Mullahs Censor Casualty Reports, Downplay Quake, Iran Zamin News Agency, May 13

 

According to a statement issued by the Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, the leaders of the Tehran regime are censoring casualties reports and news on the extent of the destruction from Khorassan's deadly tremor to avoid an eruption of anti-government outrage.

The state radio and television are continuing their regular programming, essentially devoted to the presidential election farce. On a visit to Tajikestan when the quake hit, Rafsanjani continued his trip for three days before travelling to the stricken area. Neither Khamenei nor any other senior authorities have toured the affected areas, and no day of national mourning has been announced.

In addition, the regime continued its six-day naval and air maneuvers in the strait of Hurmoz, which began on the same day as the earthquake.

The mullahs reported 40,000 casualties during the first hours of the quake, but reduced the estimate to only 6,000 in their ensuing reports.

According to the initial reports of the regime's state radio, at least 80 villages were completely destroyed and another 70 were 60% damaged Given the strength of the tremor and the structure of the houses, particularly in the rural areas, tens of thousands presumably died.

Eyewitnesses say that hundreds of Guards have set up check and control points to curb protests. They refuse to help pull victims from beneath the rubble.

To conceal the actual number of casualties and the extent of destruction, the regime has also prevented international relief teams from entering the country.

 

Hope Fades for Survivors of Earthquake, Associated Press, May 13  

ARDAKUL, Iran (AP) -- Using bulldozers, spades and even hands, rescuers struggled to pull bricks and debris from collapsed homes today as hope faded for finding more survivors of a devastating earthquake.

Rasul Zargar, Iran's top official for disaster relief, dismissed earlier official death toll reports that 2,400 people were killed by Saturday's quake. He said today that an estimated 1,560 people died, based on surveys by Iranian aid workers who have reached the stricken villages.

More than 4,460 people were injured and 60,000 left homeless, but not all villages have been surveyed, the Iranian Red Crescent Society said today…

France Drops Plans To Send Rescue Team, Reuter, May 13 

PARIS - France on Tuesday dropped plans to send a 30-strong rescue team to help survivors in quake-stricken Iran after Tehran declined the offer, the Foreign Ministry said.

"After a new evaluation of the situation by the Iranian authorities...the arrival of foreign rescuers no longer seemed necessary," Foreign Ministry spokesman Yves Doutriaux said.… 

 

Supplies Begin To Reach Iran Quake Victims, Los Angeles Times, May 13 

AJI ABAD, Iran--The first international aid supplies trickled into Iran's earthquake-devastated northeast region Monday.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars in blankets, tents, clothes and food from Japan, France, Britain, Italy, Russia and neighboring countries began reaching the victims of Saturday's magnitude 7.1 quake.

The United States contributed $100,000 to the International Committee of the Red Cross on Monday to assist victims.

"We've had our disputes with the government of Iran for many, many years, but we don't have any arguments with the people of Iran," State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns said.

 

Pledges Come "Thick And Fast" for Iran--Red Cross, Reuter, May 13

GENEVA - Pledges have been coming in "thick and fast" in response to an appeal to help victims of Iran's massive earthquake, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said on Tuesday…

In a 24-hour period, the Federation raised seven million Swiss francs ($4.6 million) toward its 12 million swiss franc ($8.2 million) appeal issued on Monday.

The money was raised from four governments -- Britain, Denmark, Netherlands and Norway -- and from thirteen national Red Cross or Red Crescent societies in Austria, Belgium, Britain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, Kuwait, Japan, Libya, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.

The EU's humanitarian agency ECHO also contributed…

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