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Italy’s
Political Dignity Exposed
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By Kayhan Int’l
Staff Writer
The Italian police arrested an Iranian reporter earlier this
week on suspicion of smuggling arms, although the truth is
that he has been jailed because of his reports on the
unpleasant realities of Italy.
Hamid Masouminejad, the Rome correspondent of Islamic
Republic of Iran Broadcasting, was detained on March 3 along
with another Iranian and five Italians on suspicion of
planning the export to Iran of antitank weapons and
explosives via Britain and Switzerland!
Italian police claim that the Iranians in custody are
members of the Iranian secret services. Nevertheless, it is
absolutely clear that Masouminejad's arrest is linked to his
hard-hitting coverage of real events in Italy, including a
recent workers' strike. Just as importantly, Italian
authorities had warned him in recent months over his
independent reporting - the very same people who still claim
that they are committed to defending the rights of
journalists and independent reporters.
The Foreign Ministry, however, on Friday summoned Italy's
ambassador in Tehran over the baseless detention. The
Culture Ministry also released a statement that said, "If
the Italian government wants to treat our reporter this way
in order to gratify the cruel wishes of the United States,
Britain and Israel, it will certainly see a reciprocal
effect on its reporters by the government of Iran."
Italian prosecutor Armando Spataro claims the arrests were
made after a nine-month investigation, including intercepted
phone conversations and e-mail messages. Yet it is obvious
that the politically motivated arrests are not justified and
lack any credibility or sensible explanation. Certainly, it
is a blind obedience to Israeli demands and a childish
charade that only undermines the political dignity of the
Italian government.
All told, Italy still has one of the lowest levels of press
freedom in Europe. A new report by Freedom House has
classified Italy as "partly free", where censorship is
applied in television and the press. Just for the record, in
1994, Italian journalist Ilaria Alpi was killed in
Mogadishu, Somalia, together with her cameraman Miran
Hrovatin under mysterious circumstances. At the time of the
murder, she was following a case of weapon and illegal toxic
waste traffic in which she reported that the Italian Army
and other institutions were involved.
Into the bargain, Reporters Without Borders states that the
conflict of interests involving Prime Minister Silvio
Berlusconi and his vast media empire is still not resolved
and continues to threaten news diversity and press freedom.
The International Federation of Journalists has also joined
the criticism recently, objecting to the passage of a new
law, which critics believe is designed to control the
Italian media.
Realities as such could perhaps explain why the question of
a political conflict of interest for Italy's prime minister
is still in the back of the minds of many foreign
correspondents, including Masouminejad?
The Berlusconi administration has to listen, though: With
its poor track record of press freedom in Europe, Italy is
indeed closer to many despotic regimes than it might like.
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President Ahmadinejad in
Afghanistan
TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
was to head to Afghanistan on Wednesday, his first trip to
Tehran's eastern neighbor since the re-election last August
of his counterpart Hamid Karzai.
"The president is going on Wednesday" to Afghanistan,
Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told reporters
at his weekly press conference.
On Sunday, an Iranian news agency, Mehr, reported that
Ahmadinejad was to make a one-day trip to Kabul on Monday to
hold talks with Karzai on the challenges facing war-torn
Afghanistan.
But an official at Ahmadinejad's office later denied the
timing.
Ahmadinejad and several Iranian officials have repeatedly
called for the withdrawal of U.S.-led forces from
Afghanistan, saying their presence was stoking the Taliban
insurgency.
Washington and Tehran are both sworn enemies of the
extremist militia which ruled in Kabul from 1996.
Iran, which has close ethnic and religious ties with
Afghanistan, has long suffered from the effects of opium
production in its neighbor, with easily available heroin
fuelling a big rise in drug use at home. Afghanistan is the
source of 90% of the world's heroin.
Mehmandparast said on Tuesday Iran's determination in
fighting drugs trafficking had cost the country dearly.
"We have been very serious in fighting narcotics and
suffered extravagant costs and have lost many people in this
fight."
The spokesman said drugs production in Afghanistan has
multiplied since the occupation of the country in 2001.
"The occupying countries have defied support for the spread
of narcotics in line with their objectives of promoting
extremism and given that a special place," Mehmanparast
said.
