DOMESTIC

Homeless stage protest

Voice of Mojahed, Mar. 29 - Homeless people in Tehran's Shariar district staged an antigovernment protest, according to a statement by the Organization of Iranian People's Feda'ii Guerrillas. The statement said in part that on March 20, residents in that neighborhood protested the demolishing of their homes. The regime reacted by dispatching suppressive guards to the scene at Tehran's Laleh street and clashed with the demonstrators. In early March, the area's municipality had used 18 bulldozers to demolish houses. The razing was repeated on March 18, when the revolver-touting mayor led an attack by a group of club-wielders against local residents. In the ensuing clashes, angry residents beat up the mayor. A group of them were injured and several others including a number of truck drivers carrying bricks for the locals were arrested.

Mojahedin on the move

Pejvak radio, Sweden, Mar. 28 - Last winter was simultaneous with increasing activities by the People's Mojahedin. Sources in the Islamic Republic and the Mojahedin reported increasing clashes in different parts of the country. A short while before the increase in these activities Maryam Rajavi left Paris for Iraq... Some observers viewed the escalation of the Mojahedin's activities as a sign of the start of a new phase in their activities.

Rafsanjani's gradual demise

Asharq Al-Awsat, Mar. 25 - The appointment of Rafsanjani as the head of the Council for the Discernment of the Exigencies of the State is in fact the gradual removal of Rafsanjani from power. Since Khamenei, as the spiritual leader, is controlling all political and executive powers, describing Rafsanjani as the number two figure is without basis. Would the future elected president accept to be the number three figure?

Prices force people to stay home

Kayhan, Mar. 25 - Many Tehran residents preferred to stay in the capital during the Nowrooz holidays due to the heavy cost of travel. A man from southwest Tehran said that the cost of a four-day trip for our family of five is about one million rials.

What price reductions?

Kayhan, Mar. 27 - The claim that the price of consumer goods have declined by 25% is unrealistic. The public only sees price hikes and such claims undermine the credibility of the official media and statistics.

FOREIGN

A change of focus

Pejvak radio, Sweden, Mar. 26 - Germany's Minister of Economy said during his trip to the United Arab Emirates that from now on, German industry which has so far been widely present in Iran, will be concentrating on Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf States. Political observers view these comments as a sign that on the eve of the Berlin trial verdict, the German government is putting more distance between itself and the regime in Tehran.

Bracing for the worst Tageszeitung, Mar. 26 - Peter Frisch, the head of the Office for the Protection of Germany's Constitution, BfV, said that Germany had prepared itself for terrorist actions by the regime following the announcement of the court verdict in the Mykonos trial. He said: "You should not be surprised that this matter is the subject of discussions and major precautions by the security officials. The manner and severity of reactions depends on the verdict and the extent to which the court would address the issue of government-sponsored terrorism in the Mykonos killings. We must expect demonstrations and violence in Iran and major disruption in our foreign relations with Iran." With respect to the possibility of terrorist actions in Germany, he said: "We cannot ignore the possibility. There may be extremist elements here too.

Bahrain jails 15 as plotters

AP, Mar. 27 - A security court Wednesday sentenced the first batch of Muslim militants accused of attempting to topple Bahrain's ruling Al Khalifa family with backing from Iran, jailing 15 for three to 15 years and acquitting 11. The 26 men are among a total of 81 involved in the case and whose charges included spying and joining an illegal group. The 81 include 22 men still at large and will be tried in absentia, according to defense lawyers close to the case. Six of the suspects were later shown on state television. They said they had received arms and military training in Iran and that they had links with Bahraini opposition groups in exile.

Saudi bomber linked to mullahs

Reuters, March 27 - The Canadian government charged on Thursday that one of two Saudi dissidents it is holding was a driver involved in the massive truck bomb in Saudi Arabia last June that killed 19 U.S. airmen. Canada's intelligence service alleged that Hani Abdel-Rahim Hussein al-Sayegh conducted surveillance at the site of the bombing, which also wounded close to 400 people.

It said he then drove a car which "signaled the explosives-laden truck to enter the parking lot."

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said last Saturday it wanted to put questions about the bombing to Sayegh, a 28-year-old Shi'ite Muslim who denies being in Saudi Arabia last June.

