THE IRANIAN
TIMES
Friday, Dec 12, 1997 -- Azar 21, 1376
No. 373
Hafez
* HUMAN RIGHTS: Writers call on Islamic countries
to observe human rights
* SUMMIT ENDS: Islamic summit slams Israel, condemns
terrorism
* THE IRANIAN: My fantasy dinner with Reza Pahlavi
* FEATURE: UN's Annan endorses Iran's Khatami, peace
process
* NEWS: Iran inflation seen diving in two years
* IRNA : Iranian chess player draws with world
champion
* MOLLA NASREDDIN: I can't spell, but...
* SPORTS: Women's games to start Sturday in Tehran
* PHOTO OF THE DAY: WHERE are these guys, today?
* THE WEB: Iranian Media Guide
* LETTER: Nothing to do with Mitra /
Happy Mitra
* EVENTS: Yalda, in Denver /
FARHAD! in San Francisco
* MUSIC: Farhad, "Hafteh-ye Khaakestari"
* QUOTE UNQUOTE: The strength of words
HUMAN RIGHTS
Writers call on Islamic countries to observe human rights
Received from Rahim Bajoghli <rbajoghli@juno.com>
Open letter from: Edward Albee, Homero Aridjis, Yasar Kamal, Edward Said, Michael Scammell, Anthony Appiah, Paul Auster, Nadine Gordimer, Arthur Miller
To: Heads of States participating in the Islamic Conference (December 8-11, 1997, Tehran)
December 8, 1997
We speak today as writers engaged in the constant struggle to defend our right and the right of our colleagues around the world to express ourselves freely without fear of reprisal. This week, two significant events coincide: International Human Rights Day (December 10th) and the Islamic Conference in Tehran (December 8th-11th)...
We turn our attention first to the host country of the conference, the Islamic Republic of Iran. By censoring many of its brightest literary figures and silencing all dissent, the government has gone to great lengths to undermine Iran's long and distinguished tradition of letters... Full text
SUMMIT ENDS
* Islamic summit slams Israel, condemns terrorism... Reuters: Moslem leaders blasted Israel at an Islamic summit that ended on Thursday and condemned terrorism in the name of Islam. But their Tehran Declaration, which denounced the Jewish state for its occupation of Arab land, ``expansionist policies'' and ``state terrorism,'' made no mention of U.S.-led Middle East peace efforts... Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, the undisputed star of the three-day summit, said in a closing address he was delighted that ``significant resolutions decisively condemning the Zionist regime for its policies were adopted.'' ... Full text
* Iran's Khatami wins boost from Islamic summit... Reuters: An Islamic summit in Tehran gave a strong boost to Iran's new President Mohammad Khatami and showed Iranians the welcome they can expect on the world stage if they eschew harsh anti-Western rhetoric... Full text
* Khatami to lead Islamic Conference for next three years... Reuters: Closing ceremonies at an Islamic summit in Iran on Thursday were delayed by last-minute snags, with dignitaries and ambassadors kept waiting for hours. There were problems over a reference to Iran's supreme leader, the venue of the next summit conference in three years' time... The drafting committee delegate said the paragraph had been changed to make clear Iran would lead the OIC during the next three years under the chairmanship of President Mohammad Khatami... Full text
* Final summit resolution in English (Part
one -- Part
two -- Part
three -- Part
four)
* Final summit resultion in Persian (Part
one -- Part
two)
THE IRANIAN
* My fantasy dinner with Reza Pahlavi
By Bruce Bahmani
"So,
how have you been?"
He had just taken a smaller more elegant sip of his wine when I said this and almost choked, "How have I been?, he sputtered, Are you serious? My whole world has been completely and utterly changed forever, that's how I've been."
His emotional reply let down his guard. I spotted the opportunity I had been looking for, waiting all these years for, an opportunity precisely such as this! Here is where I could express the immense frustration we have all felt, here is where I could strike back and say to someone who was directly responsible, here is where I could... Full text
FEATURE
* UN's Annan endorses Iran's Khatami, peace process... Reuters: U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan warmly endorsed new Iranian President Mohammad Khatami on Thursday but firmly rebutted Iran's hostility to the Arab-Israeli peace process. Attending a 55-member Islamic conference summit in Tehran, Annan told a news conference: ``The message I am taking away with me is that there is a government in Iran with a president who is a man of his times, who is determined to improve the lot of his people...to work with his neighbours and to work with the rest of the world.''... Full text
* Fault lines in Tehran: America's policy towards Iran is out-dated... The Guardian: These new developments should prompt a review - already overdue - in Washington of its persistent efforts to "isolate and contain" Iran and to wage a sanctions war against the regime. It makes even less sense now to seek to bar the door from the outside when it is being eased open from within. It is time to ditch past history when the US having "lost" the Shah's Iran was humiliated by the Ayatollah's revolutionary students. There have been a few small signals of change from Washington recently, but much more is needed. Iran is not a rogue state in the same category as Libya or Iraq. It has rather more in common with China - a country ruled by a single force but becoming socially much more diverse, with rapidly growing economic weight and regional influence... Full text
NEWS
* Iran inflation seen diving in two years... Reuters: Iran's central bank governor on Thursday forecast that inflation would fall from 17 percent now to single digits within two years. ``This is our first target -- to control inflation,'' Bank Markazi governor Mohsen Nourbakhsh told Reuters. ``We would like to achieve a one-digit figure -- something like eight to nine percent. We hope within one or two years to achieve that,'' Nourbakhsh said in an interview... Full text
IRNA
Islamic Republis News Agency reports in Persian
* Iranian
chess player draws with world champion at youth championships in
france
* Iran
releases two Jordanians taken prisoner in Iran-Iraq war
* Sixty-eight
foreign journalists tour Mobaraken steel complex
SPORTS
*
Second Islamic games for women opens Saturday in Tehran... AFP:
Iran opens its second Islamic games for women here Saturday,
with Iranian women breaking taboos to participate in a karate competition
for the first time since the 1979 Islamic revolution. The exclusively female
games bring together female athletes from 26 Moslem countries, according
to organizers. During the games, a team of 16 Iranian women will fight
for titles in a karate contest, a first for Iranian women since the Islamic
revolution and another new sport for the Games, equestrian competition.