Iran sees no will on the part of Western countries to fight
drugs production, the spokesman said.
"The Americans have said they were cooperating in this
regard but we see no resolve for fighting drugs Among the
Americans, the British and other countries which have a
serious presence in Afghanistan.
"If there was a serious will, the volume of drugs production
would not have shot to 9,000 tons from 200 tons (after the
invasion)," Mehmanparast added.
Iran's Ali Asghar Soltanieh, who is chairing the UN
Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) meeting in Vienna, called
on the U.S. and Europe on Monday to step up efforts to
tackle drug trafficking in the region.
Soltanieh said a “collective sense of duty” was needed from
all countries to fight drug trafficking which he described
as “one weapon of mass destruction” and “a threat destroying
the foundation of families.”
"Those countries which have been directly or indirectly
affected by this (problem), including European, the United
States or other countries, they have to exercise and show
maximum cooperation and feel the shared responsibility,"
said Soltanieh, who is Iran's envoy to UN organizations.
U.S. envoy to the CND Glyn Davies said he had met with
Soltanieh on Friday, and added that Washington was prepared
to work with Iran on tackling global drug flows.
"We are very happy to work with the chair even if he is from
a country which we have differences with."
Soltanieh confirmed the meeting with Davies but said he met
the U.S. envoy only as CND chairman, adding that the meeting
did not constitute a bilateral meeting.
He added that he did not expect the delegation sent from
Tehran would meet with U.S. officials during the week-long
summit.
Soltanieh said Iran's cooperation with Afghanistan and
Pakistan in fighting drug trafficking had been successful
and that it could be the base for wider cooperation.
Afghan-grown poppies fuel a $65 billion heroin and opium
market that supplies millions of addicts.
Security Pact Signed With Qatar
 DOHA
(Dispatches) -- Iranian Interior Minister Mustafa Muhammad
Najjar on Tuesday signed a security agreement with Qatari
Minister of State for Interior Affairs Abdullah Bin Nasser
bin Khalifa al-Thani in Doha.
The agreement underlined the need to develop bilateral and
international cooperation in security, the fight against
organized crime and against terrorism, Najjar said in a
press briefing after the signing ceremony.
"We agreed to increase cooperation in border protection
between our two countries and fight drug and human
trafficking ... as well as crime in both countries," he
said.
The two countries also agreed to combat illegal immigration,
fraud and money laundering.
"We are preparing for another agreement with Pakistan to be
signed soon," said Najjar, who arrived in Doha on Monday for
a two-day visit.
Najjar, who led a political and economic delegation, said
Iran was keen on developing the security agreements it had
previously signed with other Persian Gulf Cooperation
Council countries, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman,
as well as Iraq, Turkey and Syria.
The defense minister also warned that Tehran has "great
means of deterrence" to face any possible attack over its
nuclear program.
"We are highly confident about our capacities, and our great
means of deterrence," he said. "We do not feel in danger...
If someone tries to endanger our national security, we will
retaliate and make him regret his action," he added.
Tehran is locked in a standoff with the West over its
nuclear program which Iran insists is for peaceful purposes.
The occupying regime of Israel has not ruled out striking
Iran's nuclear sites.
Najjar said Iran is working on strengthening relations with
its Arab neighbors in the oil-rich Persian Gulf region to
"ensure security and stability in the region."
Qatar, which maintains good relations with Iran, hosts the
U.S. Al-Udeid air base and As-Sailiyah camp, which is the
headquarters of the U.S. Central Command since 2002.
On Tuesday, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jasim bin
Jabir al-Thani once again underlined his county's support
for Iran's right to access nuclear technology.
"We have always wanted the realization of Iran's rights in
grounds of peaceful nuclear activities," the Qatari official
said in a meeting with Najjar. "We will do our best to
resolve Iran's nuclear issue," he stressed.
Sheikh Hamad further called the mutual security pact signed
by the two countries a "step forward" in cooperation between
the two sides, and expressed the hope that Tehran-Doha
relations would further increase.
He also welcomed the growing economic ties between the two
countries, and stated, "We do not allow any other government
to interfere in Iran-Qatar ties. We would spare no efforts
to further expand these relations."