The Iranian Embassy in Ottawa issued a statement on Wednesday night denying any links with Sayegh or the bombing. It referred to a March 25 New York Times article that quoted a senior U.S. administration official who said part of the evidence against Sayegh was "the contacts he apparently had with Iranian diplomats in Canada."

Europe ties with Iran "Obscene"

Reuters, Mar. 27 - British writer Salman Rushdie, who is under an Iranian death threat, said on Thursday that European countries' relations with Tehran amounted to encouraging state-sponsored murder. "The Iranian government has commissioned murders for which all European governments know it is responsible. And yet Iran has always been treated like a civilized country," Rushdie told a meeting of the Writers' Parliament hosted by the Council of Europe.

Writers from various countries have set up a parliament in the French town of Strasbourg to defend freedom of expression.

"The message that is perceived is that this country can act with complete impunity," said Rushdie, who last month marked the eighth anniversary of his life in hiding after Iran issued a death sentence against him.

Rushdie branded "almost obscene" the stance of European governments which "pretend they are trying to make Iran change its behavior...(but which) allow this regime to survive." He called for large-scale sanctions against Iran.

Gore warns against weapons sale to Tehran

Pejvak radio, Sweden, Mar. 26 - During his trip to China, Vice President Al Gore called on Chinese officials not to sell missiles and other weapons of mass destruction to Iran. He said that curtailing the sale of weapons of mass destruction was one of America's main foreign policy objectives.

Missiles to reach U.S.

Reuters, Mar. 26 - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday Iran wanted to develop ballistic missiles that could reach the United States.

"We believe Iran is intent on developing ballistic missiles, first to reach Israel, then to reach Europe, then to reach a range of 10,000 km (6,000 miles) -- meaning reaching the eastern seaboard of the United States," he said in a speech in central Israel.

"If such a regime acquires such weapons, everyone is in danger," he said at the International Policy Institute for Counter-terrorism, which groups former intelligence officials from all over the world.

The Los Angeles Times last month quoted Israeli officials as saying Russian transfer of missile technology to Iran included some parts for an SS-4 missile, which has a range of 2,000 km (1,250 miles). vIllegal weapons' parts seized

Profil, Mar. 25 - Austrian customs officials discovered and seized a shipment of illegal weapons bound for Iran. The shipment included Hydraulic parts for long-range artillery. The parts were built by the Nordikom factory which had secretly sent parts to Iran and Iraq during the eight-year Iran-Iraq war.

FEATURE

A brief report about the plight of Iranian women throughout the country is this week's feature. The date of the report is March 2, 1997. It was compiled by one the Resistance's activists in Iran.

In the southeastern Baluchistan province, very few factories and workshops hire women. There is a Macaroni factory that hires 20 women who, despite working there for two years, are still day-to-day workers.

They are not insured, despite promises by the factory owner to do so. The women only earn between 38 to 53 dollars a month. Other women who know how to weave or are good at handicraft, work at home and sell their work to middle men or the organization for the handicraft at minimal prices.

Generally speaking, there are no laws or regulations that would protect women at the work place. They are at the mercy of the their employers who can fire them arbitrarily. Often times, they are fired on bogus charges of mal-veiling. Men always earn much more than women for equal work. For example, in a sweets factory 20 kilometers east of Tehran, women earn $41.00. The factory does not provide transportation facilities and they are forced to handle the problem themselves.

The factory owner prefers to hire women because in his words, "they complain less, do better work and receive lower wages. And if we wanted to get rid of them, we could easily do so by accusing them of improper veiling." Another manager in the factory said that they had placed an ad in the newspapers to hire seven women.

"Some 890 contacted us in a matter of three days," he said. "Although we paid very low wages and offered no transportation, 500 agreed to our terms. Many were single women with high school diplomas. Even some university students had applied. There were some widows which begged us to hire them for only $31.00, but we did not do so because of concerns that they may file grievances."

He added: "We imposed our conditions on seven young and energetic high school graduates. We told them we can fire them any time we want and hire some of the other applicants."

With respect to social rights, if a woman is witness to the murder of her brother, her testimony alone is not accepted. Four women witnesses must testify. But one man's testimony is sufficient to prove a murder.

Female high school students have been denied recreational facilities and have to attend mandatory collective prayer sessions. Most are depressed and demoralized which is very uncharacteristic of their age.

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