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Prayer Time (Tehran)
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Dawn: 5:39
Sunrise: 7:09
Noon: 12:00
Evening: 17:14
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Weather Guide
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SUN |
MON |
Tehran: |
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High: |
12oC |
13oC |
Low: |
2oC |
5oC |
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Athens |
16 |
7 |
Ankara |
9 |
4 |
Paris |
5 |
6 |
New Delhi |
20 |
21 |
Rome |
9 |
8 |
Riyadh |
26 |
25 |
Frankfurt |
0 |
1 |
Cairo |
20 |
21 |
Kuwait City |
24 |
22 |
Karachi |
27 |
26 |
Copenhagen |
2 |
3 |
London |
4 |
8 |
Moscow |
-1 |
-2 |
Madrid |
11 |
9 |
Vienna |
0 |
1 |
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Identification
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Published by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA)
Address:
Iran Cultural & Press Institute, #212 Khorramshahr Avenue Tehran/Iran
Managing Director: Mohammad T. Roghaniha
Executive Editor: Amin Sabooni
Editorial Dept. Tel: 8755761-2
Editorial Dept. Fax: 8761869
Advertising Dept. Tel: 8753119, 8757702, 8733764
Internet Address:
www.iran-daily.com
E-mail Address:
iran-daily@iran-daily.com
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Gov’t Focused on Problem Resolution
Role of Elite, Media Underlined
TEHRAN, Dec. 17--President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Saturday his government has focused attention on resolving the people’s economic and everyday problems as well as the dilemma of unemployment.
“The government will not pay attention to excuses, but will accept and listen to criticisms in the society,“ the president told a gathering of the Central Council of the Islamic Revolution’s Society of Sacrificers.
He stressed that the elite should try to make people accept the notions of justice and serving public interests.
“If we neglect this cause, then some may abuse the prevailing atmosphere, resort to machinations and run a capitalist system in the name of justice,“ he said.
The chief executive noted that the forces of the Islamic Revolution are experiencing a tough test and the public expectation is that they correctly move toward the ideals of the Islamic Revolution, the late Imam and the leader.
He emphasized that movements seeking justice, fighting against world arrogant powers and confronting oppression will transcend international borders.
Ahmadinejad said he has visited deprived areas of the country in line with the policy of promoting social justice.
“The print media is expected to reflect the measures adopted by the government more efficaciously so that people remain on the scene in a more optimistic manner,“ he said.
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Morocco Committee Exposes 4-Decades
Of Abuses
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Late King Hassan II
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RABAT, Morocco, Dec. 17--Morocco’s truth commission--the first in the Arab world--has delivered its final report on four decades of human rights abuses under the late King Hassan II.
Between independence in 1956 and the end of Hassan’s reign in 1999, 592 people were killed, the Equity and Reconciliation Committee (IEC) said, BBC reported.
The king, father of current King Mohammed VI, was criticized for suppressing opposition activists.
Thousands of victims and their families were allowed to speak openly to the commission about the abuses.
King Mohammed VI on Friday ordered the release of a report probing three decades of rights abuses, including killings and torture, while his human rights panel called on the state to apologize and end impunity.
The 17-member commission, set up in January 2004, heard from 16,861 people, and assessed whether victims should be given compensation and how much they should receive.
Hundreds of families had reported atrocities and disappearance during what were known as the “leaden years“, when Hassan II was a staunch ally of the West but maintained power at home surrounded by hardline security and interior ministers and secret services while keeping a multi-party system going.
A summary of the IER report said it had recommended 9,280 victims were entitled to payments.
The commission found that 322 people had been shot dead by government troops in protests, and that 174 people had died in arbitrary detention.
The graves of 85 people, who had been detained in secret prisons, were also identified.
But the IER has been criticized by human rights groups for not naming perpetrators of abuse so they can be prosecuted. The Moroccan Association for Human Rights has published a list of alleged torturers it thinks should face trial. They include members of Morocco’s current administration. A spokesman for the association also queried the IER’s figures.
“According to the data we have, 1,500 people had been killed in the protests of 21 March 1965, and between 500 and 1,000 died in the protests of 1981,“ Abdullah Abdeslam said.
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Progress in Gasline Talks
NEW DELHI, India, Dec. 17--Pakistan and India hope to start building a $7 billion gas pipeline from Iran to South Asia by 2007, despite objections from the United States, top officials from both countries said on Saturday.
