DOMESTIC

New Repressive Force for Tehran

News Bulletin of NCR's Committee on Interior Affairs, Oct. 2 - A new repressive force called "Control and Security" will patrol downtown, bazaar and crowded streets of Tehran.

A misogynous Majlis & women's committee

AFP, Oct. 2 - The Iranian Majlis formed a special committee on women and family.

NCR secretariat, Oct. 3 - The mullahs' formation of "a special committee on women and family" in Majlis is but a worthless, theatrical measure adopted only for foreign consumption. The Khomeini regime took a similar measure in 1993 and appointed an advisor for Rafsanjani in women's affairs. This and subsequent theatrical measures did not change the tragic plight of Iranian women. Instead, women were used to justify further suppression and discrimination against women and rejection of their fundamental rights.

%61 hike in housing prices

Kayhan, Oct. 2 - The price of land and housing rose 61% in the capital and 73% in Ardebil over the past year.

Trade embargo affects gas industry

Radio France International, Persian broadcast, Oct. 1 - Representatives of the main gas producing and gas consuming countries will convene in Abu Dhabi October 13-17.... Iran possesses %15 of the world gas reserves, ranking only next to Russia. Favorable conditions, however, are non-existent for Iran to play an effective role in the world market.

It seems that Iran's failure in finding its place in the world gas market emanates from two factors: Firstly, the tapping of Iranian gas reserves has suffered greatly in the past years from the absence of a clear and stable policy... The second reason for Iran's failure is the disadvantageous international atmosphere which hampers foreign investment to provide for the enormous costs of the tapping of gas reserves... Experts say the lassitude [of Iran's gas industry] is not irrelevant to Washington's economic embargo of Tehran, particularly since it hinders foreign investment in Iran and deprives it from access to considerable international credits.

Mass Migration

Iran Zamin News Agency, Sept. 26 - The daily Jomhouri Islami admitted that because of unbearable hardship, more than 400 families migrated from Ahwaz last summer.

FOREIGN

Anti-fundamentalist seminar in Italy

AGI, Sept. 2 - "Severe your diplomatic ties with this regime and boycott it! Then you will see that this regime will not survive a single day in the face of the Iranian people." This is the call by Mohammad Mohaddessin, chairman of the NCR Foreign Affairs Committee, which addressed this morning representatives of the national and cultural institutions as well as the business world in a Rome seminar, "Fundamentalism and Terrorism: A Threat to International Stability, Peace and Security," sponsored by the International Human Rights Federation in the parliamentary Last Super hall.

Among others, the Minister of Women's Equality, Anna Finocchiaro, had participated in the seminar presided over by Pasquale Bandiera who emphasized on the need for "further mobilization of public opinion to recommence the peace process."

British Labour Party conference

An Iranian Resistance delegation participated in the 95th annual Labour Conference from Sept. 30 to Oct. 4, in Blackpool, Great Britain. The Resistance delegation was headed by Mr. Hedayat Matine-Daftary, chair of the NCR Human Rights and Judiciary Committee. The Labour Party adopted a resolution on the situation in Iran. The resolution reads in part:

This conference, while condemning the violations and supporting the struggle of the Iranian people, calls upon: (a) Labour Party National Executive Committee to raise this issue at international forums and in particular ask Her Majesty's government to press this issue at the United Nations Security Council; (b) Labour Party leadership to denounce inhuman and terrorist policies, and support the struggle of the Iranian people at the British Parliament, European Parliament, the Council of Europe and the United Nations.

Regional conference of Arab women

Iran Zamin weekly newspaper, Sept. 30 - An Iranian resistance delegation participated in the regional conference of Arab women NGOs in Amman, Jordan, Sept. 22 and 23. Hundreds of women from different countries had participated in the conference, sponsored by the National Committee of Jordanian Women in conjunction with other Arab NGOs.

Representatives of the Iranian Resistance explained the grievous plight of women in Iran. In a message sent to the conference, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi called on Arab women to support their Iranian sisters in their struggle against Tehran's ruling fundamentalist regime.

Women's Liberal Democrat conference

Iran Zamin weekly newspaper, Sept. 30 - A women's delegation from the Iranian resistance took part in the annual conference of the Liberal Democratic Party , Sept. 22-26, in Brighton, Great Britain. The Iranian resistance delegation met with a number of officials and MPs from the LDP, including the leader of Women's Liberal Democrat, and apprised them of the situation in Iran and the plight of Iranian women.

Referring to the presence of the Iranian Resistance delegation, Mrs. Elisabeth Sidney, who chaired the meeting of LDP women's national committee, said that women's progress in the Iranian resistance and their equal role and responsibilities prove that equality can be achieved."

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