Back to Brief on Iran
UNITED NATIONS - The U.N. General Assembly on Friday called on Iran to stop executions for nonviolent crimes and establish human rights for women and minority religions such as the Baha'is.
The resolution expressed concern at the "large and increasing number of executions" as well as cases of "torture, degrading treatment or punishment," including the stoning of women and amputations.
It endorsed a report from special investigator Maurice Danby Copithorne, a Canadian, who said human rights improvements in Iran over the past year were imperceptible.
Copithorne's October report said executions doubled from 1995 to 1996 but he gave no figures. In 1997, he said 137 people were executed between January and September, an indication the rate may double in 1997 also.
At a press conference in Tehran, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, attending this week's Islamic summit, disputed claims that human rights were a Western concept, saying "doesn't the Iranian mother or the African mother cry when their son or daughter is tortured?"
The assembly's resolution told Iran to refrain from violence against members of the opposition. The opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran says 24 opponents of the government have been assassinated.
Copithorne's report said Iran's legal codes still called for the stoning of women alleged to have committed adultery. Fines and floggings were imposed for violations of the dress code, he said.
Rajavi: Notion of Moderation Is But a Mirage, Iran Zamin News Agency, December 13
Commenting on the United Nations resolution, NCR President Massoud Rajavi said: By adopting this resolution, the world community has acknowledged that Iran's ruling regime cannot reform itself and that the notion of moderation within this regime is but a mirage. The clerical regime's factions, Mr. Rajavi said, are in no way different from one another as regards suppression and export of terrorism.
Hardliners Prevent Screening of Movie in Iranian Cities, Agence France Presse, December 13
TEHRAN - Islamic hardliners prevented the screening of a controversial Iranian movie in two provincial towns after branding them as anti-Islamic, sources in Tehran said Saturday.
The black comedy depicts the plight of members of the Iranian community in Turkey, where they are living temporarily in a desperate attempt to obtain visa to the United States.
Overview
TEHRAN - ... Daily street violence is the outward sign of a vicious and unpredictable power struggle unfolding in Iran. New President Mohammed Khatami is struggling to assert his authority over Iran's conservative mullahs, who still wield enormous power. Conservative mullahs fiercely resist any change threatening their autocratic powers...
The mullahs' rule has been disastrous for the economy. Rigid labor and tax rules cripple manufacturing, now operating at barely 30% of capacity. Unemployment is about 40% and inflation double the officially stated 18%. The economy is sealed by protectionist laws that control or forbid the import of most goods...
Changing Iran is a Herculean task. Khatami, a former culture minister, promises reform but is vague on details...
Khatami nominees such as Culture Minister Ataollah Mohajerani are reformers. But many doubt the new President's willingness to challenge Iran's theocracy. His power base is the fundamentalist League of Combative Clergy. Whatever differences Khatami has with opponents, says league head Ayatollah Karroubi, ''all accept the fundamentals of the Islamic regime.''...
The economy is falling victim to the political infighting. Iran's well-educated middle class, which numbers 7.5 million, or about 12% of the population, according to Standard & Poor's DRI, isn't being given a chance to invest. Local businesses, for example, are scared by a new campaign against ''quick profits.'' Recently, two Tehran real estate developers received long sentences--and had all their property confiscated--on vague fraud charges.
At the same time, Tehranis complain of rampant corruption, from low-level bureaucrats seeking to augment their monthly paychecks of less than $100, up to senior officials. Tales abound of hefty commissions paid into Swiss accounts of leading mullahs.
Recently, eyebrows were raised when a son of former President Ali Akbar Rafsanjani became head of the Tehran Subway Co. A daughter already managed a publicly funded women's sports league, a huge font of patronage. ''In the Shah's day, people stole, but the money trickled down,'' says an Iranian businessman. ''Nowadays, the mullahs keep putting it in their pockets, and no one sees it.''...