“We have made significant progress. We hope to complete the project by 2010,“ Pakistan’s Petroleum Secretary Ahmad Waqar told reporters after bilateral talks with officials from India’s Oil Ministry in New Delhi, Reuters reported.
The proposal to build the pipeline has been on the drawing board for years but uneasy relations between nuclear-armed rivals Pakistan and India prevented any progress.
Indian officials are also concerned the project would take gas across volatile areas of Pakistan where other pipelines have been attacked in the past.
Peace talks between India and Pakistan revived hopes for the pipeline two years ago but the project faces opposition from the United States, which accuses Iran of seeking nuclear arms.
Officials said talks to build the pipeline were progressing well.
“We shall go ahead,“ Waqar said when asked to comment on US objections to the project.
His Indian counterpart, Petroleum Secretary S.C. Tripathi, said talks had gained momentum.
“We have made significant progress. We are now talking about details of the project,“ he said.
Waqar said the pipeline would initially bring 90 million cubic meters a day of gas, a third of it for Pakistan. The volume would be raised to 150 million cubic meters in 3-4 years.
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US Researcher Defends Right To Nuclear Technology
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Helen Caldicott
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KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Dec. 17--President of the US-based Nuclear Policy Research Institute said on Saturday if the US can have nuclear weapons, why not Iran.
Addressing the third day of the International Conference on Global Peace, Helen Caldicott added that the world must be freed from atomic weapons, otherwise it is useless to find faults with others, IRNA reported.
Stressing that great powers have weapons of mass destruction and the atomic bomb, she asked, “What is the difference between nuclear powers and Iran, and why should Iran be banned from getting access to weapons of mass destruction and the atomic bomb?“
The American researcher stressed that the only way to coexist in the world without any violence and terrorism is to disarm all countries that have weapons of mass destruction and to pay attention to the rights of the people.
“It is not possible to fight wars and have access to military means and then at the same time speak of peace,“ she said.Caldicott called on supporters of global peace to join hands and strive for establishment of peace worldwide.
In the inaugural session of the conference on Thursday, former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad condemned the pursuit of double standards by the US against Iran.
“America has granted itself the right to attack any country it wishes after it invaded Iraq,“ he said.
Mahathir pointed out that when Iran speaks about Israeli atrocities, the West adopts a stance against it, but when Israel violates the rights of Palestinians, the global powers remain silent.
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American Rights Violations Increasing
UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 17--Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki in a letter to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Friday voiced Iran’s concern over the increasing human rights violations of the US and Islamophobia in the West.
In the letter submitted by Iran’s Permanent Mission to the UN, Mottaki criticized the US for its secret prisons all over the world, particularly in European states, and its use of torture for interrogating prisoners, particularly terrorist suspects, as well as the increase in Islamophobia and mistreatment of Muslims in the West, IRNA reported.
Mottaki also urged Annan to appoint a special envoy to investigate cases of human rights violations by the United States such as use of torture in Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
“Reports recently received about secret US prisons in some European states and the use of torture and other violations of human rights in Western prisons are cause for concern.
“Today, human rights guaranteed under the most fundamental international regulations, including prevention of torture, are being violated systematically under the pretext of fighting terrorism,“ he said.
Mottaki noted that these moves violate articles 6 and 7 of the UN Charter which guarantee political and civil rights.
“The Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay prisons are symbols of the US administration’s gross neglect of human rights,“ he said.
Mottaki closed his letter by calling on Annan and UN human rights bodies to put an end to these violations.
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Israeli Cluster Bombs Found in Lebanon
BEIRUT, Lebanon, Dec. 17--The Lebanese Army said on Saturday it found 25 cluster bombs that had been dropped by Israeli aircraft into southern Lebanon but had not exploded.
“In the framework of operations to find unexploded cluster bombs dropped by Israeli aircraft on the border region during its last aggression, the army found 25 cluster bombs,“ the army said, AFP reported.
The discovery was made near the village of Kfar Hamam, around five kilometers (three miles) north of the disputed Shebaa Farms, a border area that is occupied by Israel and claimed by Lebanon.
Four members of the Shiite resistance movement Hezbollah were killed in the area at the end of November during clashes with the Israeli Army, which saw 11 of its soldiers wounded.
