Thursday
December 10, 1998
Persian Gulf
Tonban-e Abu Musa
Squeezing a laugh or two from the Iranian foreign ministry's
secret files
By Guive Mirfendereski
In the summer 1976, I visited Tehran to begin research for my doctoral
thesis on the legal status of Great Tonb, Little Tonb and Abu Musa, three
islands located at the strategic entrance to the Persian Gulf and subject
of a contentious debate first between Iran and Britain and since November
1971 between Iran and the emirates.
One very bright and very early morning, armed with a letter of authorization,
I descended on the ministry with a great and purposeful appetite for information,
with a hunger which had been whetted in part by the secrecy which the topic
commanded at the time. The prospects of research soon turned into a process
of begging for information ... GO TO FEATURE
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Wednesday
December 9, 1998
Internet
Cyber clash
Conversations with Iranians in cyberspace on the clash of civilizations
By Dokhi Fassihian
Almost twenty years later, the world is witnessing a thaw in the Islamic
Republic's propaganda machine, not because the regime has lost interest
in maintaining the status quo, but rather, because the legitimacy of the
Islamic Republic, its value system and its practical success, have failed
to attract Iran's newest generation-the 75% of the population which consists
of the country's youth, aged 25 and under. This is an alarming demographic
statistic for any government and even more so for the Iranian leadership,
which for all effective purposes wants to remain in power and must appease
this large constituency to do so. It is precisely this generation of Iranians,
which will determine the political future of Iran. The success to which
their demands are met and they, themselves, are integrated into the system
will decide the political future of this regime and of the country as a
whole.
I was encouraged to learn that a group of university students in Iran
today have access to the Internet and often join the various chat rooms
associated with the Internet. I actively sought to become acquainted with
some of these students and bought computer software that is used in Iran
to chat with people abroad. In a chat room simply called "Iran,"
I met eight students who were connecting directly from Iran. My initial
interest was to get to know them, gain their trust, and become more familiar
with their ideas ... GO TO FEATURE
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Tuesday
December 8, 1998
Loss
The magician
He made up grand stories and I believed every one of them
By Shahrzad Irani
It has been twenty years since I last saw my Pesar Daayee. When we were
kids, I used to follow him everywhere. He used to make up grand stories
and I believed every one of them. Every summer, we used to go to Tehran
to visit our relatives. I loved visiting my uncle's house. At nights, they
would put several beds side by side in the balcony so all of us kids could
sleep under the stars.
My cousin and I used to sneak away from the dinner party, lie down on
the laahaaf and hold hands, watching the stars. He would, very scientifically,
describe each star and say their names. It was like a magic show and he
was the magician. He would look intensely at the sky and suddenly yell:
"There it is! The RED Star" and proceed with a story as to how
the star got its name.... GO TO FEATURE
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Monday
December 7, 1998
Cover story
Beyond words
Will there be a response to growing attacks against the press?
By Abdolkarim Soroush
In the last three months, Iran's judiciary has closed down more than
a dozen moderate newspapers and magazines. Meanwhile a number of liberal
journalists have died under mysterious circumstances or been imprisoned
for their critical views.
Abdolkarim Soroush wrote the following letter to President Khatami after
the closure of Toos newspaper and the imprisonment of its top editors
some two months ago. Although the editors have since been released, Soroush
says threats against other moderate newspapers promted him to make the
letter public.
Excerpts from the letter were published by some Iranian newspapers last
week. Here's the full text (in Persian) :... GO
TO FEATURE