TEHRAN - Mohammad Khatami called for "freedom of opposition" Saturday so long as it remains within the framework of the law and respect for religious values.

"The opposition should honor social security and avoid weakening the foundations of the system," the official news agency IRNA quoted Khatami as saying.

Khatami spelled out the elements of "social security" which he believed the opposition had to respect and made clear that these included the centerpiece of the Islamic republic's constitution, the position of supreme leader, known as velayat e-faqih in Persian, currently held by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

"The prevalence of Islamic law in society, the protection of the country's security…, as well as the prevention of attempts to undermine the velayat-e faqih are foundations of social security and well established norms in society," he said.

[According to Iran Zamin News Agency, in the same speech he described those who go beyond the laws of the state and the religious regime, as the force poised for "overthrow," adding: "If some one moves toward overthrow, he does not have any rights here. For its part, the government is obligated to deal with those who want to overthrow [the state] differently and in their own language."
 

Iran Top Cleric Rejects Overture From Clinton, Reuters, April 16

TEHRAN - A top Iranian cleric on Friday rejected recent conciliatory remarks by U.S. President Bill Clinton.

"These (Americans) are crooks. Why are some people so naive and believe them?" Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati said in a sermon during weekly Moslem prayers in Tehran carried on state radio.

Clinton said in Washington earlier this week that Iran had been subject to "quite a lot of abuse from various Western countries," and should be told it had a right to be angry.

"In Azerbaijan, they plan to set up a military base. What they want is Iran. They want to besiege us," Jannati said.
 

Khatami Calls Agents of Intelligence Ministry "Healthy And Invaluable Forces", Iran Zamin News Agency, April 18

Last Saturday, in a meeting with the country's governors, mullahs' President Mohammad again heaped praise on the Ministry of Intelligence. Describing its henchmen as "healthy and invaluable forces," he said the recent murders were the result of the conduct of those who "attempted to infiltrate in the most important and sensitive centers which safeguard the security of the country."

While none of the perpetrators of the political murders of dissident writers have been identified, Khatami tried to suggest that the case is over. He said: "At any rate, with the help of God, the cancerous tumor was removed." Earlier, in order to prevent any leaks of information about the involvement of the regime's most senior leaders in these killings, the case was handed over to a military tribunal.
 

Disillusioned Journalists Demand That Khatami Defined Their Rights, Associated Press, April 18

DUBAI - More than 345 journalists in Iran are calling on Mohammad Khatami to uphold their rights in the face of a media crackdown by his rivals.

"Over the past year, eight daily and weekly newspapers, each employing tens of journalists, have been closed down with different methods and various excuses," said the letter, published by daily Hamshahri.

Three writers opposed to the government and two other dissidents were killed in mysterious circumstances late last year. The Intelligence Ministry said in January that it had detained some of its own agents for involvement in the killings.

The journalists' letter called on Khatami to define the rights of journalists under the law, and demanded that journalists who are prosecuted should be tried by a jury in public courts.
 

Protest Against Cultural Minister, Editors, Agence France Presse, April 19

TEHRAN - Several thousand hardline Iranian students and volunteer militiamen demonstrated outside the conservative-dominate parliament Monday against officials and newspaper editors.

The demonstrators called for the ousting of Culture Minister Ataollah Mohajerani and denounced newspaper editor Faezeh Hashemi, daughter of former Iranian president Ali Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani.

The demonstrators also lashed out at remarks made by US President Bill Clinton last week.

"The big American Satan is exploiting the current political climate in Iran to include us in a conspiracy," one of the demonstration's organizers told AFP.

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