Other scheduled events are track and field, chess, swimming, basketball,
volleyball, tennis, shooting, handball, badminton, gymnastics and squash...
Full text
* Silver medal for Iran in "World B" countries cycling tournament... IRNA, in Persian
Sportestan webmaster Hooshyar Naraghi has set up a
sign-up
form for soccer fans who want to go to
World Cup 98 in France 98. We are looking for those
who are desparately looking for a full-package deal
and that they are ready to purchase their package.
Sportestan Publishing (USA)
ish@sportestan.com
Tel: 650-473-9792
MOLLA NASREDDIN
I can't spell, but... (In Persian)
From Mohammad Ramazani's "600
Molla Nasreddin Tales"
Published by Iranbooks (1997) in
Persian.
PHOTO OF THE DAY
WHERE are these guys, today?
This picture shows a group of National Iranian Oil Company staffers at a gathering in Isfahan in the mid 70s. Recognize anyone? Yourself, perhaps? (And where are the women, by the way?) Click on it to see the full image.
Got any interesting photos?
Send them to jj@iranian.com
THE WEB
Pedram Missaghi's guide is one of the best and most extensive on the net.
LETTER
Two responses to "Merry Mitra" By Hashem Farhang
Nothing to do with Mitra
The Christmas tree was picked by Luther on the way to a boys orphanage house on Christmas eve in Germany. He did that to make them happy by decorating a tree for upcoming singing occasion. Had nothing to do with Mitra or other religions.
Joseph Bebe <pars34@earthlink.net>
Happy Mitra
Thank you Hashem Farhang for making my day a happier one. May God bless you.
Dr. Manoutch Heidari <heidari@geoserv.isgs.uiuc.edu>
EVENTS
Yalda, in Denver
Manu Ghaffari <Manucher.Ghaffarifar@Colorado.EDU>
"In the old Persian mythology, the God of love, friendship, and light, the God of Sun, Mithra (aka Mehr) was born in the longest night of the year . This night is called Yalda which means the Birthday." Dr. Esmail Nooriala.
In the West this time of the year is marked as the shortest day of the year, Winter Solstice. Mithraism spread to the Roman Empire. When Rome converted to Christianity it borrowed some of its traditions from Mithraism: "...Mithra's birth was announced as the night when Jesus Christ was born. With it came all the festivities and rituals of Christmas. The Persian (tree) sarve was turned into the Christmas tree and so on." Dr. Nooriala
Colorado Persian Society is celebrating Shab e Yalda on: Saturday, Dec. 20th, 8PM-1AM at: Days Inn hotel (Bellview and Quebec) in the Denver Tech Center. Take I-25, exit Bellview West. Popular singer Soli is flying in from Toronto.
Dr. Nooriala will talk further about some of our forgotten traditions of Mithraism that has impressed such poets as Hafez. Snacks, fruits, and drinks will be served. Send me an e-mail if you are interested in obtaining a video copy of Dr. Nooriala's talk (in Farsi) that night.
FARHAD! in San Francisco
Yes! The guy with the deep voice singing "... koocheh-haa taareekan... raam raam raam reem reem!" is on his first concert tour in the U.S. since 1979. He will be performing at San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts on Saturday, Dec 13, 8 pm. You can purchase tickets at your local Persian stores. For more information call: 408-481-iran.
MUSIC
* Farhad, "Hafteh-ye Khaakestari"
Greatest pop CDs ON SALE!
QUOTE UNQUOTE
The strength of words
We reaffirm our commitment to human rights and our conviction that all leaders who violate such principles as freedom of expression shall witness the erosion of their power, and shall be defeated by the strength inherent in words.
Edward Albee, Homero Aridjis, Yasar Kamal, Edward Said, Michael Scammell,
Anthony Appiah, Paul Auster, Nadine Gordimer, Arthur Miller
Open letter to
the Terhan Islamic Summit
Dec 8, 1997
Copyright © 1997 Abadan Publishing Co. All Rights Reserved. May not be duplicated or distributed in any form.
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