Iran Blasts 'Thuggish' U.S.
General: West Not Sincere in Fighting Terror
TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- Top Iranian officials lashed out on
Tuesday at U.S. General David Petraeus for his comments
asserting the Islamic Republic is becoming a "thugocracy",
saying such terms are only used by "thugs."
"The murderous government of the United States is a
government of thugs which has killed thousands of Iraqis,
Afghans and Palestinians," parliament speaker Ali Larijani
said in the assembly.
"This exhausted general has insulted the Iranian government
by calling it a government of thugocracy. It is
understandable why you (Petraeus) utter such comments
because the people of the region hate you," the official
IRNA news agency quoted Larijani as saying.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast too hit out at
Petraeus.
"Such language is used by thugs... this attitude is of
thugs," Mehmanparast said at his weekly press conference.
"We feel officials in the United States are furious. We
don't know why they are furious... maybe due to their
failure in launching a soft war (against Iran) or that the
role of their intelligence services has been revealed in the
case of (Abdolmalek) Rigi," he said.
Iran captured top terrorist Rigi last month and accused the
U.S., Britain and the occupying regime of Israel of
supporting him in carrying out attacks against the Islamic
Republic.
Mehmanparast also criticized Germany for releasing the
leader of the terrorist group Party for a Free Life in
Kurdistan (PJAK).
Abdolrahman Haji Ahmadi was arrested at his apartment on
Friday, but was released Monday.
The Iranian spokesman described Germany's initial arrest and
its decision to release him later as a "charade", saying
Western countries are not being sincere in fighting
terrorism.
PJAK is an offshoot of the internationally-recognized
terrorist group, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which
conducts deadly operations in Kurdish-populated regions of
western Iran.
Mehmanparast said that evidence at hand indicated that
"Europe has been a safe haven for terrorists" and continues
"to support terrorism despite chanting slogans in defense of
human rights."
"We saw the same pattern about Mujahedeen Khalq Organization
(MKO). This criminal group was taken off the [terrorist]
list in Europe. We also saw another instance in Abdolmalek
Rigi's case where the footprints of foreign intelligence
services were seen in supporting his group (Jundullah)."
The same holds true about the PJAK leader, who was released
by Germany despite Iran's hard evidence available regarding
the group's numerous acts of terror, Mehmanparast said.
According to a New York Times report in October 2007, PJAK
has "direct or indirect discussions" with American
officials. Its ringleader reportedly visited Washington in
the summer of 2007. The group is branded as a terrorist
group by the United States.
Mehmanparast further criticized Germany over plans to grant
asylum to Iranians, saying European countries are turning a
blind eye to fabricated stories for political reasons.
A German official said on Monday Germany plans to grant
asylum to a number of Iranian refugees in a move that
appeared targeted at people viewed by Tehran as dissidents.
"Some people who have no problem returning to Iran ...
present their situation as if lives are endangered and
European countries also want to use this matter to say
Iranians are massively moving to Western countries,"
Mehmanparast said.
"Many of their cases are not true and those who say such
stories are just looking for gaining benefits of having
asylum in those countries," he said, calling Germany's move
"unlawful".
Iran was Germany's 42nd largest export market in 2008 and is
a heavy buyer of machinery, chemical products and metals but
some firms, notably engineering conglomerate Siemens, said
in January it would not accept further orders from Iran for
political reasons.
Iranian media said in January that two German diplomats were
detained for some time during riots on Dec. 27.
Calls Rise for Diplomacy on Iran
BEIJING (Dispatches) – China on Turkey on Tuesday insisted
diplomacy was the way to end the standoff over Iran's
nuclear energy program, as Western nations continue to push
for new sanctions against Tehran.
"We have said all along that the Iranian nuclear issue has
to be peacefully resolved by diplomatic means through
dialogue and negotiations," Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin
Gang told reporters.
"At present there is still space for diplomatic efforts,
dialogue and consultation."
The comments came ahead of a visit by British Foreign
Secretary David Miliband, due in China on Sunday for a
four-day trip during which the issue of Iran's nuclear
energy program was likely to come up.