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Bush Admits Approving Eavesdropping
WASHINGTON,
Dec. 17--President Bush said Saturday he personally authorized a secret eavesdropping program in the US more than 30 times since the Sept. 11 attacks and he lashed out at those involved in publicly revealing the program.
“This is a highly classified program that is crucial to our national security,“ he said in a radio address delivered live from the White House’s Roosevelt Room, AP reported.
“This authorization is a vital tool in our war against the terrorists. It is critical to saving American lives. The American people expect me to do everything in my power, under our laws and Constitution, to protect them and their civil liberties and that is exactly what I will continue to do as long as I am president of the United States,“ Bush said.
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Egyptian Judges Take On Regime
CAIRO, Egypt,
Dec. 17--Egyptian judges underlined their status as a driving force for change and democracy by reelecting their outspoken leader, blasting the regime over election abuses and pressing it for more independence.
The Egyptian Judges Club held a general assembly Friday during which Zakariya Abdel Aziz was overwhelmingly reelected as chairman over his main rival, pro-government Adel Al-Shorbagi, AFP reported.
All 15 members of the new governing board were also chosen from the club’s wing which has been the most vocal in calling for an independent judiciary.
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China Oil Deal Near
TEHRAN, Dec. 17--Iran and China here Saturday held a new round of negotiations over the Yadavaran oilfield and announced that a contract would be signed by January 2006.
Musho Ling represented China’s Sinopec and deputy oil minister for international affairs, Hadi Nejad-Hosseinian represented Iran in the negotiations.
The two sides concluded a memorandum of understanding two years ago based on which the Chinese party would purchase 250 million tons of LNG from Iran over 30 years and get 51 percent of the operations for development of Yadavaran oilfield in the form of a buyback contract, IRNA reported.
Nejad-Hosseinian told reporters that the two sides achieved results over disputed issues on Saturday and both sides agreed to form specialized committees for resolving pending issues.
“This Tuesday we will also hold talks with the Chinese side so that we can make high-level decisions,“ he said.
Nejad-Hosseinian also said the contract would be finalized by January 2006.
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Lacking Effectiveness
By M. Yusef
Although the extraordinary summit of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) held recently in Mecca served as another opportunity for member-states to discuss the problems afflicting the Muslim world, it failed to focus on one of the key issues of the contemporary era - rational, fair and peaceful utilization of nuclear technology.
It seems that Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah, who called for the special gathering, was more interested in taking stock of the international political climate during his early months as the new ruler of the oil-rich kingdom.
After replacing the late King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz, the new monarch endeavored to bridge reportedly deep differences in and between the ruling family and the Saudi people.
On the international scene, he saw it more important to host Muslim heads of state and government in the framework of the OIC, which since inception has been under the influence of the Arab kingdom.
Under the conditions, it would be fair to conclude that the summit was something close to a rubberstamp event to once again highlight the role of Saudi Arabia as an important player in the Muslim world.
It can be said that the high-profile meeting was rich in rhetoric and poor on substance as it failed to make its mark on the Palestinian and Iraqi crises as well as the controversies surrounding access to nuclear technology for economic development.
It is obvious that strong condemnation of terrorism and deviations leading to insecurity and unrest that have afflicted both the government and people of Saudi Arabia over the past several years were among the accomplishments of the summit for which the hosts were credited.
It would have been more appropriate if the Islamic leaders had adopted a resolute and firm stance vis-ˆ-vis access to and use of peaceful nuclear technology and the Muslim world’s top institution had added its voice and vision to the right of member states to employ this advanced technology in compliance with international norms and standards.
This is while presently no Muslim country except Pakistan, has access to nuclear technology despite the fact that many Islamic countries are saddled with mounting economic problems associated with their oil import bills.
Furthermore, no Muslim country, excluding Iran, has so far adopted any clear-cut program for using nuclear energy as an alternative to the more expensive fossil fuels.
Having informed the IAEA, albeit after some extended delays deemed unavoidable under the conditions, about its intention to use nuclear technology for its ambitious economic development programs, Iran has been singled out for special condemnation by the western powers and stands accused of wanting to divert its civilian nuclear program for military use.
Muslim governments and policymakers have to understand that times have changed and that their peoples are aware of their rights and national and security interests.
Change and effectiveness must visit our major organizations or else their reason for being will come under a bigger question mark.
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