranian Embassy, Princess Gate,
Kensington Information: (181) 998-6485
- Bonn, Germany: Saturday July 17, 10 am - 6 pm, Bad-Godesberger
Allee, Bad-Godesberg.
- Dallas: Thursday July 15, 7-8 pm, Golden Room of Fairmont Hotel,
Ackard Avenue, downtown.
- Berkeley: Saturday July 17, 4:00 - 6:00 pm, intersection of Telegraph
and Bancroft, University of California Berkeley. Gathering called by The
Committee for Freedom of Thought and Expression in Iran (Northern California)
... MORE
CITIES
Book of the Week
 The Stone
A Persia Legend of the Magi
By y Dianne Hofmeyr, Jude Daly (Illustrator)
This exquisitely illustrated story spins anew the famous tale of the
Magi. It is a retelling of the Persian legend, as told to Marco Polo in
the 13th century, whereupon three astronomers, Jasper, Melchior, and Balthasar,
who are also healers and holy men, follow a bright star in the sky to witness
the birth of a king. Upon greeting the child, the three men present gifts
of gold, incense, and myrrh. The child accepts their gifts, but also endows
the three men with his own offeringa stone. It proves to be a solid symbol
of belief that gives off a fervor of fire. Daly's illustrations perfectly
capture the arid landscapes and the starry night sky, and her intriguing
perspectives and inventive use of the page combine ancient, simplified
forms with more elegant lines. The book has broad appeal, giving a fresh
new shape and texture to a familiar story -- Kirkus Reviews ...
GO TO BOOK
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Video of the Week
Ragbaar
Bahram Bayzaie's unforgettable love story starring Parviz Fannizadeh,
Parvaneh Ma'sumi and Ali Keshavarz.
THE IRANIAN
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Copyright © Abadan Publishing Co. All Rights Reserved.
May not be duplicated or distributed in any form
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More
news
Three opposition leaders detained in Iran:
opposition group
BRUSSELS, July 14 (AFP) - At least three Iranian opposition
leaders were arrested at their homes in Iran early Wednesday, a representative
of the Brussels-based opposition National Party told AFP. "Several
leaders of the opposition were arrested last night by the secret police
in their homes," Mehran Adib said. He identified them as People's Party
members Bahran Namazi, Mehran Mir Abdol Baghi and Rosrow Seyf. Adib said
police searched their homes and seized books, letters and newspapers.
Iran says unrest over; big rally backs
state
TEHRAN, Iran (Reuters) - Iran said Wednesday its security forces
had contained in a crisis caused by some the worst unrest since the 1979
revolution, hours after tens of thousands of people rallied in support of
the Islamic government. ``After setting up a crisis headquarters ... and
following the crisis minute by minute, and thanks to the national resolve
which has developed, the crisis has been brought under control,'' said Interior
Minister Abdolvahed Mousavi-Lari ... FULL TEXT
Protesters dragged away
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- Pro-democracy student protesters
were tied hand-and-foot and dragged from a huge rally called by Iranian
hard-liners, the Neshat daily reported today. The newspaper quoted Ali Afshari,
a leader of weeklong pro-democracy demonstrations, as saying that the whereabouts
of several of his fellow students were not known, the newspaper said ...
FULL TEXT
Iran clergy face further problems with
youth
TEHRAN, July 14 (Reuters) - Iran's ruling clergy appear to have
survived the country's worst social unrest since the 1979 Islamic revolution,
but many believe the calm belies deep social and economic troubles and general
discontent, especially among the youth. ``This was a warning, a spark which
ignited a wave of discontent among the poor, the unemployed and angry and
frustrated youngsters,'' said Nasser, a university graduate who drives a
cab for a living ... FULL TEXT
E.U. appeals for end to violence in Iran
July
15, Helsinki (dpa) - The European Union (E.U.) appealed on Thursday to all
groups in Iran to ``refrain from all kind of violence''. A statement issued
in Helsinki by the current Finnish presidency of the union said the E.U.
``has followed with concern the reaction of police and security forces to
the course of events related to student demonstrations which started on
July 8 in Teheran and which have spread to other cities ... FULL TEXT
Five Iranian writers win awards
New
York, July 14, 1999 (Human Rights Watch) -- Of the thirty-two grant recipients
of this year's Hellman/Hammett grants, five hail from Iran. They are Hamid-Reza
Jalei-Pour, Masahallah Shamss-Ol-Vaezin, Seyeed Ebrahim Nabvi, Akbar Ganji
and Hojatolesam Mohssen Saeidzadeh. The grant program began in 1989 when
the estates of American authors Lillian Hellman and Dashiel Hammett asked
Human Rights Watch to design a program for writers in financial need as
a result of expressing their views ... FULL TEXT
Iran's oil sector immune to unrest for
now
LONDON, July 15 (Reuters) - Scarred by war and revolution, Iran's
strategic oil sector appears undisturbed so far by shockwaves from the country's
worst social unrest in years. And barring a dramatic worsening of political
tensions, the industry is likely to be protected by a broad consensus on
the need to develop the country's most valuable resource, Iranian and foreign
experts say ... FULL TEXT
Writers union takes a stand
Tehran,
(Neshat) - The Iranian writers union has issued a statement condemning the
attack on students. This is one of the first political statements by the
grup since it was officially recognized a few months ago ... FULL TEXT IN
PERSIAN
Zhazeh active as ever
Tehran,
(Neshat) - Contemporary artist Zhazeh Tabatabaie never seems to stop creating
magnificent art. He has just published a book of drawings "Shir zan-haa
va khorsheed khanoom-haaye Zhazeh" (Zhazeh's linonesses and lady suns)
... FULL TEXT IN PERSIAN
Vahid Hashemian speaks his mind
Tehran,
(Neshat) - A candid interview with the 23-year-old member of the Iranian
national team and Iran's recent export to the German soccer league ... FULL
TEXT IN PERSIAN
17 Million Toman Man
Tehran,
(Neshat) - Hot striker Ahmad Momen-Zadeh's contract with Sepahan has been
sold to Persepolis for a cool 17 million tomans. PLUS Persepolis has agreed
to lend Sepahan 100 million tomans ... FULL TEXT IN PERSIAN
Mir-Mohammadi dreams in German
Tehran, (Neshat) - Ebrahim Mir-Mohammadi only recently joined the
national soccer team as a defender. He's happy in Iran. but he says he would
be happier in Germany - if he's invited ... FULL TEXT IN PERSIAN
BBC
BBC Persian online debate
Join in and listen
to the live debate on the students protests, On Friday July 16th, from 0945
to 1045 GMT. Send the BBC Persian Service your messages now or call them
at 0044 171 240 48 33 to have your opinions included ... GO HERE
$ Rate
Updated July 15
Buying: 905-930 tomans per dollar
Selling: 935 tomans per dollar
Source: Sehaty Exchange (U.S.) Tel: 602-595-0777
Mention this code for a better rate:
FA 37 B
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Quote Unquote
Genuine
The student movement has a genuine character; it has a true and clear
identity and feels it has its reasons for protesting.
-- Defence Minister Ali Shamkhani
Reuters
July 14, 1999
Photo of the Day
Khamenei
= Khomeini
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