The spokesman said Miliband would meet Chinese leaders to
"exchange ideas on China-UK relations and other major
international and regional issues of common interest".
China, one of five veto-wielding members of the UN Security
Council and a close ally of Iran, has so far refused to
agree to tougher sanctions against the Islamic Republic,
despite increasing pressure from Washington.
Iran said on Tuesday it hoped China would not give in to
pressure to agree to new sanctions.
"China is a great country which enjoys enough power to
pursue its own decisions independently without being
pressured by America," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin
Mehmanparast said at a news conference in Tehran.
"Of course our expectations from such a big country is the
same ... to pursue its foreign policies independently and
just observe its own national interests," he said, citing
Iran's close relations with China.
A draft Western document proposes restricting more Iranian
banks abroad, but does not call for sanctions against Iran's
oil and gas industries.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in Riyadh
on Tuesday that further sanctions on Tehran would bear no
fruit.
"I don't believe that any further sanctions will yield
results," Erdogan told journalists, adding that earlier
rounds of sanctions "have never yielded results".
Turkey, which has good relations with its neighbor Iran, has
offered to host an exchange of Iran's low-enriched uranium
(LEU) with 20% enriched uranium to be supplied by world
powers to Tehran as part of a UN-drafted deal.
Tehran and world powers are locked in a stalemate over the
deal which envisages shipping out Iran's LEU to France and
Russia for further conversion into higher-grade uranium.
Mehmanparast said Tuesday that Iran considers a nuclear fuel
swap with any supplier as a valid option providing its
conditions are met.
He said that Iran's "priority is to obtain fuel" for a
Tehran medical research reactor.
Iran says it would agree to a deal if guarantees are
provided by the West that the fuel would be shipped to the
country in a timely manner, but such demand has been
shrugged off by the West.
Iran is currently enriching uranium to the level of less
than 20% and the country's nuclear chief says the special
plates for the fuel will be manufactured in the next few
months.
Mehmanparast made it clear Tuesday that Iran was still open
to a swap.
"If the International Atomic Energy Agency suggests a
country in possession of the 20-percent enriched fuel, we
are ready to buy the fuel. Besides, if there are countries
ready for a swap which will fulfill our conditions, we are
ready; otherwise, we will produce the fuel [ourselves]," he
said.
On threats of new sanctions against Iran, Mehmanparast said
that such punitive measures were legally baseless as
Tehran's nuclear work is being fully monitored by the UN
nuclear agency.
Iran to Help Zimbabwe Fight Western
Pressure
TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says
Iran will help Zimbabwe as much as possible in view of the
sanctions imposed on Harare by the West.
Ahmadinejad made the remarks during a meeting with
Zimbabwean Minister of State for Presidential Affairs
Didymus Mutasa in Tehran.
The Islamic Republic will stand by Zimbabwe against "illegal
pressure," he added.
Ahmadinejad said Iran has always condemned the illegal
pressure imposed by hegemonic powers meant to force the
Zimbabweans to surrender.
He praised the African nation for its resistance against the
odds and predicted that independent nations would have a
bright future.
Ahmadinejad also called for the implementation of all the
agreements signed by the two nations.
Mutasa relayed Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's message
to the Iranian president.
He also asked Iran to increase cooperation with Zimbabwe and
to invest more in the country.
Meanwhile, Deputy Foreign Minister of Myanmar Boomang Myth
conferred on Tuesday with Foreign Minister Manouchehr
Mottaki on expansion of mutual relations.
Iran and Myanmar have adopted a similar stand on issues such
as defying bullying powers and unjust international system
given their membership in the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM),
Mottaki said.
Mottaki said common interests shared by the two nations urge
both sides to have constant talks and negotiations on
various issues.
There are ample grounds for expansion of political,
commercial and cultural cooperation between the two
countries such as energy, oil, gas agriculture, technical
and scientific cooperation, exchange of university students
and academic cooperation, said the Iranian minister.
The Myanmar minister, for his part, voiced his country’s
willingness for expansion of all-out relations with Iran in
political, economic and cultural fields.
Myanmar is to increase the current level of economic and
commercial cooperation with Iran in agricultural, energy,
scientific and academic areas, he said.
He also outlined the latest political developments in his
country.
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